Stephensons Rockets 1829

George and Robert Stephenson built two Rocket steam engines. The first one was a 0-6-0 mineral engine for the Stockton and Darlington Railway. It had a U-tube style firebox based on a Richard Trevithick design. The cylinders were inclined, which allowed all the axles to be fully sprung. The wheels were two-part cast types held together with wooden plugs and large bolts. This wheel design was created by Robert Wilson of Gateshead and was initially fitted to the Chittyprat locomotive. Stephenson further developed it to the ones fitted to the S&D Rocket.

The second Rocket locomotive was built to win the Rainhill trials. It featured a multitubular boiler, suggested by Henry Booth, inclined cylinders, and fully sprung axles. One new feature was the use of a separate jacketed firebox to improve steaming.

Stephenson's Rocket won the Rainhill Trials in 1829, a competition to determine the best mode of transport for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Rocket's win proved that locomotives were better than stationary engines for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It was the first locomotive to combine several innovations, including a more effective boiler and a blast-pipe exhaust. These innovations became the template for most steam engines for the next 150 years.