
3 5 c m
40cm
actual image size: 32cm x 27cm
Description
Engraving by Isaac Shaw Junior after his own drawing. The 'Northumbrian', built by George (1781-1848) and Robert Stephenson (1803-1859) in 1830, was an enlarged and modified version of their 'Rocket'. Its cylinders were almost horizontal, and it was the first locomotive to have the firebox incorporated into the boiler; this became the conventional locomotive boiler. The Northumbrian led the opening procession at the inauguration of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway on 15 September 1830. William Huskisson MP (1770-1830) died during the opening: after alighting from the Northumbrian, which had stopped to take in water, Huskisson was struck by the approaching Rocket, becoming the first ever fatality on a passenger railway.
Image Details
Image Ref.
10323370
© Science Museum / Science & Society Picture Library