'Puffing Billy' locomotive, 1813.

Model representing the locomotive designed and built by colliery official William Hedley (1779-1843), for use at Wylam Colliery in the north-east of England. With its sister locomotive, 'Wylam Dilly', Puffing Billy is the oldest surviving locomotive in the world. It ran over a five-mile stretch of track between Wylam and the staithes at Lemington-on-Tyne between 1813 and 1861. The Science Museum acquired Puffing Billy in 1862 after nearly 50 years of continuous service and several rebuildings.