Chronology of locomotive history

The following originated in Rudgard's 1948 Presidential Address, Reed's 150 years of British steam locomotives and an examination of other literature, notably that with the Transactions of the Newcomen Society.and Michael Rutherford's long-running series of Railway Raflections in Backtrack. Much has since been learned and reported in the Early Railways conferences and elsewhere. The concept of a rail way preceded mechanical traction by at least two centuries: manpower, horse power and gravity came far earlier. From about 1900 electric traction provided an alternative wherein coal could at least be burned more efficiently. Diesel traction became reliable in the 1930s.

Inspection of Rudgard's chronology in assocation with Brian Reed's  150 years of British steam locomotives immediately demonstrates a problem, and this is not altogether due to a difference in approaches: Reed did not employ a rigid time-based structure, but tended to base some of the divisions on themes, such as Chapter 8 From iron to steel in which the topic of manufacturing techniques and materials is covered. This raises a further practical problem: Maudslay was far ahead of George Stephenson in his development of machine tools, but this work was unknown to George Stephenson. The signifiicance of the machine tool industry is covered many times by Rutherford (see for instance his Reflections No. 73). These show the liimitations of the chronological approach, yet it does provide a framework to show how things happened, rather than a Utopia of how things should have developed. This innovation lag was evident in locomotive management until almost the end of steam: Swindon had adopted optical frame alignment in the 1930s, this did not reach Doncaster until the 1950s. Rudgard was sufficiently unaware of the technique to place it his list.

Rudgard's 1948 Presidential Address chronology contained some typographical errors and these have been corrected. The date should also be noted. There also seem to be some errors of fact. The original absence of any development attributable to Collett should be noted. There is no mention of streamlining: external, or internal: the absence of Cock o' the North, the A4 class or the Duchess Pacifics is significant. Alexander Allan is given excessive prominance. Reed's 150 years of British steam locomotives shows in its internal structure a concise and clear division of locomotive history. As the initial period is one of considerable controversy, notably whether Timothy Hackworth has received too little, and George Stephenson has received too much, an attempt has been made to precis the first part of Reed's work. The significance of the McConnell Bloomer design and its antecedents in the Bury, Curtis & Kennedy 2-2-2 design of 1848 in turn derived from Wrekin for the Shrewsbury & Birmingham Railway is also missing (see Jack pp 183-8).. A further omission was that made by in 1849 when he allowed for expansion in the boiler by fixing it rigidly solely at the front of the frame. Clearly the two major trials: Rainhill and Newark should be included. The later railway races of 1888 and 1895 are more marginal, but it may now be appropriate to include the 1948 Locomotive Exchanges, the opening of the Rugby Testing Station (the one at Swindon was not mentioned by Rudgard) and the BR Standard locomotives. Another problem with Rudgard's listing is that fails to note the dates for American and Continental developments which somtimes took a decade or more to reach Britain (and in some cases like cast steel bed frames only arrived in transit for export).

A.J. Powell in Whitehouse and Thomas's Passion for steam also attempted to identify key figures, several of whom were American. The Americans were mainly concerned with extending American railways and are listed separately. The others are incorporated into the chronology as "Powell". Powell's last two entries relate to two engineers who were still active in steam locomotive development:David Wardale (mainly in South Africa) and Phil Girdlestone (mainly in Africa, following work on the revived Festiniog Railway): both can be found via Google... .

The Science Museum publication The British railway locomotive: a brief pictorial history of the first fifty years of the British steam railway locomotive, 1803-1853; compiled by G.W. Westcott is listed in the table as Westcott

Comment 1: 0-6-4T was hardly an earth-shattering innovation
Comment 2: Rudgard listed J. Smyllie: Ahrons suggested Hugh Smellie
Comment 3: Westcott included later long boiler locomotives: Kitson 0-6-0 Hector and Stephenson A type

Reed's division
The Stockton & Darlington Phase
The Liverpool & Manchester Stage
Five Great Types
Patentee
Crewe
Gray-Jenny Lind
Inside frame and outside cylinders
Inside frame and inside cylinders
Fixed Cut-off to Variable Expansion
From Coke to Coal
From Iron to Steel
The Infinite Variety
The Years 1896-1922
The Group Era
National Finale

Reed precis

There is no dispute that Trevithick designed the first locomotive to run on rails, having produced an experimental road locomotive. Reed claims that he was directly responsible for four locomotives: one at Coalbrookdale manufactured at the Coalbrookdale Ironworks in 1803; the Penydarren locomotive made at the Penydarren Works; the Gateshead locomotive manufactured by John Whinfield and the London locomotive manufactured by Hazeldine of Bridgnorth. These were all single-cylinder engines with the cylinder being within the boiler. The Blenkinsop rack system used locomotives manufactured by Matthew Murray. The first in Leeds dated to 1812. By 1816 at least six locomotives of this type had been manufatured and were in service at the Kenton & Coxlodge Colliery in Newcastle, at Willington on Tyneside; at Orrell near Wigan, and at Whitehaven (the last two being built locally). Two locomotives had also been sent to Germany.

In 1813 Chapman devised a bogie locomotive which dragged itself along on a chain. Part of this was probably built by the Butterley Iron Co. A further locomotive was built at the Ouseburn Foundry under Phineas Crwother for the Lambton waggonway.

Blackett had arranged for the supply of the initial Trevithick (Gateshead) locomotive, but this damaged the track, but in 1813, following the reconstruction of the Wylam line with cast iron tramplates, a further Trevithick type locomotive was supplied by John Waters of Gateshead. This was gear driven, incorporated a flywheel, a single cylinder, and a single tube boiler  In 1814 the two cylinder Puffing Billy was constructed at Wylam and this was followed by the Wylam Dilly and a third locomotive. These had wrought iron boilers, cylinders (two) external to the boiler and exhaust silencers. In 1815 these were rebuilt with eight wheels. The performance of these locomotives is recorded in Timothy Hackworth's Notebook.

George Stephenson's first locomotive, Blucher, was steamed at Killingworth in July 1814. reed succinctly claims: "Therefore he [Stephenson] could have had little of that help claimed by protagonists of Hedley and Hackworth." His pre-knowledge would have been limited to the Blenkinsop rack locomotives on the Kenton/Coxlodge and Willington lines. As built the locomotive did not exhaust into the blast-pipe. Blucher was the first flanged wheel adhesion locomotive to do any work. It accommodated Nicholas Wood's chain drive to connect the axles. A second locomotive of 1815 eliminated the gear drive. Four or five locomotives were manufactured by Stephenson for Killingworth between 1814 and 1821. The parts were manufactured at Killingworth and by Burrell of Newcastle. Nicholas Wood was responsible for building further locomotives of the Killingworth type.

Dendy Marshall page 83
What seems to have happened, so far as we can tell, is as follows:
October, 1812. Hedley's attention first called to the subject.
Adhesion trials with the test carriage.
13 March, 1813: Patent. Hedley at loggerheads with Chapman.
'early' 1813. (O.D.H.). The first engine, built by Waters.
Sept., 1813. George Stephenson started to build an engine. 2 ,
March, 1814? Puffing Billy' on four wheels; produced by the combined efforts of Hedley, Foster and Hackworth, possibly assisted by Chapman.
25 July, 1814. (Wood). Stephenson's first engine was finished.
21 Dec., 1814 Chapman's second engine; on eight wheels.
early in 1815? Wylam engines put on eight wheels.

If the above chronology is approximately correct, two facts appear to emerge:-
1. Chapman copied the Hedley design in his Lambton engine, except the wheel arrangemen~; the quarrel having been made up.
2. The Wylam people used Chapman's design of the bogies.

Where ODH=Hedley, Oswald D. Who invented the locomotive engine (Ottley 2812) and
Wood=Wood, Nicholas  Practical treatise on rail-roads. (Ottley 294)

**Powell stated Churchward's general design precepts

Powell's American pioneers:
John Stevens
Horatio Allen
E.L. Miller: credited (perhaps incorrectly) with Best Friend of Charleston (built in a New York foundry) and of the bogie as used in 4-2-0 and subsequently in 4-4-0
Henry C. Campbell

2020-04-01