Locomotion No. 1 (originally named Active) is an early steam locomotive that was built in 1825 by the pioneering railway engineers George and Robert Stephenson at their manufacturing firm, Robert Stephenson and Company. It became the first steam locomotive to haul a passenger-carrying train on a public railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR). Locomotion was ordered by the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company in September 1824; its design benefitted from George Stephenson's experience building his series of Killingworth locomotives. It is believed that Locomotion No. 1 was the first locomotive to make use of coupling rods to link together its driving wheels, reducing the chance of the wheels slipping on the iron rails. However, the centre-flue boiler proved to be a weakness, providing a poorer heating surface than later multi-flue boilers. In September 1825, Locomotion hauled the first train on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first locomotive to haul a passenger train on a public railway. On 1 July 1828, it was heavily damaged when its boiler exploded at Aycliffe Lane station, killing its driver, John Cree. It was rebuilt, but as a consequence of the rapid advances in locomotive design, Locomotion became obsolete within a decade. It was used on the railway until 1850, after which it was converted into a stationary engine. In 1857, as a consequence of its historical importance, Locomotion was preserved and put on display. Between 1892 and 1975, it was on static display at one of the platforms at Darlington Bank Top railway station, and was then on display at the Head of Steam museum based at Darlington North Road railway station between 1975 and 2021. It was then moved to the Locomotion Museum in Shildon. A working replica of Locomotion was built, and following years of operation at Beamish Museum was put on display at the Head of Steam museum.
History
Origins On 23 June 1823, the pioneering locomotive manufacturer Robert Stephenson and Company was established by the railway engineers George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson, and the businessmen Edward Pease and Thomas Richardson. In November of that year, only months after the company started operations, a key order was placed by the Stockton & Darlington Railway Company for four stationary engines. On 16 September 1824, the S&DR ordered a pair of steam locomotives, at a price of £550 (about £47,460 today) each. This order was historically important as the first of these locomotives, Active (later renamed Locomotion No. 1), was the first steam locomotive to haul a passenger train on a public railway.
Design
The design of Locomotion No. 1 combined and built on the improvements that George Stephenson had incorporated in his Killingworth locomotives. Construction was supervised by Timothy Hackworth and James Kennedy. The locomotive weighed 6.5 long tons (7.3 short tons; 6.6 t), with many elements, including the boiler, cylinders, and wheels, made of cast iron on a timber frame. Locomotion used high-pressure (50 psi (340 kPa)) steam generated in a centre-flue boiler and driving a pair of vertical cylinders, 9 inches (230 mm) in diameter, which were half embedded within the boiler. The boiler had a blastpipe in the chimney. The single-flue boiler had a lower heating surface-to-water ratio than later boiler designs. It had four 4-foot (1.2 m) diameter driving wheels and a maximum speed of about 15 mph (24 km/h). A pair of cross-heads above the cylinders transmitted the power through a pair of connecting rods, making use of a loose eccentric valve gear. Locomotion No. 1 is believed to have been the first locomotive to use coupling rods to connect its driving wheels together, an approach that considerably decreased the chance of slipping. Author H. C. Casserley considers that Locomotion No. 1 is most notable for being the first locomotive to haul a passenger train on a public railway, rather than for the innovations in its design.
Operations The completed Locomotion No. 1 was transported by road from Newcastle to Darlington in September 1825. On 26 September, the day before the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the locomotive was taken on a trial run between Shildon and Darlington, with a number of the railway's directors aboard the railway's first passenger coach, known as "Experiment". The driver, who had to perch on a small platform beside the boiler, was James Stephenson, the elder brother of George Stephenson; the fireman, William Gowling, stood on a footplate between the engine and the tender. On 27 September 1825, Locomotion No. 1 hauled the first train on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, driven by George Stephenson. The train consisted of Locomotion, eleven wagons of coal, the carriage "Experiment", and a further 20 wagons of passengers, guests, and workmen. Around 300 tickets had been sold, but about twice as many people were believed to have been aboard. The train, which had an estimated weight of 80 metric tons (79 long tons; 88 short tons) and was 400 feet (121.9 metres) long, reached a maximum speed of 12 mph (19 km/h), and took two hours to complete the first 8.7 miles (14.0 km) of the journey to Darlington, slowed by a derailed wagon and a blocked feed pump valve for an average speed of 8 mph (13 km/h). Locomotion No. 1 continued to haul trains on the S&DR for three years. On 1 July 1828, the locomotive was heavily damaged when the boiler exploded while the train was stopped at Aycliffe Lane station, killing driver John Cree, and wounding water pumper Edward Turnbull. Cree had tied down the arm of a safety valve, which caused the boiler pressure to rise to the point of explosion. Locomotion No. 1 was rebuilt and returned to service and ran until 1850. The engine changed over time; Hackworth changed the wheels from spoked to two piece centre and rims and a Freemantle (parallel) motion replaced the Stephenson's slidebars. On 4 June 1846, it hauled the opening train on the Middlesbrough and Redcar Railway, a subsidiary of the S&DR. Following its withdrawal, Locomotion was purchased by Joseph Pease and Partners and converted into a stationary pumping engine for use at their West Collieries in South Durham, where it was used until 1857.
Heraldry
Locomotion No. 1, due to its significant history, is depicted on the town's coat of arms and on the badge of its football team.
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