Research Catalog

Rail, steam, and speed : the "Rocket" and the birth of steam locomotion

Title: Rail, steam, and speed : the "Rocket" and the birth of steam locomotion / Christopher McGowan.
Author: McGowan, Christopher.
Publication: New York : Columbia University Press, [2004], ©2004.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Request in advance	TJ603.4.G7 M43 2004	Off-site

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Details

Description

x, 379 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

"From October 6 through 14, 1829, in a small village just outside Liverpool, England, ten thousand spectators gathered to witness one of the most remarkable events of the Industrial Age: a battle among locomotives that became known as the Rainhill Trials. Five machines were entered in the competition: the horse-powered Cycloped attained a top speed of only five miles per hour, while Perseverence - which looked like a giant iron bottle standing upright atop four wagon wheels - creaked along at a walking pace. But the three-way race between Robert Stephenson's Rocket, Timothy Harworth's Sans Pareil, and the crowd favorite, John Braithwaite and John Ericson's Novelty, astonished the gathered crowds. The unfamiliar clank of machinery, huge billows of steam, and unprecedented speeds of thirty miles per hour thrilled the crowds during the trials' carnival-like atmosphere. The Rocket won the competition, though it had been claimed that the machine was not the superior locomotive. Rail, Steam, and Speed explains why and offers an absorbing account of the trials, people, and science that gave birth to steam locomotion."--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

Steam locomotives > England > History > 19th century
Railroads > England > History > 19th century

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

1. The sport of kings -- 2. Lessons from the past -- 3. The London challenge -- 4. A man of principles -- 5. Up from the mine -- 6. Famous son of a famous father -- 7. Rocket on trial -- 8. The people's choice -- 9. The dark horse -- 10. Winning day -- 11. Triumph and tragedy -- 12. Boom and bust -- 13. Beginnings and endings.

ISBN

0231134746 (cloth : alk. paper)

LCCN

2004049411

OCLC

ocm55044669
SCSB-5100243

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries