The biography of George Stephenson, nicknamed "the father of railways", is full of a wide variety of events. The English mechanical engineer is best known for inventing the steam locomotive. The solutions he found turned out to be so successful that on the roads of many countries of the world the "Stephenson" track is still the standard.
Stephenson: early career
George Stephenson was born in 1781 in Wilam, England, Northumberland. His father was a simple miner. From an early age, the future famous inventor worked for hire. Stephenson's childhood was spent near a wooden track road, which was used to transport coal from the mine. This track, several miles long, became the prototype of the future railroad.
At the age of 18, Stephenson learned to read and write. He persisted in self-education, which allowed him to become a steam mechanic.
At the beginning of the 19th century, he got a job as a machinist in a coal mine. His wife Fanny gave birth to a son in 1803, who was named Robert. The next decade Stephenson devoted to the study of steam engines, after which he decided to start designing them. In his early thirties, George became the chief mechanic at the coal mines. In 1815 he designed the original mine lamp.
Locomotive equipment designer
The inventor set himself the task of making it easier to transport coal from the mine to the surface. To begin with, Stephenson created a steam engine that pulled trolleys with a strong rope. Stephenson got down to work with great enthusiasm. He was faced with a difficult task: it was required to create a steam engine that could pull a very large weight and move much faster than an ordinary horse.
The inventor has completed a successful project of a locomotive for towing coal-laden carts on a track. Customers considered its developments to be the most successful.
Stephenson's invention used the frictional force between the wheels and a smooth metal rail to create traction. Stephenson's locomotive was capable of pulling a train weighing up to 30 tons. This vehicle was named after the Prussian General Blucher, who proved himself at the Battle of Waterloo.
From that time on, the construction of locomotive technology became for George Stephenson his life's work. Over the next five years, he designed and built a dozen and a half locomotives. His developments have received worldwide recognition. In 1820, Stephenson was invited to design an eight-mile railroad to serve the Hatton coal mine. In this project, it was supposed to abandon the combined traction, excluding the use of the muscular strength of the animals. This railway was the first to use only mechanical traction of a steam locomotive.
In 1822 Stephenson began designing a railroad that would link Stockton and Darlington. A year later, the inventor founded the world's first steam locomotive factory. In September 1825, a brand new locomotive, driven by the inventor himself, pulled a train weighing 80 tons. A steam locomotive with carriages filled with coal and flour covered a distance of 15 kilometers in two hours. In some areas, the train accelerated to 39 km / h. An experimental passenger carriage was also attached to the train, where the members of the commission for the acceptance of the project were traveling.
On top of success
While building the railway to Darlington, George Stephenson became convinced that even a slight rise slows down the speed of the train, and on slopes the usual brake becomes ineffective. The inventor concluded that when designing railway tracks, significant unevenness of the relief should be avoided.
With each new project, the experience of building tracks for locomotives was enriched with new findings and technical solutions. Stephenson managed to solve the most difficult problems of the construction of embankments, viaducts and bridges. He used metal rails in combination with stone supports. This made it possible to increase the speed of the locomotive.
One of the projects, proposed by Stephenson, caused serious objections from those landowners whose financial interests he directly affected. As a result, this option was rejected during parliamentary hearings. The legislators decided to accept it for execution only after substantial revision. I had to radically change the route along which the railway ran.
In comparative tests of different locomotives, the victory remained with Stephenson's car. He presented his steam locomotive with the loud name "Rocket" to this competition. The Stephenson steam locomotive was the only one to successfully complete the difficult tests. The winner of that competition "Rocket" went down in the history of technology.
Gradually, the idea of railway communication was accepted in society, and Stephenson became one of the most experienced and skillful designers of locomotive technology.
At the end of a career
In 1836, George Stephenson created an office in the capital of Britain, which was to become the scientific and technical center for the construction of railways. By nature, the inventor was conservative, so he tried to offer only time-tested and proven projects. However, often the options he supported turned out to be much more expensive and complex than those of competitors. For this reason, Stephenson has repeatedly failed in the fight against other innovators.
And yet, according to Stephenson's perfectly designed projects, they continued to build locomotives in many countries of the world. The talented inventor and production organizer managed to see his ideas and the results of creativity embodied in metal during his lifetime.
Stephenson passed away in August 1848 at Chesterfield.
