John Urpeth Rastrick (26 January 1780 – 1 November 1856) was one of the first English steam locomotive 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. From the 1830s he concentrated on civil engineering with his major project from 1838 being the construction of the London and Brighton Railway.

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 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 ...

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. Histor ...

, Shropshire. Trevithick High Pressure Steam Engine - Project Gutenberg eText 14041

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 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 wester ...

, 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 ...

Foster Rastrick & Co.

The new company manufactured an extensive range of products from blast furnaces, 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 locomotives 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

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. 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, Clayton and Patcham Tunnels and the Ouse Valley Viaduct along with David 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 which were eventually amalgamated with the London and Brighton Railway and London and Croydon Railway 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 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 th ...

, 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 strea ...

, 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 Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement. History The town is ...

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 t ...

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, 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