Blücher (locomotive)
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 A 19th Century engraving of the Blücher |
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| Power type | Steam |
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| Builder | George Stephenson |
| Build date | 1814 |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm) |
| Total weight | 6 tons |
| Boiler | 863 mm dia × 2.43 m long |
| Cylinder size | 203 mm dia × 609 mm stroke |
| Locomotive brakes | ? |
| Train brakes | None |
| Career | Killingworth Colliery |
| WikiProject Trains {{Infobox Locomotive Auto}} |
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- This article is about the locomotive "Blücher". See also "Blücher"
Blücher was an early railway locomotive built in 1814 by George Stephenson for Killingworth Colliery.
Blücher was the first successful locomotive incorporating the following design features:
- Flanged wheels keeping the locomotive on the track
- Traction relying only on the friction of wheels on rails
- Cylinder rods directly connected to the wheels
Blücher had the ability to pull a train of 30 tons at a speed of 4 mph. It was named after the Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who, after a speedy march, arrived in time to the battle of Waterloo and helped defeat Napoleon.
Stephenson was not satisfied with the Blücher’s performance, but the lessons learned from its design allowed him to develop the steam blast, which allowed exhaust steam to go up the chimney, pulling air behind it and increasing draught. This greatly improved performance on subsequent models.
Blücher did not survive: Stephenson recycled its parts as he developed more advanced models.
[edit] Other early locomotive designs
- The Salamanca by Matthew Murray
- Puffing Billy by William Hedley
- Sans Pareil by Timothy Hackworth
- Locomotion No 1 by Robert Stephenson
[edit] References
- Herefordshire, The History of the Railway in Britain. Retrieved January 25, 2006.
- Monmouthshire Railway Society (Summer 1985), The Broad Gauge Story. Retrieved January 25, 2006.
- The Old Times - History of the Locomotive. Retrieved January 25, 2006.
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