BIRTH | A Little Engine that Could, July 25, 1814

George Stephenson (1781-1848)
Father of Railways

July 25, 2020—On this day in 1814, English engineer George Stephenson (1781-1848) introduced his first steam locomotive, a little engine that could named Blücher.

It was used to carry coal from Newcastle upon Tyne to the rest of the world by sea.

This was the first-ever practical locomotive, able to haul 30 tons of coal up a hill at 4 mph. It was used to tow coal wagons along the wagonway from Killingworth to the coal staiths at Wallsend for transfer to ships.

From this first locomotive, Stephenson quickly developed better ones, using his "steam blast" technology. He created his famed Rocket locomotive in 1829.

Born June 9, 1781, in Wylam, Northumberland, England, he died August 12, 1848 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. In addition to inventing the first practical locomotive, he created the first railway line in 1825. He is properly called the “Father of Railways.” 

He was the son of a mechanic and so learned to operate a Newcomen atmospheric-steam engine by 19 years if age. The engine was used to pump out a coal mine near Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He enrolled in night school after following the news about Napoleon, and he learned how to read and write.

His knowledge of steam engines won him the post of engine wright, chief mechanic, at  the Killingworth colliery. In 1813, he visited a neighboring colliery to examine a “steam boiler on wheels” constructed to haul coal out of the mines. It was promising but broke down frequently.

With the support of Lord Ravensworth, principal owner of Killingworth, Stephenson built the Blücher. Not satisfied, he sought to improve his locomotive’s power and introduced the steam blast, redirecting exhaust steam up a chimney, pulling air after it and increasing the draft. The new design made the locomotive practical and opened up the railway age.