Runs from Rainhill
in the start time of the railway shifted one the railroad lines as evenly as possible, as one could do it from the canal construction. Similarly as with an air-lock upward gradients should concentrated on short distances and there by horses or devices as would firmly install steam engines or upthe Gegengleis down-driving courses to be mastered.
On the distance Liverpool - one wanted to do to Manchester completely first without locomotives and 50 km is enough for distance by 21 stationary steam engines to operate. In order to examine whether also locomotives were able upward gradients to overcomeand a suitable locomotive for this distance to find, was written out by directors the Liverpool and Manchester Railway on urge of George Stephenson a competition, which entered as legendary running of Rainhill history of the railway.
Table of contents
the locomotive should pull the three-way of their weight with a steam pressure of 50 psi (approximately 3.5 atmospheres). It should reach a speed of at least 10 mph (16 km/h). Ita suspension should possess and could not than 15 foot (4.5 m) be not higher. The moreover one it was not allowed to weigh any more than six tons. The locomotive should burn their smoke and have two relief valves, of which one had to lie outside of the range of the leader.
These conditions required a crucial improvement in relation to the state of the art at that time, since none of the locomotives up to then in enterprise could fulfill the conditions.
of the winners should 500 Pound prize money receive and could hopes make itself, the locomotives forthe distance Manchester - to be allowed to supply Liverpool.
from that first ten announced candidates had appeared five for running:
- The Novelty was a light fourwheel machine,of the Englishman the Braithwaite and Sweden John Ericsson came.
- The Sans Pareil of Timothy Hackworth was a reduction of the locomotives developed by it, which with the stick clay/tone had already worked and Darlington Railway. It had two coupled axles. Although it actually too, in order to fulfill the competitive conditions, became certified it was heavy the competition. Some parts of the Sans Pareil, so the cylinders, were made in the workshop by Robert Stephenson instead of workshop in Shildon, own in Hackworths.
- The Rocket was the newest development of Robert Stephenson.It possessed two axles, from which the front was propelled, a heating tube boiler with optimized enlargement of the heating surface and a Stehkessel built around the Feuerbüchse. In last minute still the hackworthsche Blasrohr, a device was built for the increase of the Zugwirkung in the chimney.
- The Perseverence - thoseMachine was to be moved only in the step speed and came therefore not into the elimination.
- The Cycloped - as if it was noticeable that the machine did not produce smoke clouds and one found a horse in the locomotive, what a Tretmühlenmechanismus operate should, became The Cycloped this-qualified.
a running the different tests to. Octobers 1829 and pulled themselves up to 14. October. The Rocket could master as only of the begun candidates the test track and reached thereby with a load, those three-way their dead weight corresponded an average speed of 12.5mph. With only one car it reached 24 mph and completely without load even 30 mph, which was not possible however without carried supplies of coal and water for longer time.
The Novelty had the smallest weight, the lowest consumption of coal and reached thosehighest speed. Since it could not to be mastered however as also the Sans Pareil the prescribed test track because of technical problems, the victory Stephenson and its Rocket was awarded.
Stephenson was allowed to supply eight steam engines of the type Rocket for the distance Liverpool - Manchester after its victory. Alsothe Sans Pareil of Hackworth, their cylinder with the match exploded - a then frequent defect of many machines - to the service of the Liverpool Manchester course was transferred and carried there longer service out than after few years the shut down Rocket.