John Urpeth Rastrick
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Urpeth Rastrick (26 January 1780 – 1 November 1856) was one of the first English
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
builders. In partnership with James Foster, he formed
Foster, Rastrick and Company Foster, Rastrick and Company was one of the pioneering steam locomotive manufacturing companies of England. It was based in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, now West Midlands. James Foster, an ironmaster, and John Urpeth Rastrick, an engineer, beca ...
, the locomotive construction company that built the ''
Stourbridge Lion The ''Stourbridge Lion'' was a railroad steam locomotive. It was the first foreign built locomotive to be operated in the United States, and one of the first locomotives to operate outside Britain. It takes its name from the lion's face painted ...
'' in 1829 for export to the
Delaware and Hudson Railroad The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D&H ...
in
America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. From the 1830s he concentrated on civil engineering with his major project from 1838 being the construction of the
London and Brighton Railway The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway ran from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) at Norwood – which gives it access fro ...
.


Early years

Rastrick was born in
Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...
, Northumberland, to John Rastrick and Mary (Urpeth). He attended local public schools; at age 15, in 1795 he was apprenticed in his father's engineering practice. In 1802 he was hired by the
Ketley Ironworks Ketley Ironworks was an ironworks in Ketley, in Shropshire, England. Established in 1756, it was one of the largest ironworks in Britain during its ownership by William Reynolds and his brother Joseph. The site's location is
in
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
.


Hazeldine & Rastrick

After five years at Ketley, Rastrick partnered with John Hazledine, in
Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. History B ...
, Shropshire. While at Bridgnorth, Rastrick helped
Richard Trevithick Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He w ...
develop his ideas for the high pressure steam engine and locomotive, and he later testified in a parliamentary enquiry that he had built the locomotive that had been demonstrated in London in 1808. He also produced much equipment for Trevithick's abortive South American adventure. On 1 April 1814, he was awarded UK patent number 3,799 for his
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
design. Rastrick oversaw the construction of the Wye bridge at
Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western ...
, which opened in 1816. The partnership between Rastrick and Hazledine was a troubled one, ending in a dispute in 1817. He worked independently for a short period, but in 1819 he formed a partnership with James Foster, and he moved his family to
Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...
.


Foster Rastrick & Co.

The new company manufactured an extensive range of products from
blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...
s, and
rolling mill In metalworking, rolling is a metal forming process in which metal stock is passed through one or more pairs of rolls to reduce the thickness, to make the thickness uniform, and/or to impart a desired mechanical property. The concept is simil ...
s, wrought iron rails, 'bearers' (beams) for some of the famous buildings of the age, etc. In 1822 Rastrick became the engineer for the Stratford and Moreton Tramway, an early horse-drawn line. The partnership was also responsible for the first
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s for the
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D&H ...
, the
Stourbridge Lion The ''Stourbridge Lion'' was a railroad steam locomotive. It was the first foreign built locomotive to be operated in the United States, and one of the first locomotives to operate outside Britain. It takes its name from the lion's face painted ...
in 1829.


Rainhill Trials

In 1829 Rastrick was commissioned with James Walker to report on the economics of using either rope haulage or locomotives on the new
Liverpool and Manchester Railway The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It was also the first railway to rely exclusively ...
. After extensive travels to view the early railways of the age their report favoured rope haulage on economic grounds. They did however include the rider that there were some benefits to locomotive haulage not least their probable technical improvement. Given such a marginal judgement, the directors of the company decided to hold a competition to test the locomotives on offer. Rastrick was one of three judges at the Rainhill Trials of 1829 which conclusively proved the benefits of Stephenson's ''
Rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
'' locomotive. Rastrick's diaries and notebook of the trial are valuable records of the performance of locomotives of that era.


Civil engineering

Rastrick left the Foster, Rastrick & Co partnership in 1831 to become an independent civil engineer, and the company was dissolved. He then worked on numerous railway projects of the period and in 1835 worked with
John Rennie the Younger Sir John Rennie FRSA (30 August 1794 – 3 September 1874) was the second son of engineer John Rennie the Elder, and brother of George Rennie. Early life John Rennie was born at 27 Stamford Street, Blackfriars Road, London, on 30 August 17 ...
to obtain parliamentary approval for the
London and Brighton Railway The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway ran from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) at Norwood – which gives it access fro ...
. He then became consultant engineer, overseeing the railway's construction over difficult terrain. He was involved with the design and construction of the
Merstham Merstham is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It lies 25 miles south of Charing Cross and 2 miles south of the Greater London border. Part of the North Downs Way runs along the northern boundary of the town. Mers ...
,
Balcombe Balcombe is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east north east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Crawley to the north west and H ...
, Clayton and
Patcham Tunnel Patcham Tunnel (or Compulsory Tunnel) is a railway tunnel on the Brighton Main Line through the South Downs between Preston Park and Hassocks in East Sussex, England. It is 446 metres (488 yards) long. Its construction was neither necessitated ...
s and the
Ouse Valley Viaduct The Ouse Valley Viaduct (or the Balcombe Viaduct) carries the London-Brighton Railway Line over the River Ouse in Sussex. It is located to the north of Haywards Heath and the south of Balcombe. Known for its ornate design, the structure ha ...
along with
David Mocatta David Alfred Mocatta (1806–1882) was a British architect and a member of the Anglo-Jewish Mocatta family. Early career David Alfred Mocatta was born to a Sephardic Jewish family in 1806, the son of the licensed bullion broker Moses Mocatta ...
(architect to the London and Brighton Railway). He also constructed the
Brighton and Chichester Railway The Brighton and Chichester Railway was an early railway in southern England running between the towns of Shoreham and Chichester in Sussex. It operated between 1845 and 1846. History Following the completion of the London and Brighton Railway ...
and the
Brighton Lewes and Hastings Railway The Brighton, Lewes and Hastings Railway was an early railway in southern England that built the East Coastway line running between the three East Sussex towns mentioned in its name. The company existed from February 1844 but only operated trai ...
which were eventually amalgamated with the London and Brighton Railway and
London and Croydon Railway The London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) was an early railway in England. It opened in 1839 and in February 1846 merged with other railways to form the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). Origins The Croydon line and other railways Th ...
to form the
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...
. Rastrick was involved in the design of the
London Road viaduct The London Road Viaduct is a brick railway viaduct in Brighton, part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England. It carries the East Coastway Line between Brighton and London Road railway stations. Built in the 1840s for th ...
at Brighton, a viaduct at
Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in West Sussex, England. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to its west by the Adur Valley and to its south by the River Adur and Shoreham Beach on the ...
, a bridge over the
River Arun The River Arun () is a river in the English county of West Sussex. At long, it is the longest river entirely in Sussex and one of the longest starting in Sussex after the River Medway, River Wey and River Mole. From the series of small stream ...
, and jointly in the design of a rebuilt
London Bridge railway station London Bridge is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Southwark, south-east London. It occupies a large area on three levels immediately south-east of London Bridge, from which it takes its name. The m ...
. Rastrick retired from active life in 1847, moving to Sayes Court,
Addlestone Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement. History The town is recorded as ''Attels ...
,
Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in the ...
in Surrey which was an eight-bedroom mansion in of grounds. His death occurred there on 1 November 1856. He is buried at Brighton Extra Mural Cemetery.


Family

During his partnership with John Hazledine, Rastrick married Sarah Jervis (or Jarvis) on 24 December 1810 at
Codsall Codsall is a large village in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is situated 4.5 miles northwest of the city of Wolverhampton and 13 miles east-southeast of Telford. It forms part of the boundary of the Staffordshire ...
, Staffordshire. He had six children: John, born 10 April 1811; Sarah, baptised 2 June 1813; Mary, baptised 30 January 1818; Henry, baptised 30 January 1818; Frederick James born c1820; George, baptised 10 June 1821.


References

*
John Urpeth Rastrick
'. Retrieved 13 August 2012. * Bedwell, Carolyn (2002),

'. Retrieved 4 April 2005. * Bedwell, Carolyn (2002),

'. Retrieved 22 April 2005 – family details, additional dates. * Senate House Library, University of London,
John Bradley & Co (Stourbridge) Ltd., Ironfounders
'. Retrieved 22 April 2005 – verifies Foster family connections. * Marshall, Charles Frederick Dendy, "The Rainhill Locomotive Trials of 1829". From ''Transactions of the Newcomen Society'', 1929, Vol 9 – includes excerpts from Rastrick's own notebooks.


External links




Archives at the University of London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rastrick, John Urpeth 1780 births 1856 deaths People from Morpeth, Northumberland English railway mechanical engineers Fellows of the Royal Society People from Stourbridge