Cover of Michael Robbins' book

George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson & Brandreth  Steamindex home page Norman McKillop's The lighted flame pge 10 states: [George] Stephenson was not only a great engineer: he was a great man. The italics belong to Norman. The Stephensons, genius father George and his brilliant son, made a remarkable contribution to the development of railways. George did not invent the steam locomotive, but he did ensure that something which was beginning to come together from a variety of sources was engineered into a practical machine. In this respect a man of relatively humble origins became one of the world's greatest engineers and he was brilliantly astute in ensuring that his son, Robert, lacked for nothing in assisting the engineering of the early railways. KPJ does not normally like to make reference to material which is still to be inspected, but Bailey's compilation on Robert Stephenson must be an exception for it is clearly a seminal work, although the reviewer (Biddle) fails to mention whether it casts light upon his father. KPJ has some reservations about Rogers contribution to the assessment of locomotive development but he considers that in his book on Chapelon his summary of the Stephenson contribution is highly apt. Perhaps Rogers own origins in Wylam may not be irrelevant: The passage of the years has done nothing to dim the remarkable achievements of the two Stephensons (for it is difficult to separate father and son). Their inventive genius was most brilliantly displayed, perhaps, during the year 1829-30, but this was by no means the end. They put their final seal on the shape of the locomotive when in 1833 they added a pair of carrying wheels behind the firebox to produce the first 2-2-2 engine 'Patentee'. This became a standard passenger type in both France and Great Britain and was built in the latter country until 1894. Their last major contribution was in 1842 when they were the first to provide engines with a link motion valve gear, a wonderful invention which was so eminently suitable for locomotives that it was still being used for new construction in the last great days of steam.

See also page on Early locomotives, especially part relating to the Rocket

George Stephenson

A Northumbrian of humble birth (born Wylam 9 June 1781 — his place of birth is highly appropriately maintained by the National Trust), George Stephenson did more than anyone else to make the steam railway an accepted part of society. He perforce had to follow his father into the mining industry where not only did he encounter the stationary steam engine, but he developed a miners' safety lamp more or less at the same time, but without the knowledge of, the now better-know Humphry Davy lamp. Moreover, George Stephenson had both the confidence in his own innovation and courage to test his lamp within the dangerous parts of a working coal mine. Early experience with mining engines gave him the opportunity to construct a steam locomotive for his colliery company, the Blucher. Obviously, Trevithick was the originator of the steam locomotive, but Hedley and Hackworth had introduced steam traction to coal mines in the North East. The significance of Stephenson's involvement was his gradual improvement of the basic locomotive.

Charles E. Lee's Tyneside tramroads of Northumberland. Trans. Newcomen Soc.. 26, 199-229. comfirms that gauge of Killingworth Wagonway was 4f 8½ in. Notes that George Stephenson was a "light-hearted young fellow, proud of his muscular power, and that creation of Robert Stephenson & Co. showed father's great faith in son's ability.

Eventually this gradual improvement in locomotive technology gave him the confidence to seek out Edward Pease and encourage him to consider steam traction for the Stockton & Darlington Railway. In his surveying work he was at his best when helped by his son Robert, but the first steam locomotive of the Stockton & Darlington, Locomotion, was mainly his conception. Later, with Robert, he produced the famous Rocket that, at the Rainhill Trials in 1829, established the reputation both of the Stephensons and of steam rail traction. His advocacy of a standard gauge was far sighted, but his preference for 4ft 8½in. was possibly not. He died at Tapton House, near Chesterfield on 12 August 1848.

George Stephenson was a man of many achievements, but like many others, few of which were uniquely his, that is not to imply any lessening of his achievements, but merely implies that he had the ability to respond to what was needed at the time. This is especially true of the miner's safety lamp where Sir Humphrey Davy produced something which became much better known with the aid of scientific knowledge, but George Stephenson produced something empirically and tested it with great courage in the known dangerous areas of the local mines. When Davy challenged Stephenson's invention Stephenson was able to enlist the support of the local elite in the North East to support his claim.

In terms of the locomotive he was able to demonstrate that adhesion was possible using iron driving wheels on iron track. With his brilliant son (and it must never be forgotten that the intellectual grooming of his son in itself showed brilliance and foresight) he/they developed the tubular boiler and the blast-pipe and combined these in the Rocket. His advocacy of steam traction on the Stockton & Darlington Railway and his prize-winning Rocket for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway directed the course of history. From a very early date Stephenson was aware of the network concept. Later he tended towards conservatism with his continuing use of the inclined plane and his proposal to go across Morecambe Bay rather than climb to Shap. He was founder of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Elsewhere, Hamilton Ellis is sometimes sought for his views: in his Pictorial Encyclopedia of Railways (an eccentric compilation) he stated that Stephenson was "Entirely self-taught, his virtues included perserverance, integrity and mechanical judgement." His son is dismissed as the first "millionaire-engineer". There are portraits (reproduced in black & white) of both men (pp. 24 and 25)

Pearce, whose magisterial study of the Locomotives of the Stockton and Darlington Railway has been heaped with praise,  summed up the relative achievements of "Cap'n Dick Trevithick, Mathew Muuray, Timothy Hackworth, I.K. Brunel and David Gooch, to name but a few, George Stephenson's charisma, persitance and sheer ability in his own field overshadow them all. And it was Stephenson's character and Stephenson's locomotives that made it possible for the Stockton & Darlington Railway to open when it did and to operate with steam traction. He was certainly not the great engineer that he wished to be, but that he got things done!". It is this sort of deeply researched judgement which the presumably relatively unread author, Vaughan, seeks to rubbish.

Gilks (Joseph Locke and the Stephensons. Backtrack, 2005, 19,. 368-73) notes that George had "great vision and drive, but he could not claim to have good organizational skills or attention to detail." and "George was quintissentially the man of vision, a rough and rude battler, blessed with great foresight." This feature as a whole is mainly concerned with Joseph Locke and his relationship with the Stephensons.

Pearce also notes that the Stockton & Darlington Raliway was the first to use wrought iron edge rails to any large extent, and as the advantages of these became obvious, most of the track was changed to wrought iron as soon as possible and convenient, and the weight of the rail increased to cope with the increasing traffic, although the few remaining sections of cast-iron rail continued to give trouble for years. We have George Stephenson to thank for this foresight; as Consultant Engineer he insisted on the use of wrought iron rail for at least half the original track, against his own immediate financial interest, since he was a partner and co-patentee with William Losh in a firm that made improved cast-iron rails! [italicised by KPJ]. His reputation and trust in him gained from it, all the same. He had also an interest in the Bedlington Ironworks and their wrought iron rails, so he probably made up later what he lost at the time.

The Stephensons' Rocket by Michael R. Bailey and John P. Glithero should be added to the list of references: this work was glowingly reviewed by Michael Rutherford in Backtrack, 17, 234.

Sir Henry Fowler in his Presidential Address to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers stated that "I have always been impressed by the fact that George Stephenson seemed to be not only conversant with, but an expert on all that was known and of interest concerning mechanical engineering in his day."

J. Scott Russell's Memoir of George Stephenson (Proc. Instn Mech. Engrs. 1848 Vol. 1) may surprise some current revisionist historians. Having refered to George Stephenson's many interests including electricity, the obiturist's most thought provoking phrase was "Was there ever a bolder theorist than he was?" For those willing to see this aspect of his character was most evident in his miners' safety lamp which he himself tested. Less obvious was the audacity of using steam pressure vessels in very public places.
On page 489 of Smiles' Life of George Stephenson he relates that Stephenson discussed electricity with Emerson at Whittington House: Emerson said how much he had everywhere been struck by the haleness and comeliness of the English men and women; and this diverged into a further discussion of the influences which air, climate, moisture, soil, and other conditions exercised upon the physical and moral development of a people. From this the conversation was directed upon the subject of electricity, upon which Mr. Stephenson launched out enthusiastically, explaining his - views by several simple and striking illustrations. From thence it diverged into the events of his own life, which he related in so graphic a manner as completely to rivet the attention of the American.
Afterwards Emerson said, "that it was worth crossing the Atlantic to have seen Stephenson alone; he had such native force of character and vigour of intellect."

Patents

3,887 28 February 1815: Construction of locomotive-engines with Dodd: [Connecting rod: cylinder to wheels]
4,067 26 November 1816 Fascilitating the conveyance of carriages, goods, and materials, along railways and frameways, by improvements in the construction of the machine, carriages, carriage wheels, railways and frameways employed for that purpose.with Losh [Steam spings: via piston into boiler to provide locomotive suspension]  
4,662: 21 March 1822: Steam engines.
6,111: 30 April 1831: Constructing wheels for railway-carriages.
11,086: 11 February 1846: Locomotive steam-engines.

References to

Warren's introduction is most interesting in its assessment of Smiles versus Jeaffreson:

The best known authorities [in 1923] are still the biographies by Smiles, in his Lives of the Engineers, and the Life of Robert Stephenson, by Jeaffreson; there are other memoirs, of which the most valuable is an 'Address on the two late Eminent Engineers,' delivered in 1860 to the North of England Institute of Mining Engineers, by Nicholas Wood, whose own  early career was closely connected with that of George Stephenson, and whose pen did valiant service in the cause of the locomotive. Smiles's biography of George Stephenson has been condemned for its too high lights, and it may be that to satisfy the canons of criticism to-day some toning down would be required; but to a similar charge made in his own lifetime

Smiles replied

I wrote the Life of George Stephenson simply because I admired the Man his perseverance his noble mindedness, and his great railway works. I found, from Robert Stephenson, that no other person was likely to write his father's life; and I determined, so far as I could, to supply the defect. The only assistance which I received from him was in information, which was very valuable. He even warned me against writing the life, as he believed that it would probably end in loss of time and labour, as well as of money.

Jeaffreson in some instances contradicts Smiles, and, since unfortunately neither biographer was a trained engineer, the deductions of  both on technical matters from the material which they had at their disposal must be received with caution, while some are manifestly incorrect. But Smiles  has always been, and will remain, the classic authority, and his portrait of the elder Stephenson will ever be an inspiration to a great public, for whom the technical details of the locomotive, or the difference between an 'exhaust' and a 'blast' pipe, are matters of small moment.

Further assessment of Smiles is given in Rutherford's Railway Reflections No. 69 where he refers to his Life of  George Stephenson as "pure hagiology" and infers that Stalin's approach to history as being comparable to that of Smiles.

Electricity

Asa Briggs states that Stephenson "said": it is possible and even probable that one of the great uses to which Electric Force will be applied eventually will be the simple conveyance of power by means of large wires

Duffy, M.C. Technomorphology and the Stephenson traction system. Trans. Newcomen Soc., 54, 55-74. Disc.: 74-8.
The author both confirms George Stephenson's original brilliance and soundly condemns "late" steam locomotive engineering (especially that of Riddles and Bulleid) to the dustbin of history.  

See: L.T.C. Rolt, George and Robert Stephenson (1960);

Buchanan, R. Angus. Engineering dynasties in transport history. J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2004, 34, 654.
Includes a very useful family tree.
E.L. Ahrons, The British Steam Railway Locomotive 1825-1925 (1927).
Kirby, M.W. separate biographies of both father and son in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
J.G.H. Warren, A Century of Locomotive Building (1923).
Davis, Hunter

Robert Stephenson

Marshall states that Robert Stephenson, son of George, was born at Willington Quay, near Newcastle upon Tyne on 16 October 1803 and died in London on 12 October 1859. He was the son of George Stephenson. His mother died on 14th May 1806. He was educated at Bruce's Academy, Newcastle, from 1814 to 1819 and in the latter year was apprenticed to Nicholas Wood (qv) at Killingworth colliery. Robert received the kind of education that his father realized he lacked himself, and was to make of his son an admirable partner. Robert assisted his father in most of his early projects but later asserted a degree of independence.

In 1821 he assisted his father in the survey of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. In 1822 he spent 6 months studying at Edinburgh University where he met George Parker Bidder who became a life-long friend and with whom he performed much professional work. On leaving Edinburgh in 1823 he took up the management of the newly established firm of Robert Stephenson & Co. Bad health forced him to leave England, and in 1824-06 he sailed to South America to superintend mining gold and silver in Colombia. There he met Richard Trevithick, then without money, whom he helped to repatriate. Stephenson returned in 1827 and at once became involved in the dispute over the form of traction for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, resulting in the building of the Rocket in 1829 (covered in Warren).

As manager of the Robert Stephenson & Co. locomotive works in Newcastle he played a key part in the design of the Rocket, and went on with his Planet and Patentee to evolve what in essence was the mainstream, classic, or 'Stephenson' steam locomotive. The Rocket introduced the multi-tubular boiler, the Planet brought cylinders down beneath the boiler, and further locomotives introduced other features that would become standard practice. However, the Stephenson valve gear, which enabled locomotive crews to select different points at which steam admission to the cylinders could be cut off, simply by operating a lever on the footplate, was not invented by Stephenson but by two of his skilled workers.

Other than establishing the basic style of the steam locomotive, Robert Stephenson attained great honour and success as a civil engineer, both in Britain and overseas. The London & Birmingham Railway, for which he was the engineer-in-charge, was described as the greatest feat of engineering since the building of the pyramids. Tring cutting, although widened later still gives an indication of the majesty of early railway works: the nearby cutting and embankment constructed by Telford at Dunstable appears puny in comparision. The canal is a mere ditch through the Chilterns. The construction of Kilsby Tunnel was extremely difficult due to the ingress of water. Many of his bridges still stand, in whole or in part: the Royal Britannia bridge is unfortunately a pale reflection of its former glory, however. It should be noted, however, that Stephenson's reputation could have been destroyed by the failure of the bridge across the Dee in Chester. Other successful bridges were the High Level bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne and the Victoria Bridge in Montreal. He died in London on 12 October 1859.

The cause of the rift between the father and the son which led to Robert Stephenson going to Bolivia (where he rescued Trevithick) remains an obscure episode in the lives of both great men.

On 16 June 1829 he married Frances Sanderson of London. He was elected MICE in 1830 and was President in 1856-7.

Stephenson was active in the 'battle of the gauges', upholding the standard gauge against Brunel's 7ft gauge. Despite this, Stephenson and Brunel were close personal friends to the end of their lives. On 4 October 1842 his wife died, aged only 39, without children.

Stephenson is best known for his bridges. His career could have been ruined by the collapse of the bridge over the Dee at Chester on 24 May 1847 (Horne gives a succinct account of this event in Backtrack, 11, 308). The accident led to a scrutiny of all cast iron spans by a Royal Commission. He survived this, however, and went on to build the High Level Bridge at Newcastle, 1846/9, and the Royal Border Bridge, Berwick, a stone viaduct of 28 spans 6lft 6in, 1850. With his father's friend William Fairbairn he evolved the wrought iron tubular girder which he used successfully in the Conway (1847-9) and Menai (1847-50) bridges on the Chester & Holyhead Railway and the Victoria Bridge (1854-9) over the St Lawrence at Montreal, then the world's longest bridge.

Gilks (Joseph Locke and the Stephensons. Backtrack, 2005, 19,. 368-73) is mainly concerned with Locke rather than with Robert Stephenson, but the famous John Lucas painting of Robert Stephenson with Locke and Brunel with the largely complete Menai Bridge in the background is very clearly reproduced.

During the erection of the tubes of the Menai bridge, in his most anxious moments he was supported by the presence of Brunel. Stephenson returned this support during the erection of Brunel's Saltash bridge in 1859. On 30 June 1847 Stephenson was elected Conservative MP for Whitby, remaining its representative until his death, but he rarely spoke in Parliament except on engineering matters. He opposed the Suez Canal scheme. Early in 1859 his health gave way and he was forced to give up work. A yachting cruise to Norway failed to restore him. He was buried in Westminster Abbey beside Telford. He was President of both the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Publications

Proc. Instn Civ Eng., 1849, 6, 242.

Patents

5325 23 January 1826 Axletrees to remedy the extra friction on curves to waggons, carts, cars, and carriages used on railroads, tramways, and other public roads.
6092 11 March 1831 Axles and bearings at the centre of wheels for carriages to travel on edge railways.
6372 26 January 1833 Locomotive steam-engines.
6484 7 October 1833 Locomotive steam-engines.
Planet type: steam brake (see Rowatt Trans Newcomen Soc.1927, 8, 19) and tyres [tires] without projecting flanges.
6524 11 December 1833 Mode of supporting the iron-rails for edge-railways.
8,998. 23 June 1841. Arrangement and the combination of the parts of locomotive-engines.
Long boiler locomotives: rear wheels behind firebox..

References to:

Ahrons, E.L. The British Steam Railway Locomotive 1825-1925 (1927)
Bailey, Michael. (editor) Robert Stephenson: the eminent engineer. 2003.
This is a very important treatise, judging by the review (by Gordon Biddle) in J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2004, 34, 637. Most of the biographical material was written by Mike Chrimes (Librarian of the Civils), who rightly suggested that this work should be noted on this website. KPJ considers that Biddle's comment that "He is largely forgotten" is an over-statement, but would agree that some great national institution should be named after him. Perchance this web page has been edited alongside an entry made for William Prime Marshall whose career was clearly moulded by Robert Stephenson.
Haworth, Victoria. The making of a prodigy, Robert Stephenson: engineer and scientist. Newcastle: Robert Stephenson Trust.
Reviewed by R.H. Hennessey in Backtrack, 2006, 20, p. 638. The review in itself adds to our understanding of this great engineer: "Gradually, item by item, the world awakes to the astonishing achievement of Robert Stephenson, all-round, lateral-thinking engineer par excellence." Also reviewed by Mel Holley in Steam World, 2006, (227), 65.
Jeaffreson, J.C. Life of Robert Stephenson. (1864)
Kirby, M.W. separate biographies of both father and son in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Nock, O.S. Steam locomotive. 1958.
Robbins, Michael. George and Robert Stephenson. 1966.
Rolt, L.T.C. .George and Robert Stephenson (1960);
The co-biography is divided not by subject but into two parts: The years of endeavour 1781-1830 and The years of fame 1830-1859. The former is divided into Chapters on George's early days at Killingworth; the safety-lamp controversy; the birth of the locomotive, the Stockton & Darlington Railway, the temporary rift between the father and son, the improvement of the steam locomotive and its acceptance following the extraordinary Rainhill trials and the completion of the Liverpool & Mancheter Railway. The second part shows how the railway network developed and how railway engineering became heroic in character as at Kilsby Tunnel on the London & Birmingham Railway and for crossing the Menai Straits in spite of Telford's earlier masterpiece. Note Robbins Trans Newcomen Soc., 56, p. 59 et seq. considered that the Rolt work should be used with caution..
Warren, J.G.H., A Century of Locomotive Building (1923)

Robert Stephenson Trust

Thomas Shaw Brandreth

Born on 24 July 1788 in Cheshire and died in Worthing on 27 May 1873. Educated at Eton and Trinity College Cambridge: mathematician and barrister. Friend of George Stephenson and director of Liverpool & Manchester Railway. Involved in survey across Chat Moss and designer of Cycloped: horse-powered "locomotive". Marshall. Also Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry by Stanley Lane-Poole rev. R.C. Cox.

Updated 2008-07-28