Blücher (locomotive)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Power type | Steam |
|---|---|
| Builder | George Stephenson |
| Build date | 1814 |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 in |
| Total weight | 6 tons |
| Boiler | 863 mm dia × 2.43 m long |
| Cylinder size | 203 mm dia × 609 mm stroke |
| Career | Killingworth Colliery |
- This article is about the locomotive "Blücher". See also "Blücher"
Blücher was an early railway locomotive built in 1814 by George Stephenson for Killingworth Colliery.
Blücher was the first successful locomotive incorporating the following design features:
- Flanged wheels keeping the locomotive on the track
- Traction relying only on the friction of wheels on rails
- Cylinder rods directly connected to the wheels
Blücher had the ability to pull a train of 30 tons at a speed of 4 mph. It was named after the Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who, after a speedy march, arrived in time to the battle of Waterloo and helped defeat Napoleon.
[edit] Other early locomotive designs
- The Salamanca by Matthew Murray
- Puffing Billy by William Hedley
- Sans Pareil by Timothy Hackworth
- Locomotion No 1 by Robert Stephenson
[edit] References
- Herefordshire, The History of the Railway in Britain. Retrieved January 25, 2006.
- Monmouthshire Railway Society (Summer 1985), The Broad Gauge Story. Retrieved January 25, 2006.
- The Old Times - History of the Locomotive. Retrieved January 25, 2006.
|
Pre-1830 steam locomotives
|
|---|
|
Pen-y-darren (1804) • Catch Me Who Can (1808) • Puffing Billy (1812) • Wylam Dilly (1812) • The Salamanca (1812) • Blücher (1814) • Locomotion No. 1 (1825) • Stourbridge Lion (1828) • |
|
See also: Rainhill Trials • History of rail transport in Great Britain to 1830 |
