Editing George Stephenson (section)

== The First Railways ==

===Stockton and Darlington Railway===
[[File:Stephenson-No.1-engine.jpg|thumb|The No. 1 engine, called ''Locomotion'', for the Stockton & Darlington Railway]]
In 1821, a parliamentary bill was passed to allow the building of the [[Stockton and Darlington Railway]] (S&DR). The {{convert|25|mi|km|adj=on}} railway connected collieries near [[Bishop Auckland]] to the [[River Tees]] at [[Stockton-on-Tees|Stockton]], passing through [[Darlington]] on the way. The original plan was to use horses to draw coal carts on metal rails, but after company director [[Edward Pease (1767-1858)|Edward Pease]] met Stephenson, he agreed to change the plans. Stephenson surveyed the line in 1821, and assisted by his 18-year-old son Robert, construction began the same year.<ref name="Davies"/>

[[File:Stephenson-Experiment-.jpg|thumb|''Experiment'', the first railway carriage]]
A manufacturer was needed to provide the locomotives for the line. Pease and Stephenson had jointly established a company in Newcastle to manufacture locomotives. It was set up as [[Robert Stephenson and Company]], and George's son Robert was the managing director. A fourth partner was Michael Longridge of [[Bedlington Ironworks]].<ref name="Davies"/> On an early trade card, Robert Stephenson & Co was described as "Engineers, Millwrights & Machinists, Brass & Iron Founders".<ref name=EllisandMorse>{{cite book |title=Steaming through Britain |first1=Chris |last1=Ellis |first2=Greg |last2=Morse |publisher=Conway |location=London |year=2010 |page=47 |isbn=978-1-84486-121-7}}</ref> In September 1825, the works at Forth Street, Newcastle, completed the first locomotive for the railway: originally named ''Active'', it was renamed ''[[Locomotion No 1|Locomotion]]'' and was followed by ''Hope'', ''Diligence'' and ''Black Diamond''. The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened on 27 September 1825. Driven by Stephenson, ''Locomotion'' hauled an 80-ton load of coal and flour {{convert|9|mi|km|spell=in}} in two hours, reaching a speed of {{convert|24|mph|km/h|abbr=off}} on one stretch. The first purpose-built passenger car, ''Experiment'', was attached and carried dignitaries on the opening journey. It was the first time passenger traffic had been run on a steam locomotive railway.<ref name="Davies"/>

The rails used for the line were [[wrought-iron]], produced by [[John Birkinshaw]] at the [[Bedlington Ironworks]]. Wrought-iron rails could be produced in longer lengths than [[cast-iron]] and were less liable to crack under the weight of heavy locomotives. [[William Losh]] of Walker Ironworks thought he had an agreement with Stephenson to supply cast-iron rails, and Stephenson's decision caused a permanent rift between them. The gauge Stephenson chose for the line was {{convert|4|ft|8+1/2|in|mm}} which subsequently was adopted as the standard gauge for railways, not only in Britain, but throughout the world.<ref name="Davies"/>

===Liverpool and Manchester Railway===
[[File:George Stephenson - National Railway Museum - 2005-10-15.jpg|thumb|Statue of George Stephenson at the [[National Railway Museum]], [[York]]]]
[[File:First passenger railway 1830.jpg|thumb|First passenger railway, L&MR]]
Stephenson had ascertained by experiments at Killingworth that half the power of the locomotive was consumed by a gradient as little as 1 in 260.<ref>{{harvnb|Smiles|1857|p=404}}</ref> He concluded that railways should be kept as level as possible. He used this knowledge while working on the [[Bolton and Leigh Railway]], and the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]] (L&MR), executing a series of difficult cuttings, embankments and stone viaducts to level their routes. Defective surveying of the original route of the L&MR caused by hostility from some affected landowners meant Stephenson encountered difficulty during Parliamentary scrutiny of the original bill, especially under [[cross-examination]] by [[Edward Alderson (judge)|Edward Hall Alderson]]. The bill was rejected and a revised bill for a new alignment was submitted and passed in a subsequent session. The revised alignment presented the problem of crossing [[Chat Moss]], an apparently bottomless peat bog, which Stephenson overcame by unusual means, effectively floating the line across it.<ref name="Davies"/> The method he used was similar to that used by [[John Metcalf (civil engineer)|John Metcalf]] who constructed many miles of road across marshes in the Pennines, laying a foundation of heather and branches, which became bound together by the weight of the passing coaches, with a layer of stones on top.

As the L&MR approached completion in 1829, its directors arranged a competition to decide who would build its locomotives, and the [[Rainhill Trials]] were run in October 1829. Entries could weigh no more than six tons and had to travel along the track for a total distance of {{convert|60|mi|km}}. Stephenson's entry was ''[[Stephenson's Rocket|Rocket]]'', and its performance in winning the contest made it famous. George's son Robert had been working in South America from 1824 to 1827 and returned to run the Forth Street Works while George was in [[Liverpool]] overseeing the construction of the line. Robert was responsible for the detailed design of ''Rocket'', although he was in constant postal communication with his father, who made many suggestions. One significant innovation, suggested by [[Henry Booth]], treasurer of the L&MR, was the use of a [[fire-tube boiler]], invented by French engineer [[Marc Seguin]] that gave improved heat exchange.<ref name="Davies"/>

The [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|opening ceremony of the L&MR]], on 15 September 1830, drew luminaries from the government and industry, including the Prime Minister, the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]]. The day started with a procession of eight trains setting out from Liverpool. The parade was led by ''[[Northumbrian (locomotive)|Northumbrian]]'' driven by George Stephenson, and included ''Phoenix'' driven by his son Robert, ''North Star'' driven by his brother Robert and ''Rocket'' driven by assistant engineer [[Joseph Locke]]. The day was marred by the death of [[William Huskisson]], the Member of Parliament for [[Liverpool (UK Parliament constituency)|Liverpool]], who was struck by ''Rocket''. Stephenson evacuated the injured Huskisson to [[Eccles, Greater Manchester|Eccles]] with a train, but he died from his injuries. Despite the tragedy, the railway was a resounding success. Stephenson became famous, and was offered the position of chief engineer for a wide variety of other railways.<ref name="Davies"/>

===Stephenson's skew arch bridge===
[[File:Stephensonbridge1.jpg|thumb|Stephenson's bridge]]
[[File:StephensonBridgeClose.jpg|right|thumb|A close-up of the technique]]

1830 also saw the grand opening of the [[skew arch|skew bridge]] in Rainhill over the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The bridge was the first to cross any railway at an angle.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rainhillparish.org.uk/history/railway_history.html |title=Railway History |website=Rainhill Parish Council }}</ref> It required the structure to be constructed as two flat planes (overlapping in this case by {{convert|6|ft|abbr=on}}) between which the stonework forms a parallelogram shape when viewed from above. It has the effect of flattening the arch and the solution is to lay the bricks forming the arch at an angle to the abutments (the piers on which the arches rest). The technique, which results in a spiral effect in the arch masonry, provides extra strength in the arch to compensate for the angled abutments.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Simmons, Jack  |author2=Biddle, Gordon | title=The Oxford companion to British railway history | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1997 | pages=45–47 |isbn=0-19-211697-5}}</ref>

The bridge is still in use at [[Rainhill railway station|Rainhill station]], and carries traffic on the [[A57 road|A57]] (Warrington Road). The bridge is a [[Listed building|listed structure]].