Wikijunior:Famous Inventors/Inventors in Transportation/George Stephenson

Picture of the Inventor

When, Where, and to whom was he or she born?

George Stephenson was born in 1781 to Robert and Mabel Stephenson.

What was his or her childhood like?

His parents could neither read nor write. His father was on a low wage so could not afford to educate his son.

Did You Know?

• His first marital home was a single room in a cottage
• When he was 25 his wife died of tuberculosis
• His father was blinded in a mining accident shortly after

Why did this person become interested in science?

George's father Robert worked as a fireman at a pumping engine. George Stephenson's first job was a brakesman on the winding gear at a pit. He also made shoes and mended clocks.

Where did this person go to school?

At 18 George Stephenson was illiterate but saw the value of education so paid to study at night school.

What problem did he or she uncover that needed solving?

1. Broken pumping machines at collieries and pits.
2. Explosions occurred in mines.
3. Hauling coal between the River Tees at Stockton and Darlington collieries.

What solutions had already been tried that did not solve the problem? Why wasn't it working?

1. Newcomen engine and Watt engine.
2. Mining lamps with naked flames.
3. Haulage by road and canal between Stockton and Darlington.

What did this person invent that solved the problem?

Killingworth locomotive

Railway track gauge

1. Steam engine using the steam blast to draw the fire he patented in 1815.
2. Safety lamp or 'Geordie Lamp' around the same time as the Davy Lamp.
3. Stockton and Darlington railway built to Stephenson gauge (4 foot 8 inches) later known as 'standard gauge'.

How did the invention solve the problem?

1. Increased efficiency of steam engines.
2. Reduction in mining explosions.
3. Standardised railway gauge led to modern railways.

How has this inventor changed people and the world?

Victorians called him the father of the railways. 'Standard gauge' railway tracks are the most common gauge in the world. His was the first public steam railway.

What happened to this inventor in the end?

In 1848 he died. He appeared on the five pound note from 1990-2003.

If you could ask this inventor one question, what would you ask?

What does he think of innovation in rail transport and its utilisation and untapped potential in the world today? What does he think of electric locomotives that emerged in his later years?

If you could bring this inventor to today and tell him or her one thing, what would you tell him or her about the effect of his or her invention?

Maglev trains in China and Japan can travel at over 400kph (250mph). Wheeled high speed electric trains in China, France and Japan regularly travel at over 240kph (150mph) in normal operation.