Robert Stephenson and Company

Ground

May 23, 1822 in Stockton ( England ) the construction of the Stockton - Darlington Railway was begun. Initially, it was planned to use horse-drawn traction , but the then-famous steam locomotive George Stephenson convinces a number of the founders of the road (the first was Edward Pease ) in the rationality of using locomotives. Therefore, in 1823, a parliamentary act was issued appointing Stephenson the chief engineer of construction, but more importantly, a decision was officially made to transport goods and passengers by steam. However, it was obvious that ordinary railway workshops for the mass construction of steam locomotives were simply not suitable, which led George Stephenson to the decision to create the first locomotive plant in history.

Edward Pease and Thomas Richardson contribute 500 francs for the construction of the plant, and George Stephenson 1000 francs each (a prize for the invention of a safe mine lamp). With this money, in August 1823, on the outskirts of Newcastle on Fort Street, a plot was purchased on which the construction of a stone building began. Supervised the construction of James Kennedy. Michael Longridge, the owner of the also helped build the plant (the plant supplied rails for the Stockton – Darlington Road).

First locomotives

In 1824, the plant received its first order for the construction of the first three steam locomotives for the road. Since the 42-year-old George Stephenson was busy building the road, he had no time to deal with the plant. Therefore, he entrusts the management of the new enterprise to his 20-year-old son, Robert , who has just graduated from the University of Edinburgh . Robert Stephenson begins hiring workers, orders the necessary equipment, and finally sets up production. The construction of steam locomotives was carried out according to the projects of George Stephenson, and the already mentioned James Kennedy took an active part in the production. The first-born of the plant was the “Active” steam engine ( Eng. Active ), later renamed the “ Locomotion ”. The plant also builds steam locomotives “Hope”, “Diligence” and “Black Diamond”. On September 27, 1825, the Locomotion steam engine opened traffic on the Stockton-Darlington Railway.

In 1826, the Experiment was built at the plant, the world's first steam locomotive with three moving axles (type 0-3-0 ), which made it possible to make the locomotive more powerful than the previous ones.

Reinhill Competition

Shortly after the opening of the Stoncton - Darlington Road, Robert Stephenson went to Columbia , where he was developing silver copies. However, in 1827 his father called him back to England. By that time, the construction of the future Liverpool - Manchester Railway was in full swing, which occupied all the attention of George Stephenson. As a result, the steam locomotive plant almost fell into decay and no longer made a profit. During the absence of Robert, the plant produced only three steam locomotives for the Stockton - Darlington Railway, several steam locomotives for the construction of the Liverpool - Manchester road, and a few copies for other customers. Edward Pease was also not interested in further work with the enterprise and invited Stephenson to buy back his share. However, he refuses due to lack of the required amount. Returning in 1828, Robert begins to practically revive the plant again. New equipment is ordered, professional workers are hired, and the design of locomotives under construction is also changing. Two steam locomotives are being built for the first railway in France - Saint-Etienne - Lyon (the movement opened in 1832 ), on which the first attempt is made to use a water-tube steam boiler (as it turns out later, unsuccessful). An America steam engine is also being built for the first public railroad in the United States , Baltimore and Ohio , which began its first scheduled flights to the American continent (although it was not the first American steam locomotive).

Meanwhile, in 1829, preparations were underway for future Reinhill competitions , during which participants were required to create locomotives of a fundamentally new design. First of all, a significant increase in vaporization in the boiler , that is, its productivity, was required. The locomotive boilers used copied the boilers of the station installations and were no longer suitable for locomotives. Attempts to use a long flame tube , as previously on the Lancashire witch steam locomotive, showed the incorrectness of this solution, since the steam locomotive turned out to be excessively heavy and fit poorly into the curves . The idea of ​​using a water tube boiler (see above) was also abandoned. Then Henry Boots, secretary of the Liverpool-Manchester company, offers his father and son Stephensons the idea of ​​using a fire-tube boiler on a steam locomotive, which was put forward by Richard Trevitick in 1815. Under the guidance of Robert Stephenson, experiments with boilers begin at the plant, and by October 1, 1829, the Rocket steam engine was introduced at the Reinhill “steam jumps” from the factory, which won the match brilliantly and became the most famous steam locomotive. Later, in 1929 , in honor of the 100th anniversary of the event, an exact copy of the steam locomotive will be built at the Stephenson plant. On September 15, 1830, the Northumbrian steam locomotive built at the Stephenon plant in a ceremonial setting opened traffic on the Liverpool - Manchester Railway - the world's first railway.

Further Development

In 1836, the plant built several steam locomotives for the Russian Empire . On October 30 (November 11), 1837, one of them, the Provorny steam locomotive, opened traffic on the Tsarskoye Selo Railway - the first Russian public railway. Later, the plant supplied steam locomotives for the first Russian railway - the Warsaw-Vienna Railway .

Twentieth Century

Despite much competition, the company continued to produce locomotives, including for export. By 1899, she had already released about three thousand locomotives. Robert Stephenson and Company Limited is established , and production is transferred to Darlington. The first locomotive in the new workshops was built in 1902 . For export, the company mainly built locomotives of type 2-2-0 for the American railways and types 1-3-0 and 1-4-0 for the Indian . In 1905, steam locomotives of the type 1-5-0 were built for the Argentine Great Western Railway - for the first time in English enterprises.

During the First World War, the company's factories produced mostly ammunition. However, from 1917 to 1920, a large batch of locomotives was released for the British War Department with a view to using them in continental Europe. In the post-war period, the production of locomotives for various reasons decreased significantly.

Mergers and Closures

In 1937, the company merged with the locomotive and shipbuilding company Hawthorn Leslie and Company , which was located in Tyneside . The single enterprise became known as Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns . Shipbuilding was still conducted at Tyneside, and locomotive construction at Darlington. In 1938, the corporation bought the companies Kitson and Company and Manning Wardle .

In World War II, factories produce tank locomotives of types 0-2-0 and 0-3-0 . In 1943, a batch of Austerity 0-6-0ST steam locomotives was launched. In the same year, the Vulcan Foundry plant was acquired (the plant was founded in 1830 under the direction of Robert Stephenson and supplied the rails for the Liverpool-Manchester railway ), at the capacities of which the production of Liberation Class type 1-4-0 locomotives began in 1945 . The main products at that time were exported through Lend-Lease , but a certain amount was also supplied to the British Railways.

The last steam locomotives for the company were tank-type locomotives of the 0-3-0 type, released in 1958 , and 6 fuelless steam locomotives , launched in 1959 . In 1960, the company was closed. The restored buildings are preserved to the present.

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  Locomotion No. 1 ("Motion")

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  " Lancashire Sorcerer "

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  " Rocket "

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  Planet (replica)

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  ( Invicta )

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  John Bull

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  " Agile "

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  Steam locomotive with extended boiler

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  Austerity 0-6-0ST

• Zabarinsky P. Stephenson (series “The Life of Wonderful People”) . - Moscow: Journal and Newspaper Association, 1937.