A history of the growth of the steam-engine . ater trial stillleft the Rocket alone in the field. The Rocket (Fig. 55) was built at the works of RobertStephenson & Co., at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The boiler wasgiven considerable heating-surface by the introduction of25 3-inch copper tubes, at the suggestion of Henry Booth,secretary of the railroad company. The blast was alteredby gradually closing in the opening at the extremity of theexhaust-pipe, and thus sharpening it until it was foundto have the requisite intensity. The effect of this modifica-tion of the shape of the pipe was observed caref


A history of the growth of the steam-engine . ater trial stillleft the Rocket alone in the field. The Rocket (Fig. 55) was built at the works of RobertStephenson & Co., at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The boiler wasgiven considerable heating-surface by the introduction of25 3-inch copper tubes, at the suggestion of Henry Booth,secretary of the railroad company. The blast was alteredby gradually closing in the opening at the extremity of theexhaust-pipe, and thus sharpening it until it was foundto have the requisite intensity. The effect of this modifica-tion of the shape of the pipe was observed carefully bymeans of syphon water-gauges attached to the draft was finally given such an intensity as to raise thewater 3 inches in the tube of the draught-gauge. The 198 THE MODERN STEAM-ENGINE. total length of the boiler was 6 feet, its diameter 40 fire-box was attached to the rear of the boiler, and was3 feet high and 2 feet wide, with water-legs to protect itsside-sheets from injury by overheating. The cylinders, as. Fig. 55.—The Eocket, 1829. seen in the sketch, were inclined, and coupled to a singlepair of driving-wheels. A tender, attached to the engine,carried the fuel and water. The engine weighed less than4^ tons. The little engine does not seem to have been very pre-possessing in appearance, and the Novelty is said to havebeen the general favorite, the Stephenson engine havingfew, if any, backers among the spectators. On its firsttrial, it ran 12 miles in less than an hour. After the accident which disabled the Novelty, theRocket came forward again, and ran at the rate of from25 to 30 miles an hour, drawing a single carriage carrying 30passengers. Two days later, on the 8th of October, steamwas raised in a little less than an hour from cold water, and STEAM-LOCOMOTION ON EAILEOADS. 199 it then, with 13 tons of freight in the train, ran 35 miles in1 hour and 48 minutes, including stops, and attained a speedof 29 miles an hour. The average of all ru


Size: 1806px × 1384px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidc, booksubjectsteamengines