''Planet'' was an early

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 ...

built in 1830 by

Robert Stephenson and Company Robert Stephenson and Company was a locomotive manufacturing company founded in 1823 in Forth Street, Newcastle upon Tyne in England. It was the first company in the world created specifically to build railway engines. Famous early locomotiv ...

for the

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 ...

History

The ninth locomotive built for the L&MR, it was Stephenson's next major design change after the ''Rocket''. It was the first locomotive to employ inside cylinders, and subsequently the

2-2-0 Under Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and no trailing wheels. This configuration, which became very p ...

type became known as ''Planets''. On 23 November 1830 ''No.9 Planet'' ran the approximately from Liverpool to Manchester in one hour. It only lasted in service about ten years; having been rebuilt in 1833, it was withdrawn circa 1840–1841.

''Planet''-type locomotives

Planet locomotive engraving by William Miller after J Kindar

Six further of the type were ordered by the L&MR from Robert Stephenson & Co. Three more were supplied by Murray & Wood in Leeds, to whom Robert Stephenson & Co. had sent the drawings for their manufacture. The ''Planet'' (from 1830) and the ''

Patentee This is a list of legal terms relating to patents. A patent is not a right to practice or use the invention, but a territorial right to exclude others from commercially exploiting the invention, granted to an inventor or his successor in rights i ...

'' (from 1834, also designed by Stephenson) were the first locomotive types to be built in large numbers.

Improvements

The ''Planet'' locomotives appear closer to subsequent types, and conversely look quite different from ''Rocket'' although only a year separated these two designs (Stephenson's ''Northumbrian'' representing an intermediate evolutionary step). Other improvements include: * a

steam dome The steam dome is a vessel fitted to the top of the boiler of a steam engine. It contains the opening to the main steam pipe and its purpose is to allow this opening to be kept well above the water level in the boiler. This arrangement acts as a ...

to prevent water reaching the cylinders. * buffers and couplings in a position setting a new standard.

Replica

A working replica was built in 1992 by the Friends of the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and is operated by volunteers to provide rides for visitors. When not in steam the locomotive is on display in the museum's Power Hall. ''Planet'' has visited several other

Heritage railways A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

including

Shildon Locomotion Museum Locomotion, previously known as Locomotion the National Railway Museum at Shildon, is a railway museum in Shildon, County Durham, England. The museum was renamed in 2017 when it became part of the Science Museum Group. Overview The museum was ...

. The replica was used as an on-screen stand-in for itself in an episode of the ITV/PBS television series ''Victoria''.

Later engines named ''Planet''

''Planet'' having been retired before the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

acquired the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the name was absent from the LNWR list until 1866 when Samson class 2-4-0 no. 935 was named ''Planet''. The name (and number) were passed to that locomotive's replacement in 1893, a Waterloo class 2-4-0. That locomotive lasted until 1909, but then remained unused for four years until a George the Fifth class

4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...

no. 2197 received the name. This locomotive was withdrawn in 1935.

LMS Royal Scot Class The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive introduced in 1927. Originally having parallel boilers, all members were later rebuilt with tapered type 2A boilers, and were in ef ...

4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...

locomotive 6131 was originally named ''Planet'' when built in 1928, but in 1936 was renamed ''

The Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer Wa ...

''. In 1948, the name was applied to LMS Rebuilt Patriot Class No. 45545. British Railways Class 86 86218 carried the name ''Planet'' from 1979 to 1993.

References

* *

External links

* {{commonscat-inline, Planet (locomotive), ''Planet'' (locomotive)
"Planet Type 2-2-0"
on VictorianWeb Liverpool and Manchester Railway locomotives 2-2-0 locomotives Steam locomotive types Early steam locomotives Individual locomotives of Great Britain Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Scrapped locomotives