George+Stephenson

__George Stephenson__

George Stephenson was the inventor of the first steam train engine. He was born in Northumberland, England and died in Derbyshire, England. He designed his first steam train in 1814, aged 33. This railway was called Blücher, after the Prussian general, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. This particular model could haul 30 tons of coal up a hill at a speed of 6.4km/h. His later works include a 13 km railway called the Hetton Colliery Railway in 1820. This railway was the first railway that used no animal-power, and he did this by using gravity when travelling downwards, and an engine whilst travelling upwards and parallel to the ground. George Stephenson also invented a miners lamp, multiple bridges and his first job was keeping cows away from a horse drawn wagon! George Stephenson is sometimes called ‘The Father of Railways.’

9/6/1781 - 12/8/1848