George Stephenson: The Father of Railroads. Stephenson George: biography, career, personal life The value of Stephenson's first railroad

The railroad, which self-taught inventor George Stephenson had been building all his life, eventually punched holes in the border walls separating states, and capital, technology, means of production, and labor poured through them.

Scientist Coal Miner

He was born on June 9, 1781 in the north-east of England in the family of a miner. He worked from the age of 8 - first as a shepherd on a farm, and then as a laborer at a mine, helping his father and older brother to feed an ever-growing family. As was customary in the mining environment, he did not go to school for a day, since the miners did not need scholarship.

However, he had other plans for his future. At 18, he taught himself to read and write. Having received the position of a steam engine stoker, take arithmetic lessons from one of the mine mechanics. And at the age of 21, having mastered the principle of operation of a machine that pumped water out of a mine, pumped air underground and dragged buckets of coal to the surface, he himself became a mechanic. That is, a highly qualified specialist who had more privileges and received a higher salary. There was also more free time now, and George Stephenson devoted all this time to technical self-education. He wanted to create steam engines himself for a wide variety of industrial needs.

In 1812, Stephenson got a job at Killingworth Mine as a senior engineer with a very respectable salary of 100 pounds a year. By this time, he had already become adept in both mathematics and kinematics, he was well versed in the principle of operation of a heat engine, and, of course, he knew how to read and make drawings. His first significant invention was an explosion-proof miner's lamp, dubbed "Geordie's Lamp". Moreover, he created it without knowing chemistry at all, relying only on intuition and very dangerous experiments. Stevenson, at his own peril and risk, descended to the bottom of the mine, collected the explosive gas coming out of the cracks into the vessels, and then arranged microexplosions in the laboratory, trying to cut off the flash inside the lamp from the atmosphere outside it.

iron Horse

But his main business was, of course, the creation of a locomotive engine based on Watt's steam engine. Contrary to popular belief, Stephenson did not invent the steam locomotive. And he was not the first to make a working model of a steam locomotive. Such models, which had more theoretical than practical meaning, appeared in the Old World as early as the beginning of the 18th century.

A qualitative leap occurred after the creation by Watt of an efficient steam engine, developed not intuitively, but on the basis of the theory of heat engines. The Scotsman Richard Trevithick achieved the greatest success in the "pre-Stephensian" locomotive building. He not only built an excellent steam locomotive that reached speeds of up to 7 km / h, but was also the first to use metal rails. However, his offspring did not receive practical application. Trevithick built a circular road in London with a radius of 50 meters and drove the car in a circle, attracting onlookers. Soon the cast-iron rails collapsed, and that was it.

Trevithick had many followers in England in the early years of the 19th century. But all their cars remained unclaimed.

Stephenson built his first steam locomotive, called the Blucher, in 1814. This machine was by no means superior in performance to Trevithick's locomotive. The speed was low. The locomotive rattled terribly, because it did not use connecting rods as a transmission, but gears. However, the draft force was quite decent - 30 tons. And this is the main thing, because it made it possible to use the car in the mine for transporting coal trolleys.

Within five years, Stephenson, constantly improving the design and operational parameters of the "iron horses", built 16 steam locomotives. The latest samples were so successful that they were used in coal mines until the beginning of the 20th century, transporting 100-ton trains with coal. In parallel, Stephenson worked on improving the track lines, achieving their reliability, trouble-free operation and increasing their service life. It was Stephenson who introduced the system of embankments still in use today, on which rails with sleepers are laid.

Locomotive number one

In 1820, the owners of the Getton mines instructed Stephenson to implement a grandiose project for those times: to build a railway between the mines and the pier on the River Wear, 13 km long. Moreover, the road was supposed to pass through terrain with a complex hilly terrain and cross not only small rivers, but also wetlands.

"Construction of the century" under the direction of Stephenson lasted 3 years. When the road was put into operation, skeptics in the industrial circles of England (and they were in the majority) quickly became convinced of the economic efficiency of the new mode of transport. And Stephenson ordered the road Stockton - Darlington with a length of 40 km. Initially, this road was intended to transport coal, but the inventor was able to convince the customer to introduce passenger transportation on the lines.

The work was completed in 1825. And on September 27, a historic event took place - the opening of the world's first public railway. The first flight was made by the designer himself, who drove the Locomotion No 1 steam locomotive specially designed for this route. The average speed was 15 km / h, and in some sections the train accelerated to 39 km / h.

By that time, George Stephenson was already an entrepreneur - in 1823, together with his grown-up son Robert, also a talented designer, he opened the world's first steam locomotive plant in Newcastle. It was there that Locomotion No 1 was launched into the series. The roles of father and son in this enterprise were distributed as follows: the father was the general designer and president of the company, and the son was the manager, CEO. 20-year-old Robert showed his best side, recruiting skilled workers, looking for the necessary equipment, establishing production based on modern technologies, establishing relationships with suppliers of raw materials. He dealt with both financial and legal issues.

The work was completed in 1825. And on September 27, a historic event took place - the opening of the world's first public railway. The first voyage was made by the designer himself, who operated the Locomotion No 1 steam locomotive specially designed for this route.

The enterprise brought a solid profit, the lion's share of which, obsessed with the idea of \u200b\u200bweaving the whole country with a network of high-speed railways, Stephenson directed to the development of new models of steam locomotives and research in the field of track facilities and traffic safety.

Rocket launch

Stephenson's company chose revolutionary projects for itself. Such was the construction of the railway line between Manchester and Liverpool, 56 km long. This is the first road on which trains ran strictly on schedule.

Stephenson, who managed a powerful group of prospectors and designers, did a gigantic job. Construction, which lasted 5 years, required a huge investment for those times in the amount of 400 thousand pounds, for the collection of which a joint-stock company was founded. The economic effect of the commissioning of the new road in 1830 was amazing. In the first three months, 71,950 passengers, 2,630 tons of coal, 1,432 tons of other cargo were transported on it and a net income of 14,432 pounds was received.

Stephenson solved the problem in a comprehensive manner, paying equal attention to the design of steam locomotives serving the line, rolling stock and engineering structures, and the development of an alarm system, and the creation of maintenance and repair services. On a relatively small, by modern standards, route, 64 bridges and viaducts were built, a tunnel 2.5 km long was pierced. The olive mount cut in the rock is also impressive, with a depth of 25 meters and a length of almost 3 km. During its laying, 360 thousand cubic meters of stone were removed.

He solved the problem in a comprehensive manner, paying equal attention to the design of steam locomotives serving the line, rolling stock and engineering structures, and the development of an alarm system, and the creation of maintenance and repair services.

By that time in England, Stephenson already had competitors who had mastered the production of steam locomotives. And since the project was given the status of a national one, a competition was organized among the manufacturers. And in October 1829, the “race of locomotives” that went down in world history took place.

Four models were approved for testing: Stephenson's Rocket, John Eriksson's Novelty, Timothy Burstol's Perseverance, and Timothy Hackworth's Incomparable. The commission formulated a number of criteria by which competing steam locomotives were compared, and determined the lower limits of the parameters that needed to be surpassed.

The tests continued for a whole week - to the stormy delight of the public. Engines were driven back and forth on a mile and a half stretch of road. "Rocket" showed not only a record speed - 50 km / h, but also the maximum draft force. The Stephenson steam locomotive surpassed the competitors' machines in such an important parameter as reliability: the mechanics continuously repaired various mechanisms of the "New", "Persistence" and "Incomparable", while the "Rocket" was always ready to start.

High tech

Stephenson was considered the undisputed authority in the field of railway transport, not only in England, but throughout the world. He was entrusted with the construction of railways in Belgium and Spain, where he was received by the kings, and the parliamentarians held sumptuous dinners in honor of the miner's son. Created by Stephenson in London, the design office was the world's largest scientific and technical center for railway construction. Stephenson owned several mines, shares of a number of large enterprises.

Along with entrepreneurship, Stephenson was also actively involved in engineering science. In 1838 he was elected Vice-President of the Mechanics Section by the British Science Association. And in 1847 he became the first president of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers IMechE. Stephenson willingly attended meetings of scientific and engineering societies of British universities.

On July 26, 1848, he made his last report at a meeting of the Birmingham Mechanical Institute. And two weeks later he was gone.

George Stephenson created an entire industry - the railroad. Without this industry there would be no industrial revolution, there would be no modern information world. Grateful descendants erected many monuments to him. His bust stands in the hall of fame of Westminster Abbey - next to the bust of Shakespeare.

Biography

Carier start

George Stephenson was born in Wheelham. Wylam, Northumberland County), 15 kilometers from Newcastle upon Tyne (Eng. Newcastle upon Tyne) in a miner's family.

From the age of 8 he worked for hire. All of Stephenson's childhood was spent on a several-mile-long wooden track built from Wheelham to the River Tyne. It was used to transport coal from the mine on horse-drawn trolleys and was in fact the progenitor of modern railways. At the age of 18, he learned to read and write and, through persistent self-education, acquired the specialty of a mechanic for steam engines. In the year Stephenson got a job as a coal mine engineer. For the next ten years he was engaged in the study of steam engines. In the year he stopped only servicing steam engines and began to independently design them. At the age of 31, he was appointed chief mechanic of the coal mines. Here Stephenson developed a miner's lamp of an original design, called the Geordie's Lamp. (It was invented almost simultaneously with the Davy Lamp, proposed by the English scientist Humphrey Davy. It is still not known which of the designs was the first.)

Steam locomotive design

Steam locomotive "Blucher", 1814

Stephenson's steam locomotive built for the Ghetton mines in 1822 and operated until 1903.

Steam locomotive "Locomotion".

To facilitate the removal of coal to the surface, he first built a steam engine that pulled trolleys with a rope. And in the same year, Stephenson designed his first locomotive, designed to tow trolleys with coal for a mine railroad. It was the world's first successful experience in building a locomotive that uses the friction force between smooth flanged wheels and smooth metal rails to create traction. He could lead a train with a total weight of up to 30 tons. The car was named "Blucher"(German Blucher) in honor of the Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher (German. Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher ), who became famous for his victory in the battle with Napoleon at Waterloo.

Since then, the construction of steam locomotives has become the main business of his life. Over the next five years, Stephenson built 16 more machines.

Stephenson's expertise was recognized, and in the year he was hired to design and build a 13-kilometer (8-mile) rail line from the Hatton Colliery. Hetton) to Sunderland Sunderland). It used combined traction: in one direction (down), the train moved under the influence of gravitational forces, and in the opposite direction (up) it was pulled with the help of a steam locomotive. This road was the first on which it was possible to completely abandon the muscular strength of animals in favor of mechanical traction.

Stephenson's student Joseph Locke Joseph Locke) became the chief engineer of many railways in England, including Grand Junction Railway-GJR; later a Member of Parliament.

Built in 1825 Stephenson steam locomotive "Locomotion No. 1" has survived to this day. It was used for its intended purpose until 1857 and is now on display at the Darlington Railway Museum.
In the year, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the steam locomotive "Rocket", a working copy was built in England. It differs slightly from the original with a shortened chimney. This is due to the fact that over the past century and a half, the height of the embankment at Rainhill (eng. rainhill) increased markedly, leaving less clearance under the bridge.
The portrait of George Stephenson was featured on the £5 series E banknotes of the British Bank of England. These banknotes were in circulation from June 7 to November 21 of the year.

Literature

Zabarinsky P. Stephenson. (From the series "The Life of Remarkable People") - M: Journal and Newspaper Association, 1937. - p. 366.
Virginsky V.S. Stephenson George. 1781–1848 - M: Science, 1964. - p. 214.
Abramov Ya. George Stephenson and Robert Fulton, their life and scientific and practical activities // Gutenberg. Watt. Stephenson. Fulton. Daguerre Nieps. Edison. Morse. Biographical stories. (From the series "Life of Remarkable People. Biographical Library of Florenty Pavlenkov") - Chelyabinsk: Ural, 1996. - p. 438 - ISBN 5-88294-066-4

Notes

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

George Tabori
George Tenet

See what "George Stephenson" is in other dictionaries:

Stephenson, George- George Stephenson George Stephenson ... Wikipedia

Stephenson George- Stephenson, Stevenson (Stephenson) George (9.6.1781, Wylem, Northumberland, ‒ 12.8.1848, Tapton House, Chesterfield), English designer and inventor, who laid the foundation for the development of steam railway. e. transport. Born in the family of a miner, from the age of 8 ... ...

Stephenson, Robert- Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson D ... Wikipedia

Stephenson- Stevenson (Stephenson) George (06/09/1781, Wylem, Northumberland, 08/12/1848, Tapton House, Chesterfield), English designer and inventor who initiated the development of the steam train. e. transport. Born into a miner's family, from the age of 8 he worked on ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Stephenson- surname. Famous carriers: Stephenson, George (1781 1848) a famous English engineer and designer who made a major contribution to the development of steam locomotive construction. Stephenson, Robert (1803-1859) English civil engineer, son of George Stephenson. See also ... ... Wikipedia

Stephenson George- Stephenson (Stevenson) (Stephenson) George (1781 1848) inventor who laid the foundation for steam rail transport. From 1814 he built steam locomotives, created the first practically suitable samples, including the Rocket (1829). Built the first railroad... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Stephenson, George- Stephenson (Stevenson) (Stephenson) George (1781 1848), English inventor who laid the foundation for steam rail transport. From 1814 he built steam locomotives, created the first practically suitable samples: Movement (1825) for the railway ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

How you can get into a shootout while building a railroad, which "Rocket" turned out to be the best in the 19th century, and what else besides the steam locomotive George Stephenson invented, the site tells in the "History of Science" section.

“In our age, when so many helpless people have divorced who, despite their education, can provide for their existence solely with the help of "place" and "salary", the biography of a person who owes solely to his own hard work is especially instructive, - speaks of George Stephenson in the old edition of ZhZL, published in 1893, 45 years after the death of the engineer.

In the biographies of our hero, it is often written that he is a good example of how much can be achieved despite the conditions and circumstances. In general, this is true, although all his inventions were related to what he had dealt with from birth.

The house where Stephenson grew up

E Hodgson/Wikimedia Commons

The fact is that Stephenson was born in the family of a miner who lived in a small village near Newcastle, the center of British industry. His factories needed coal, and the family of our hero, his village, like dozens of the same, lived by working in the mines. Moreover, the father of the future inventor worked not only with his hands, but also with his head: he serviced the pump that pumped water out of the mine.

The family lived in poverty, and already at the age of eight, George had to start earning money, looking after the cattle. Of course, in such conditions, there was no question of school, but the boy was not particularly upset: simple duties left him enough time to explore the world around him, make mill wheels, wagons and small models of machines that were used in mines. Neighbors were going to look at his toy mechanisms, made from improvised materials and at the same time acting.

A few years later, Stephenson realized that the work in the field, to which he was transferred when he grew up a little, was not his, and tried to get into the mines. Our hero succeeded in this, he worked as a coal sorter, a horse driver, an assistant fireman ... With each change of place, he approached his dream - to work with machines. By the time it came true, George was only 15 years old, but he already understood the mechanism of machines as well as his father. He knew that they were imperfect, but he could not figure out the drawings to show the engineer what could be improved, and this prompted the future inventor to take up self-education. He also found himself a teacher who helped him master literacy and arithmetic.

Stephenson gained experience, received promotions that gave him more money and some free time, got married, but did not leave his studies. Like many engineers, especially self-taught ones, he thought about the problem of perpetual motion, even assembled one, which, of course, did not work. But the wall clock worked, which Stephenson managed to fix, which earned him fame among the neighbors. Life was getting better, the Stephensons lived relatively well, they had a son. But in 1806, the inventor's wife died, and he had to take care of his son (he, it must be said, did not disappoint his father and followed in his footsteps, becoming a famous engineer).

Stephenson's first significant invention was the safety lamp for mines, which could replace those lamps and candles that sometimes caused explosions in mines that claimed the lives of miners. The principle of operation of this lamp, in which the flame was closed from the environment (gases accumulating in coal mines) with a wire mesh, was proposed almost simultaneously with Stephenson by the famous English chemist. Thanks to the fame of the latter, the invention was called the “Davy lamp” (although its primacy is disputed, the German chemist Theodor Grotguss shared his ideas of a safe lamp with Davy).

Mining lamps by Humphrey Davy (left) and Stephenson (right)

Samuel Smiles/Wikimedia Commons

In the strict sense of the word, Stephenson was neither the inventor of the railway nor the creator of the first steam locomotive. Since childhood, George had seen wooden tracks along which horses pulled charcoal carts. Many ports had wooden or iron tracks, and attempts to replace horses with a steam engine were made even before our hero took up this problem. Engineers, however, faced a lot of problems, among which was the belief that there would be little adhesion between smooth rails and smooth wheels to carry any significant load, and both surfaces had to be made geared. This opinion was also shared by the owner of the mines where Stephenson spent his childhood. Being already a well-known practical engineer, he returned to his native places to look at the car and immediately advised to make the wheels and rails even. The owner of the mines listened to him and things went better.

So our hero took up what glorified him most of all - the production and improvement of steam locomotives. He proposed to straighten the railway tracks as much as possible, making cuts and embankments, placing wooden sleepers under the rails, which reduced shocks and vibrations that harmed the mechanisms. Although his first steam locomotive was assembled in 1815, it was not until seven years later that the owners of the mines became interested in the invention. The work on the railway line, in the success of which many did not believe, ended in Stephenson's triumph: his steam locomotives traveled, and even relatively quickly, carrying coal in trailers and members of the commission that accepted the work.

This was followed by cooperation with Edward Peace, who was going to build a railway line and invited Stephenson as chief engineer. Despite the opposition of the authorities and local landowners who did not trust the "damned car", they carried out their project (this line, Stockton - Darlington, was the first to carry passengers), and then together they founded a factory for the production of steam locomotives, which allowed them to be produced in greater quantity and better quality.

Opening of the Stockton-Darlington railway line, 1825

The next project, the Manchester-Liverpool road, could have cost Stephenson his life. And this is not about an accident, but about the opposition of land owners. Fearing a decrease in the price of their land, they in every possible way prevented the construction of the road, threatened the engineers. There were also shootings. Colleagues also caused problems for the inventor: either they did not trust him, or they envied him, they tried in every possible way to interfere with the case. Defending his case, Stephenson also acted as a speaker, proving to members of parliament that his plans were feasible.

Shortly before the opening of the line, in October 1829, it was time to decide on the previously postponed question of the method of transportation: should it be horses or steam locomotives. Stephenson, insisting on the latter, offered to announce a competition for the best locomotive design, which was supposed to attract other inventors. It was necessary to determine the winner in practice. Thus took place what is now known as the Rainhill Trials. Locomotives were subject to high requirements, which were not met by any of the previously assembled locomotives. As a result, five models were prepared for testing, and among them was Stephenson's Rocket locomotive. It turned out to be the only steam locomotive that passed all the tasks of the competition without breakdowns. After this test, there was no longer any doubt that steam locomotives would run between Manchester and Liverpool.

Stephenson's famous Rocket, Science Museum, London

William M. Connolly/Wikimedia Commons

After that, Stephenson began to be invited to other countries, to Belgium and Spain, to design railway lines. There the kings met the miner's son, he gave instructions to the engineers. Returning to England, the elderly inventor left the business and retired.

“He had a rare lot not only to see the accomplishment of the work to which he gave his life, but also to receive during his lifetime the appreciation he deserved. England was proud of Stephenson, where until recently they looked at him as a madman; his name was pronounced with respect wherever the railroads penetrated, spreading unusually quickly throughout the globe.

Railways not only solved the purely technological problem of overland movement of huge masses of goods and people and opened wide the gates to economic development, but also caused a real upheaval in the minds of millions of people in all countries wherever they appeared. And the one who is called the "father of the railway" deserved both a monument during his lifetime, and his portrait on banknotes, and - our grateful memory.

George Stephenson was born in a small, impoverished mining village near Newcastle. It is not enough to say that he, forced to work from early childhood, was not educated - he only learned to read / write at the age of 18. The limit of his ambitious dreams was the position of an overseer of a steam pump pumping groundwater from a mine. And already at seventeen, a smart boy realized his dream - he got up "at the car"!

It turned out that George was an inventor - there is such a rare breed of people. He tried all the time to improve his car, but the drawings requested from the engineer remained completely incomprehensible to him. And he understood that he had to study, study at all costs, no matter how hard it was. After every twelve or fourteen hour shift, he would go to the neighboring village, where the schoolmaster had turned up. Winter passed - and he could no longer give his unusual student anything else. Now, knowing how to read and write and having familiarized himself with the rudiments of arithmetic, the young literate man could go further by self-education.

But the books he needs cost money, and George began to earn extra money as a shoemaker. And then one day they brought him such tiny shoes for repair that the master could not stand it and went himself to give his work. The young "Cinderella" turned out to be a lovely girl, a worker from a neighboring farm. So they met and got married there. They turned out to be a wonderful couple, and soon they had a son, Robert. But a few years later, Fanny, his girlfriend and true guardian angel, suddenly and suddenly died. George's grief knew no bounds, he plunged into a deep depression and for the first time abandoned all his affairs ...

The mine authorities noticed the technical "vein" of the working guy and they began to assign him to a variety of mechanisms - soon George did not need to call an engineer to repair, assemble and disassemble machines. He had already tried to give advice to engineers on how best to equip the mechanisms - they did not listen to him, he was arrogantly treated, until it turned out that the unknown "hard worker" was always right. The fame of a talented mechanic spread more and more widely, and the owners of mines from all over the district began to turn to him - to establish, repair, and give advice. George could no longer think about his daily bread.

Fate sent Stephenson a teacher and comrade for self-education in the form of a neighboring farmer, John Wiggum, who happened to be a man familiar with physics, chemistry and some branches of mathematics. Friends spent all their free time together, making physical and chemical experiments, working on solving mathematical problems and building models of different machines. Both absolute teetotalers, avoiding all noisy meetings and amusements, Stephenson and Wiggum inspired deep respect for the miners around them, who were especially impressed by various kinds of experiments carried out by friends sometimes in the presence of the public.

Robert grew up, and George decided to give him the best education in the area - he bought him a donkey and he began to go to school in Newcastle every day. And then they both discussed everything their son had learned that day at school. So George received that systematic education, which he had been deprived of in his youth. There was not and could not be any kind of "generational conflict" - Robert was strongly impressed by his father's passion for knowledge, his industriousness and zeal for learning. In turn, George, noticing a penchant for mechanics in his son, taught him the basics of this science himself. Later, Robert, having already become a famous engineer, said that he had acquired much more information on mechanics from his father than at the engineering school, which he entered after graduating from the Newcastle school.

And then the case led Stephenson to his first "real" invention. Methane caught fire in the mine, the workers were in a panic - if it exploded underground, no one would have survived. George rushed down and ordered not to run upstairs, but to block the entrance to the burning drift with stones - devoid of air, the fire went out. Some time after that incident, Stephenson brought into the gassed mine a lamp of his own making, the flame of which was isolated from the surrounding air. No one followed him into the deadly drift. When he entered there with a lighted lamp, the flame in it suddenly flared brightly - and then continued to burn evenly and calmly ...

But the main work of his life was waiting for him ahead - Stephenson took up the movement of goods on rails. Rails were already in many mines, wooden, and even cast iron, horse carts were driven along them. But there was already a steam engine, although attempts to adapt it to a locomotive constantly failed. And Stephenson solved this problem! His first locomotive was heavy and clumsy, moved slowly, worked inefficiently, but it was better than anything that came before him. The second locomotive already had a pipe - Stephenson let the exhaust steam into it, which significantly improved the draft in the furnace and the power of the machine. After that, Stephenson turned to the rail track. He realized that the rails should lie in the most horizontal plane, which involved digging hills and arranging tunnels, that they should be made of iron and rest on wooden “pillows” - sleepers.

For seven years there were no hunters to build a "real" railway based on Stephenson's ideas. The attitude of scientific engineers towards him was arrogant and contemptuous - well, what can some provincial "fireman" offer?! But there were entrepreneurs who chipped in capital and ordered this "worker" his railway from their coal mines to the sea with a length of 12 kilometers. Stephenson's triumph was great when the work was completed and the first train moved along the new track. People gathered from everywhere to open the road, and with the shouts of this huge crowd, which stood on both sides of the path for its entire length, Stephenson drove on his locomotive, dragging 17 loaded wagons and doing 6 kilometers per hour.

And then a man appeared in George's life who began to stubbornly and methodically make his way through his business and with whom they later "ate a pound of salt" - an entrepreneur, a Protestant from one of the "extreme" sects, a man of high moral qualities Edward Pease. He suggested to Stephenson that a railroad be built between the two cities of Stockton and Darlington. Relations between these people immediately became close, friendly, George became “his” person in the Pease family, where everyone loved him, from the head of the family to young children. Sociable and affable, possessing a peculiar sense of humor, Stephenson gave his company pleasure to both old Pease, with whom he liked to talk about various technical and economic issues, and to the female members of the family, to whom Stephenson communicated various household recipes, and to children, to whom he arranged mechanical toys.

In conversations with Pease, he especially often spoke of the need for a special factory for the production of locomotives, in which it would be possible to constantly improve the design of these devices and manufacture them with the greatest perfection. As a result of these conversations, a company arose, which included Pease and Stephenson: the first - giving capital, and the second - their knowledge. A large locomotive factory manufactured steam locomotives, first under the direction of Stephenson, and then under the direction of his son Robert, who from then on became a participant in all his father's undertakings.

The Stockton-Darlington line exceeded the boldest expectations of the partners both in terms of the mass of transported goods and in terms of commercial success. For the first time in the world, passenger cars were also allowed to run on this line, since the surrounding people stopped being afraid of the “fiery car” and gladly traveled along it on their own business “with the breeze”. Settlements along the railroad also flourished, some turned into entire cities.

But these were still "local matters". The real turning point came when Stephenson and Pease undertook to link Manchester and Liverpool by rail. And then everything that was inert in English society revolted against them - the prospectors were met with a drecolle, and even with guns, the parliamentarians, who had to get a building permit, looked at the project as the fruit of a sick fantasy of a madman: “If Stephenson does not holds his imagination, then all prudent people will look at him as a madman who should be put in a madhouse", "The action of these engines depends on the weather: a gust of wind strong enough to prevent navigation on the river will completely prevent the movement of the steam machine by either extinguishing the fire or intensifying it to such an extent that an explosion occurs.

The speed of the locomotive was also frightening, because people have not yet had to deal with such speeds, it's no joke - 60 kilometers per hour! There were rumors about the impossibility for the human body to withstand such a rapid movement. People refused to believe in the possibility of going so fast until they were convinced of this with their own eyes, and the most courageous - from their own experience.

The shareholders of the company, organized by Pease, also did not believe much in the power of steam, they assumed that the horses familiar to them would pull the cars along the rails. And Stephenson arranged a competition - five inventors brought their locomotives to it. And Stephenson's "Rocket" beat everyone! After these tests, no one had any doubts - of course, a steam locomotive.

Stephenson concentrated on the building such a multitude of workers as England had never seen in one place before. Here everything was new, unexplored - some bridges had to be built 64, and in addition, a tunnel had to be cut in one place. Stephenson had to develop all the details of his projects. He managed the work, not only giving orders, but also observing their execution in every detail. After spending the whole day at work, he spent the evenings, and often most of the night, drawing up drawings, for correspondence, for the invention of various devices that are necessary in the railway business, but were not previously known, such as switches, turntables and the like. In Stephenson, extraordinary ingenuity was combined with no less extraordinary industriousness, endurance and good health - only because of this he was able to complete the work he had undertaken.

And after the Liverpool-Manchester road, it broke like a dam - railway companies appeared all over the country almost every day. And they all went to Stephenson. Moved on the continent. Stephenson traveled to consult in Belgium, and in France, and in Spain - and everywhere he was received almost with royal honors.

But modesty and a complete lack of vanity remained with him until the end of his days. His dwelling always remained modest with modest furnishings, his food was healthy and simple, he could not stand a whole crowd of servants - an indispensable accessory of a “rich house” according to English, and not only according to English concepts, preferring to do everything for himself that is possible . Both his house and his wallet were always open - for inventors, and for workers, and for schools.

Many years of excessive work, extraordinary uninterrupted tension did their job. Stephenson no longer felt the same strength, and at the request of his son and the advice of friends, he retired. At this time, the name of Stephenson already enjoyed worldwide fame. He had a rare lot - to see the accomplishment of the work to which he gave his life, and to receive during his lifetime the appreciation he deserved.

The inventor of the first passenger steam locomotive, George Stephenson, was born in 1781. His father was a stoker at a steam engine that worked in coal mines near New Castle (England). The stoker's salary was so small that it was impossible to think that little George could attend school. At the age of eight, in order to somewhat help his father support his family, Georg joined the shepherds, but already at this age he was attracted by the car near which his father worked. At the age of 14, George managed to become a fireman's assistant.

If there was damage or breakdown, Georg Stephenson tried to fix everything himself. He became well acquainted with the structure of his machine, in his spare time, taking it apart for the most detailed study. Her bandages and wheels shone like a mirror. Georg was downright in love with his car. While working at the steam engine, Stephenson had the idea to build a moving steam engine. Before him, there were several attempts to build such a steam engine, but all these attempts were unsuccessful.

When Stephenson found out that you can read a lot about all these machines in special books, he decided to study at all costs, to attend school.
At the same time, Stephenson did not stop studying the steam engine around which he worked.

In 1813, he first suggested that the owners of the mines build a "travel machine" - this is how he called his car, which was supposed to serve for movement.
However, George Stephenson had at first to meet strong opposition to the implementation of his invention.

The parliamentary commission that considered the invention called George Stephenson a "lunatic" because he dared to suggest that his car would travel 12 miles per hour, that is, twice as fast as a mail coach. One of the members of this parliamentary commission asked, among other things:
Supposing that a car traveling between nine and ten English miles per hour stumbles upon a cow, don't you think that this circumstance may have disastrous consequences?
Surely, - answered Georg, smiling slyly, - this circumstance would have the most deplorable consequences for the cow.

The Parliamentary Commission refused to help Stephenson. He was forced to turn to individual capitalists. Those turned out to be more far-sighted than state officials, and they gave money for the construction of steam locomotives.
Of all the steam locomotives built by Stephenson, the most remarkable is the "Rocket" (1829). It was the first to have a tubular boiler, which made it possible to obtain a huge amount of steam very quickly. In the "Rocket", in addition, Stephenson used the exit of the exhaust steam from the cylinder through the pipe, which increased the thrust. The draft accelerated the process of burning coal, and the steam boiler began to produce more steam.
On September 25, 1830, i.e. 182 years ago, the Manchester-Liverpool Railway was opened. Contemporaries were especially struck by the speed with which the locomotive was moving (24 miles per hour).

“This incredible speed,” we read in the newspapers of that time, “was a phenomenon that struck the whole world with its novelty and surprise.” Meanwhile, 24 miles is only 38 kilometers per hour.
After these successes, Georg Stephenson gained worldwide fame. In a number of states, he participated in the construction of several railways (in Belgium, Spain, etc.)