| Robert Stephenson | |
 Robert Stephenson |
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Robert Stephenson |
| Nationality | English |
| Birth date | 16 October 1803 |
| Birth place | Willington Quay, Northumberland |
| Date of death | 12 October 1859 |
| Place of death | London |
| Work | |
| Engineering Discipline | civil engineer |
| Institution memberships | Institution of Civil Engineers (president) Fellow of the Royal Society |
| Significant projects | Kilsby Tunnel, High Level Bridge, Britannia Bridge |
Robert Stephenson FRS (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer. Robert Stevenson may refer to Robert Stevenson (basketball coach, first head men's basketball coach at DePaul University Robert Stevenson England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western 1803 ( MDCCCIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Willington Quay is an area in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear in northern England. Northumberland is a county in the North East of England. The non-metropolitan county of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. Year 1859 ( MDCCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. A civil engineer is a person who practices Civil engineering, one of the many engineering professions Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE is an independent Professional association, based in central London, The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 The Kilsby Tunnel is a Railway Tunnel on the West Coast Main Line railway in England. The High Level Bridge is a road and railway Bridge spanning the River Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead in North East Britannia Bridge ( Welsh: Pont Britannia) is a bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western 1803 ( MDCCCIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. Year 1859 ( MDCCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A civil engineer is a person who practices Civil engineering, one of the many engineering professions He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son. George Stephenson ( 9 June 1781 &ndash 12 August 1848) was an English Civil engineer and mechanical engineer A locomotive is a railway Vehicle that provides the motive power for a Train. "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of Engineering.
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Early life
He was born in 1803 at Willington Quay, east of Newcastle Upon Tyne, the only son of George Stephenson and his wife, Fanny. Willington Quay is an area in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear in northern England. Newcastle upon Tyne ( (often shortened to Newcastle) is a city and Metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, England At the time, George and Fanny were living in a single room and George was working as a brakesman on a stationary colliery engine. In 1804 the family moved to a cottage in West Moor when George was made brakesman at Killingworth Colliery. In 1805 Fanny gave birth to a daughter who died after a few weeks. The next year Robert’s mother died of consumption. George then went and worked in Scotland for a short time, leaving the infant Robert with a local woman. However, George soon returned to West Moor, and his sister Nelly came to live at the cottage to look after Robert.
George had received virtually no formal education and he was determined that his son would have the education that he lacked. Because of his great aptitude for engineering, George was promoted in 1812 to be an enginewright, a skilled job with responsibility for the maintenance and repair of the colliery machinery. His wages were therefore much improved. Robert was sent to a primary school in Longbenton, near Killingworth until the age of eleven. He was then sent to Doctor Bruce’s Academy in Percy Street, Newcastle. This was a private institution and Robert would have been studying alongside the children of well-off families. Surprisingly his fellow pupils failed to see any remarkable signs of talent. Whilst at the Academy, Robert became a reading member of the nearby Literary and Philosophical Society.
Father and son studied together in the evenings, improving George’s understanding of science as well as Robert’s. They also built a sundial together, which they placed above the front door of their cottage. The cottage subsequently became known as Dial Cottage. It is preserved today as a monument to them.
Locomotive designer
After his education at the Bruce Academy, an apprenticeship to Nicolas Wood, the manager of Killingworth Colliery, and a period at the University of Edinburgh, Robert went to work with his father on his railway projects, the first being the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The University of Edinburgh (Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann founded in 1582 is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR which opened in 1825 was the world's first permanent Steam locomotive hauled public Railway. In 1823, when he was 20, Robert set up a company in partnership with his father, Michael Longridge and Edward Pease to build railway locomotives. Year 1823 ( MDCCCXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Edward Pease ( 31 May 1767 - 31 July 1858) was an English railway owner The firm, Robert Stephenson and Company, was situated in South Street, off Forth Street in Newcastle. Robert Stephenson and Company was a Locomotive manufacturing company founded in 1823 The works, known as the Forth Street Works, were the first locomotive works in the world, and it was here that the locomotives for the Stockton and Darlington Railway were built. The first locomotives produced there were called Locomotion, Hope, Diligence and Black Diamond. The Forth Street works continued to build locomotives until the mid-twentieth century, and the original factory building still exists, at Forth Street in Newcastle, as the Robert Stephenson Centre. George used Locomotion in 1825 for the opening of the Stockton and Darlington line, which Robert had helped to survey.
In 1824, a year before the Stockton and Darlington line opened, Robert went off to South America for three years, to work as an engineer in the Colombian gold mines. His decision seems unusual, and there have been suggestions that it was caused by a rift with his father, but there is no evidence of this. When he returned in 1827, his father was building the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR was the world's first inter-city passenger Railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance George was living in Liverpool directing proceedings, so Robert took charge at the Forth Street Works and worked on the development of a locomotive to compete in the forthcoming Rainhill Trials, intended to choose a locomotive design to be used on the new railway. The Rainhill Trials were an important competition in the early days of steam locomotive railways run in October of 1829 in Rainhill, Merseyside (between Liverpool The result was the Rocket, which had a multi-tubular boiler to obtain maximum steam pressure from the exhaust gases. Replica Rocket and coachjpg|thumb|right|A replica coach and Rocket at the Rocket 150 event]] Stephenson's Rocket was an early Steam locomotive of 0-2-2 Rocket competed successfully in the Rainhill Trials, none of its competitors completing the trial. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened in 1830 with a procession of eight trains setting out from Liverpool. George led the parade driving the Northumbrian, Robert drove the Phoenix and Joseph Locke drove the Rocket. Following its success, the company built locomotives for other newly-established railways, including the Leicester and Swannington Railway. The Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&S was one of England's first railways being opened on July 17 1832 to bring Coal from pits in west Leicestershire It became necessary to extend the Forth Street Works to accommodate the increased work.
On 17 June 1829, Robert married Frances Sanderson in London. The couple went to live at 5 Greenfield Place, off Westgate Road in Newcastle. Unfortunately they were not married long. In 1842, Robert’s wife, Fanny as she was known, died. They had no children and Robert never re-married.
In 1830 Robert designed Planet, a much more advanced locomotive than Rocket. Stephenson’s company was experiencing stiff competition from other locomotive manufacturers. Up until then, locomotives had their cylinders placed outside the wheels, as this was the easiest arrangement. It was thought that, placing the cylinders inside the wheels was a more efficient arrangement and this was done on Planet. However there was thought to be an increased risk of broken crank axles. There was friction between Robert and his father over this question. The locomotive, when completed, was found to produce much more power than previous designs. It was used on the Camden and Amboy Railway in the USA.
In 1833 Robert was given the post of Chief Engineer for the London and Birmingham Railway, the first main-line railway to enter London, and the initial section of the West Coast Main Line. Year 1833 ( MDCCCXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common This is about the 19th century railway company For the 21st century train operating company see London Midland The London and Birmingham Railway London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The West Coast Main Line (WCML is a busy mixed-traffic railway route in the United Kingdom. That same year Robert and Frances moved to London to live. The new line posed a number of difficult civil engineering challenges, most notably Kilsby Tunnel, and was completed in 1838. The Kilsby Tunnel is a Railway Tunnel on the West Coast Main Line railway in England. Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Stephenson was directly responsible for the tunnel under Primrose Hill, which required excavation by shafts. Primrose Hill is a hill of located on the north side of Regent's Park in North London, England, and also the name for the surrounding district Early locomotives could not manage the climb from Euston Station to Chalk Farm, requiring Stephenson to devise a system that would be draw them up the hill by chains using a steam engine near The Roundhouse. Euston station (official name London Euston) is a major Railway station to the north of central London in the London Borough of Camden Chalk Farm is an area of the Borough of Camden in north London, England. The Roundhouse is an arts venue in London, England. The Roundhouse has hosted notable performers Morrissey, The Stranglers, Sonic Youth This impressive structure remains in use today as an Arts Centre. The London and Birmingham Railway was completed at an enormous cost of £5. 5 million, compared with the cost of £900,000 for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
Bridge builder
Robert constructed a number of well-known bridges to carry the new railway lines. In 1850 the railway from London to Scotland via Newcastle was completed. This required new bridges for both the Tyne and the Tweed and Robert designed them both. He designed the High Level Bridge, at Newcastle upon Tyne as a two-deck bridge supported on tall stone columns. The High Level Bridge is a road and railway Bridge spanning the River Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead in North East Rail traffic was carried on the upper deck and road traffic on the lower deck. Queen Victoria opened the bridge in 1849. Robert also designed the Royal Border Bridge over the Tweed for the same line. It was an imposing viaduct of 28 arches and was opened by Queen Victoria in 1850. At last the railway ran all the way from London to Edinburgh. In the same year Robert’s, Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait, was opened. Britannia Bridge ( Welsh: Pont Britannia) is a bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland The Menai Strait ( Afon Menai, the "River Menai" is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about 14 miles (23 km long which separates the island of Anglesey This bridge had the novel design of wrought-iron box-section tubes to carry railway line inside them, because a tubular design using wrought-iron gave the greatest strength and flexibility. The Conwy railway bridge between Llandudno Junction and Conwy was built in 1848 using a similar design. Conwy railway bridge carries the North Wales coast railway line across the River Conwy between Llandudno Junction and the town of Conwy. Llandudno Junction (Cyffordd Llandudno once known as Tremarl is a small Town in the county borough of Conwy, Wales. Conwy (formerly Conway in English is a Town in Conwy county borough on the north coast of Wales, which faces Deganwy across The Conway and Britannia bridges were such a success that Robert applied the design to other bridges, two in Egypt, and the 6,588 feet long Victoria Bridge over the St Lawrence River at Montreal in Canada. This was built as one long tube made up of 25 sections. Other bridges include, Arnside Viaduct in Cumbria, and a joint road and rail bridge in 1850 over the River Nene, at Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire. Boundaries and divisions Cumbria is neighboured by Northumberland, County Durham, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the Lieutenancy The River Nene is a River in the east of England that rises from three sources in the English County of Northamptonshire. Sutton Bridge is a village and Civil parish in south-eastern Lincolnshire, England on the west bank of the River Nene and close to the border Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England.
One of Stephenson's few failures was his design of the Dee bridge, which collapsed under a train. The Dee bridge disaster was an English Rail accident that occurred on 24 May 1847 with five fatalities The Dee bridge disaster was an English Rail accident that occurred on 24 May 1847 with five fatalities Five people were killed. He was heavily criticized for the design, even before the collapse, particularly for the poor choice of materials, which included cast iron. Cast iron usually refers to grey cast iron, but identifies a large group of Ferrous Alloys which solidify with a Eutectic. In fact, he had used cast iron for bridge designs before, as had Brunel, but in this case it is thought that he used longer girders (98 feet) than used previously and that this may have contributed to the failure. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 &ndash 15 September 1859 (ˈɪzəmbɑrd ˈkɪŋdəm brʊˈnɛl was a British Engineer. Robert had to give evidence at the inquest and this proved to be a harrowing experience. Fellow engineers such as Joseph Locke and Brunel refused to criticise Stephenson, even though they rarely used cast iron themselves. Joseph Locke ( 9 August 1805 - 18 September 1860) was a notable English Civil engineer of the 19th century particularly Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 &ndash 15 September 1859 (ˈɪzəmbɑrd ˈkɪŋdəm brʊˈnɛl was a British Engineer.
Other aspects of his life
He served as Conservative Member of Parliament for Whitby from 1847 until his death. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Whitby was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire. Year 1847 ( MDCCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Paradoxically, given his background, he was a right-wing Tory, hostile to free trade, and anxious to avoid change in almost any form. He was a commissioner of the short-lived London Metropolitan Commission of Sewers from 1848. The Metropolitan Commission of Sewers was one of London 's first steps towards bringing its Sewer and Drainage infrastructure under the control of a single Year 1848 ( MDCCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap He was President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, for two years from 1855. Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE is an independent Professional association, based in central London, Year 1855 ( MDCCCLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year
Robert’s father George died in 1848 aged 67. Robert died on October 12 1859 at his London home aged 55. Brunel had died one month earlier on 15 September 1859. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 &ndash 15 September 1859 (ˈɪzəmbɑrd ˈkɪŋdəm brʊˈnɛl was a British Engineer. Robert was buried in Westminster Abbey next to Thomas Telford. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church Queen Victoria gave special permission for the cortege to pass through Hyde Park and 3,000 tickets were sold to spectators. In his eulogy, he was called ‘the greatest engineer of the present century’. In his will he left nearly £400,000.
Stephenson was well respected by his engineering peers and had a lifetime friendship with Joseph Locke, a rival engineer during his career. Joseph Locke ( 9 August 1805 - 18 September 1860) was a notable English Civil engineer of the 19th century particularly In fact, Locke was a pallbearer at his funeral. Another such friendship was with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who often helped Stephenson on various projects. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 &ndash 15 September 1859 (ˈɪzəmbɑrd ˈkɪŋdəm brʊˈnɛl was a British Engineer. One major topic, on which the two were very much opposed, was Brunel’s advocacy of ‘atmospheric’ railways; trains without a locomotive, driven by a piston sliding inside an evacuated pipe mounted between the rails. The pipe was kept evacuated by stationary steam-driven pumps at intervals along the railway. Stephenson was convinced that the idea would not work, and although it was tried out on a small scale in a few places, Stephenson was right.
The Stephenson Railway Museum in North Shields is named after George and Robert Stephenson. The Stephenson Railway Museum is managed by Tyne and Wear Museums on behalf on North Tyneside Council, and is located at Middle Engine Lane in North Shields North Shields (or locally just Shields) is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North
In fiction
Stephenson appears as a character in the anime film Steamboy, in that world having apparently lived until 1866. (anime in Japanese, is a 2004 Japanese animated film produced by Sunrise, and directed and co-written by Katsuhiro Otomo, his second major anime release following Parallel universe or alternative reality is a self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own In the English dub of the film his character also speaks with a rather posh stereotypical English accent and not the northern tones Stephenson used.
In popular culture
- Irish band 'The Revs' wrote a song referencing Robert Stephenson - 'Robert'.
References
Further reading
- Rolt, L. T. C. (1960) George and Robert Stephenson: The Railway Revolution, London: Penguin, ISBN 0-14-007646-8
- Robbins, Michael (1981) George and Robert Stephenson, London: Her majesty’s Stationery Office, ISBN 0-11-290342-8
- Haworth, Victoria (2004) Robert Stephenson: Engineer and Scientist, Newcastle-upon-Tyne: The Rocket Press, ISBN 0-9535-1621-0
- Smith, Ken (2003) Stephenson Power: The Story of George and Robert Stephenson, Newcastle upon Tyne: Tyne Bridge Publishing, ISBN 1857951867
- Dugan, Sally (2003) Men of Iron, London: Channel Four Books, ISBN 1-4050-3426-2
External links
- Portuguese written article about Robert Stephenson
- The Robert Stephenson Trust
- The Robert Stephenson Centre (with pictures)
- Robert Stephenson information at Structurae
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