Rainhill trials

The Rainhill trials were a competition run from the 6 to 14 October 1829, to test George Stephenson's argument that locomotives would have the best motive power for the then nearly-completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR).

[1] Ten locomotives were entered, of which five were able to compete, running along a 1 mile (1.6 km) length of level track at Rainhill, in Lancashire (now Merseyside).

"[a]"As soon as the Engine has performed this task, (which will be equal to the travelling from Liverpool to Manchester,) there shall be a fresh supply of fuel and water delivered to her; and, as soon as she can be got ready to set out again, she shall go up to the Starting Post, and make ten trips more, which will be equal to the journey from Manchester back again to Liverpool.

Nevertheless, it ran the next day and reached 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) before the repaired pipe failed and damaged the engine severely enough that it had to be withdrawn.

[9] The Times carried a full report of the trials on 12 October 1829 from which the following extract are taken: THURSDAY – THIRD DAY: Mr. Stephenson's engine, "The Rocket," weighing 4 tons 3 cwt., performed, to-day, the work required by the original conditions.

Three times its own weight having been attached to the engine, the machine commenced its task, and performed it at the rate of 16 miles in the hour.

[11] In May 1980 the Rocket 150 celebration was held to mark the 150th Anniversary of the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the trials the year before.

On the first day of the Trials, the Rocket came off the rails as it was exiting the Bold Colliery sidings and buckled the rim of one of its large drive wheels.

That evening, senior staff from a St Helens road transport company met a former colleague of the builder of the Rocket replica, at a Liverpool Hotel and agreed that, in the early hours of the following morning, they would urgently manufacture some steel parts (wedges) in their nearby workshops, to fix the bent drive wheel before the second day's parade commenced.

[13] At the same time, BR agreed to put a team of staff into the sidings at Bold to straighten the bent rails.

Both activities were achieved on time and the Rocket ran successfully on the following two days of the Trials, though Sans Pareil was pushed by Lion and Novelty was on a wagon hauled by LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 5000.

[14] The 'Grand Cavalcade' on each of the three days featured up to 40 steam and diesel locomotives and other examples of modern traction,[15] including: Two Class 86 locomotives 86214 Sans Pareil[16] and 86235 Novelty[17] were painted in a variation of the Large Logo Rail Blue livery where the BR logo was replaced by Rocket 150 motif on a yellow background.

In calculating the speeds and fuel efficiencies, it was found that Rocket would still have won, as its relatively modern technology made it a much more reliable locomotive than the others.

Novelty almost matched it in terms of efficiency, but its firebox design caused it to gradually slow to a halt due to a buildup of molten ash (called "clinker") cutting off the air supply.