Original Stephenson Rocket

In 1829, Robert Stephenson and Company of Newcastle upon Tyne produced the "Rocket," a 0-2-2 steam locomotive. The "Rocket" was meant for the Rainhill Trials, which were being held by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to determine the best locomotive design. The "Rocket" contained:
- A multi-tubular boiler, which raises more steam than a single large tube.
- A blastpipe, feeding the exhaust steam from the cylinders into the base of the chimney to induce a partial vacuum and pull air through the fire.
- Cylinders set at an angle, which reduces the extreme hammerblow on the track caused by vertical cylinders. The cylinders were later set horizontally, the standard position for future steam locomotives.
- A double-thickness firebox separate from the boiler and surrounded by a water jacket.
These advances are credited to both George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson, who built what was in 1829 the most advanced locomotive in the world. At the Rainhill Trials, the "Rocket" beat its rivals, and its features became standard on nearly every steam locomotive that followed, so much so that the steam locomotive that we know today can be called the Stephenson locomotive.

This is the original "Rocket" preserved in the London Science Museum.