Stephensons Rocket and the Rainhill Trials by Richard Gibbon

Stephensons Rocket and the Rainhill Trials by Richard Gibbon

George and Robert Stephenson's Rocket, is arguably the most enduring silhouette in railway history. But why was Rocket that special? And why does the surviving locomotive look so unlike the striking yellow image that we are familiar with from books, postage stamps and the five pound note? Rocket was built to take part in The Rainhill Trials, the competition to find a locomotive design to pull trains on the world's first passenger line, the Liverpool and Manchester. The trials caught the public's imagination and its victor, Rocket, became a sensation. It quickly became of symbol of technological progress. The Stephensons' engine set the pattern for future world steam locomotive development for the next 130 years. But would the steam locomotive have developed differently if Rocket had not won the trials? All these questions while exploring in words and pictures the machine that became the metaphor for what is seen as Britain's greatest gift to the industrial world: the steam locomotive.

Richard Gibbon is former Head of Engineering Collections at the National Railway Museum, York. During his fifteen years at York he cared for many famous locomotives, including the working replica of Stephenson's Rocket. He has appeared several times on radio and television, including Scrapheap Challenge and a BBC Timewatch documentary about the Rainhill Trials. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and was awarded an OBE in 2004 for his services to museums.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780747808039
ISBN 10	0747808031
Title	Stephensons Rocket and the Rainhill Trials
Author	Richard Gibbon
Series	Shire Library
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Year published	2010-09-10
Number of pages	56
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.