Stephenson's Rocket

Specifications
Specifications
Configuration:;
• Whyte	0-2-2
• UIC	A1 n2
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1.435 m)
Trailing dia.	2 ft 6 in (0.76 m)
Wheelbase	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Axle load	2 long tons 12 cwt 1 qr (5,850 lb or 2.65 t)
Loco weight	4 long tons 5 cwt (9,500 lb or 4.3 t)
Fuel type	Coke
Firebox:
• Grate area	6 sq ft (1 m2)
Boiler	3 ft 4 in (1 m) diameter x; 6 ft (2 m) length; x 0.25 in (6 mm) thick
Boiler pressure	50 lbf/in2 (340 kPa)
Heating surface:
• Firebox	1.6 m2 (17 sq ft) x 2 ft (0.61 m) width x 3 ft (0.91 m) height
• Tubes	12.8 m2 (138 sq ft)
• Tubes and flues	25 3 in (76 mm) copper tubes
• Total surface	15.2 m2 (164 sq ft)
Cylinders	Two, outside. Angled at 38°
Cylinder size	8 in × 16.5 in (203 mm × 419 mm)
Valve gear	slip eccentric with manual override
Valve type	flat slide valve with exhaust cavity

Type and origin
Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Builder	Robert Stephenson and Company
Build date	1829

*Rocket*
Rocket
	A contemporary drawing of Rocket
Power type
Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Builder	Robert Stephenson and Company
Build date	1829
Configuration:;
Specifications
Configuration:;
• Whyte	0-2-2
• UIC	A1 n2
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1.435 m)
Trailing dia.	2 ft 6 in (0.76 m)
Wheelbase	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Axle load	2 long tons 12 cwt 1 qr (5,850 lb or 2.65 t)
Loco weight	4 long tons 5 cwt (9,500 lb or 4.3 t)
Fuel type	Coke
Firebox:
• Grate area	6 sq ft (1 m2)
Boiler	3 ft 4 in (1 m) diameter x; 6 ft (2 m) length; x 0.25 in (6 mm) thick
Boiler pressure	50 lbf/in2 (340 kPa)
Heating surface:
• Firebox	1.6 m2 (17 sq ft) x 2 ft (0.61 m) width x 3 ft (0.91 m) height
• Tubes	12.8 m2 (138 sq ft)
• Tubes and flues	25 3 in (76 mm) copper tubes
• Total surface	15.2 m2 (164 sq ft)
Cylinders	Two, outside. Angled at 38°
Cylinder size	8 in × 16.5 in (203 mm × 419 mm)
Valve gear	slip eccentric with manual override
Valve type	flat slide valve with exhaust cavity
Maximum speed
Performance figures
Maximum speed	30 mph (48 km/h)
Tractive effort	825 lbf
Operators
Career
Operators	Liverpool and Manchester Railway; Lord Carlisle's Railway;
Current owner	Science Museum
Disposition	On static display

Stephenson's Rocket is an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement. It was built for and won the Rainhill Trials of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR), held in October 1829 to show that improved locomotives would be more efficient than stationary steam engines.

Rocket was designed and built by Robert Stephenson in 1829, and built at the Forth Street Works of his company in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Though Rocket was not the first steam locomotive, it was the first to bring together several innovations that produced the most advanced locomotive of its day. It is the most famous example of an evolving design of locomotives by Stephenson, and became the template for most steam engines in the following 150 years.

The locomotive was displayed in the Science Museum in London until 2018, after which it was briefly exhibited at sites around the UK, ultimately at National Railway Museum in York. Since 2023, it has been based at the Locomotion Museum in Shildon.