The Stephenson Fact File   (page last updated 4 June 2007)

The Stephenson family have a highly important place in the history of railways, both in the UK and worldwide. Although the Stephenson Locomotive Society's interests cover railways past and present, it is largely to these gentlemen that we owe our existence. The Society receives many requests for information on George and Robert Stephenson. To help answer these requests, we have prepared a short illustrated booklet with a summary family history, listings of notable civil engineering works, heritage sites related to the Stephensons and a bibliography. View of the Fact file cover

The price of this booklet 'The Stephenson Fact File is £1.75 including postage and packing. Copies may be obtained by printing the fact file order form and sending it together with a cheque/P.O. payable to the Stephenson Locomotive Society. (Sorry, we are unable to take Credit Card orders over the Internet.) to: Derek Cobby, The Stephenson Locomotive Society, 102 Kingsley Road, Northampton, NN2 7BY

For whatever reason you need information on the Stephensons this booklet forms an ideal starting point. The detailed sections cover:-

Basic information

Although, clearly, we hope you will order the Fact File we provide this brief section on the Stephenson's as a starting point for you.View of the Fact file cover with pictures of Stephenson locomotives and portraits of George & his son

George and Robert Stephenson

George Stephenson was born in 1781 at Wylam, Northumberland. His early working life was spent as a brakesman, then in collieries maintaining stationary engines. He also took work mending clocks and shoes. Together with his son Robert and Nicholas Wood, he succeeded in developing a miner's safety lamp (the Geordie) which competed with the one invented by Sir Humphrey Davy (the Davy). He advised on routes for most of the early railway companies in Britain and on many abroad. His uncompromising style and dealings as a shrewd businessman brought him fame and notoriety in equal measure. His early experiences had led him to favour stationary or heavy engines, and from 1818 to 1828 his interest in wheeled locomotives was mainly promotional. His surveying talents were those of a visionary rather than of an expert, and he relied upon others for the more detailed operations. His name will forever be associated with the creation of the railway system in this country. By sheer force of personality, and as a tireless promoter of railways, he achieved worthy and undeniable greatness. He died in 1848 at his home - Tapton House - and is buried in Trinity Church, Chesterfield.

George Stephenson's son Robert was born in 1803 at Willington Quay, near Newcastle upon Tyne. He ranks alongside Brunel and Locke as one of the three great Victorian railway engineers. Many of his structural works were innovative and on a grand scale. His early pioneering locomotives and subsequent long-boilered engines formed the basis for all latter-day steam traction. He deserves particular credit for many of the early achievements - the success of the experimental Rocket, and the development of the Planet and the Patentee, the first locomotives to be built in numbers. . In 1823 he became Managing Director of Robert Stephenson & Company, and engines from the South Street works in Newcastle upon Tyne were exported all around the world. The Stephenson link-motion; a mechanism to operate a valve gear, carries his name as it was invented in his locomotive factory. Despite professional differences of opinion between father and son, and early problems with the business while Robert was abroad, the bond of affection between the two men remained strong. Occasionally their letters and actions revealed times of great strain - perhaps inevitable when business was a family priority. He died in 1859, and was greatly mourned. As a deserved mark of honour he was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey, a privilege accorded only one other engineer - Thomas Telford.

To order the fact file

The price of the booklet 'The Stephenson Fact File is £1.75 including postage and packing. Copies may be obtained by printing the fact file order form and sending it together with a cheque/P.O. payable to the Stephenson Locomotive Society. (Sorry, we are unable to take Credit Card orders over the Internet.) to: Derek Cobby, The Stephenson Locomotive Society, 102 Kingsley Road, Northampton, NN2 7BY

Further reading

SLS - Leicester & Swannington Rly (Basic info and link)

Durham Mining Museum - Transcription on the DMM website of a short biography of George first published in Colliery Engineering - November 1930.

Durham Mining Museum - Transcribed biography from 1869 on the DMM website about the steam locomotive including information about George. (original source not quoted by DMM)