''Northumbrian'' was an early steam locomotive built by

Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson FRS HFRSE FRSA DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of his father ...

in 1830 and used at the opening of 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 ...

(L&M). It was the eighth of Stephenson's nine 0-2-2 locomotives in the style of ''Rocket'', but it introduced several innovations, which were also included ''Majestic'', the last of the class.

Design

''Northumbrian'' was the first 'locomotive' boiler that had both the

firebox Firebox may refer to: *Firebox (steam engine), the area where the fuel is burned in a steam engine *Firebox (architecture), the part of a fireplace where fuel is combusted *Firebox Records Firebox Records was a Finnish record label based in S ...

in a water jacket at one end and

smokebox A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is e ...

to collect ashes at the other. Dawson describes it as the first of a "modern" (steam locomotive) boiler while Hollingsworth note virtually all successors followed this layout. Other features included plate frames, a proper tender, and the cylinders set at a relatively low angle to the horizontal, giving smoother running. ''Northumbrian'' suffered from a number of design aspects that were not optimal The next iteration of locomotive development, one notable issue was while weight had increased from ''Rocket's'' 4 tons to over 7 tons weight distribution was more on the trailing wheels rather than the larger driving wheels which would be more useful for adhesion, and was one reason to move away from the wheel arrangement. The successor ''Planet'', was to emerge shortly afterwards in the same year.

Service

''Northumbrian'' was handed over on 31 July 1830 at the price of £700, the cost being justified by more extensive use of copper and improved running characteristics. At the official opening ceremony of the L&M on 15 September 1830 with eight trains ''Northumbrian'' headed the first listed train with the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

as a prestige passenger and

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians In the history of the United Kingdom and the ...

on the footplate. ''Northumbian'' was offered to the

London and Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...

for £450 in 1836, this was refused and it is possible the locomotive was broken up.

References

* * * {{cite book, last=Thomas, first=R. H. G., year=1980, title=The Liverpool & Manchester Railway , publisher=Batsford, location=London, isbn=0-7134-0537-6, oclc=872376376 Early steam locomotives Steam locomotives of Great Britain Railway locomotives introduced in 1830 0-2-2 locomotives Locomotive boilers Robert Stephenson and Company locomotives