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This is an excerpt from the paper entitled "The Rainhill Locomotive Trials of 1829" by C F Dendy Marshall, published in the Transactions of the Newcomen Society, 1929 Vol 9.
"One hundred years ago there took place one of the strangest, and certainly the most momentous, of all competitions that have ever been held. It was a trial of strength between terrifying monsters, hissing, spluttering, breathing fire and dropping red hot cinders, or such is how it must have appeared to the crowds that came and gaped with wonder, very few of whom had ever seen any inanimate thing move itself on level ground.
The circumstances which brought forth this uncanny spectacle were as follows:-
When the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was originally projected, it is evident that the intention was to use locomotives... In the Act of May 1826, which authorised the construction of the Railway, locomotive engines are clearly taken for granted, as it is merely laid down that every one that shall be used on the railway must be constructed to consume its own smoke, on pain of a fine; without any other mention of the subject.
In a fourth (amending) Act of 14th May 1829, which authorised the railway to cross the Irwell and terminate in Manchester itself instead of stopping at Salford on the other side of the river as originally proposed, there are two clauses strictly forbidding the use of locomotives within Manchester or Salford, except on the lines, as authorised. Apparently there was a fear of the engines running loose on the streets, like wild beasts!
Before proceeding farther, let us survey the stage of development at which railways had arrived at that time, and try to appreciate the position of the Directors when faced with the necessity of making important decisions.
By 1829, nearly every place where there was a colliery had some sort of railway; the more important ones, which had been constructed under Acts of Parliament, numbered about 25. Locomotion was effected in four ways: (1) horses, (2) self-acting inclines (in all these the loads were downhill, and gravity supplied the power), (3) stationary engines hauling the vehicles by means of ropes, (4) locomotives.
Owing to the magnitude of the undertaking, and the hope, modest though it was, for a certain amount of speed, it was admitted that horses were out of the question. There was nothing to be expected from gravity, so the choice was narrowed down to fixed versus locomotive engines. At the time it was not an easy one. There seemed little to choose between them as regards speed. The stationary engine had advanced to a comparatively high state of efficiency and reliability. The locomotive, on the other hand, was in a primitive state of development, severely handicapped in its infancy by being placed on rails which were never intended to bear such a weight; wheezing, leaking at every joint, and often breaking down. But 'trouble on the road', frequent though it may have been, was a mere trifle compared to a failure with the stationary engine system, which paralysed everything."
The competitors originally numbered ten, but those which were described in the 'Race-Card' as actually facing the start were:
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Stephenson's 'Rocket'; The 'Novelty', the 'Sans Pareil', the 'Perseverance' and the 'Cycloped'. Stevenson's 'Rocket' is of course well known, but the 'Cycloped' is described as "an absurd affair which was worked by two horses moving an endless platform with their feet".
The judges were Nicholas Wood of Killingworth, John Kennedy of Manchester and John Urpeth Rastrick - whose note-book used at the trials the author of this paper had the good fortune to discover and acquire. This provides us with a colourful picture of the occasion:
"On the day before the trials, the following regulations were issued from the railway office:
- The engines to be ready at ten o'clock on Tuesday morning.
- The running-ground will be on the Manchester side of the Rainhill Bridge.
- The load attached to each engine will be three times the weight of the engine.
- No person, except the Directors and Engineers, will be permitted to enter or cross the railroad.
The first day of the competition was Tuesday, the 6th of October; the place being a level stretch at Rainhill, about nine miles from Liverpool. Four posts were set up: first, the starting post; then, after 1/8th of a mile, a post called No 1, at which Rastrick was stationed; after a mile and a half, No 2, where Wood took up his position; then another 1/8th of a mile to the end, at which the engines stopped, and returned to the start. A grandstand was erected, which contained all the beauty and fashion of the neighbourhood. There was also a great concourse of engineers from all over the country, and a numerous sprinkling of Quakers, whose appearance on a race-course was the subject of much amusement.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 6TH
Particulars of Stephenson's Rocket Locomotive The first runs were made by the 'Rocket' which drew 12 tons 9cwt at the rate of 12 miles an hour, running light at about 18, or, according to another account, 24; and with a load, including passengers, of 13 tons, at 15 miles an hour.
The 'Sans Pareil' made a trip light.
Mr Brandreth's horse-locomotive also showed its paces, 'not in the way of competition, but as exercise. About fifty persons clung round the waggons, giving a gross weight with the machine of about 5 tons, and with this weight the horses (themselves moving scarcely one mile and a quarter an hour) propelled the wagons and load exactly at the rate of five miles an hour.'
The sensation of the day was provided by the 'Novelty', which attained 29 miles an hour without load, and caused great excitement. An eye-witness said, 'It seemed to fly, presenting one of the most sublime spectacles of mechanical ingenuity and human daring the world ever beheld. It actually made one giddy to look at it, and filled the breasts of thousands with lively fears for the safety of the individuals who were on it, and who seemed not to run along the earth, but to fly, as it were, on the wings of the wind'.
During the day there was also a demonstration of a 'manumotive' carriage invented by Winans, which was propelled by two men and carried six passengers. We are informed that it moved 'with no great velocity'..."
"It is difficult to over-estimate the importance of the Rainhill Competition. The fate of the locomotive was hanging by a thread. If the 'Rocket' had broken down, as her rivals did - or, much less than that, if there had been a serious accident: if Huskisson had been killed then, instead of a year later, the locomotive would have been condemned, the stationary engine would have been adopted as a means of propulsion on railways, and the development of the latter would have been smothered, at all events for a considerable time.
The success of the 'Rocket' started the triumphant progress of railways and the steam locomotive, which did more than anything else to establish the prestige of Great Britain in the field of engineering."
The complete text of this paper can be purchased on line from our archive.
See also "George Stephenson - Locomotive Advocate: Background to the Rainhill Trials", by Michael Bailey, a paper from the George Stephenson Commemorative Symposium, published in Transactions Volume 52, 1980/1981. (Also available from our archive of transactions).
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