The First Trains By A.G.
- There were trains before the rocket but they weren’t any good because they would break down every few miles.
- George Stephenson’s son Robert, helped him to build the Rocket.
- On the day they tested the Rocket, it knocked down a member of parliament!
- There was a competition for the best train and the rocket won it.
- Since then many other types of trains have been made.
The First Trains by J.B.
- The earliest steam locomotives were heavy, slow machines and often broke down easily.
- In 1829, George Stephenson invented and designed a locomotive called the Rocket, to take part in a competition.
- How the Rocket worked: A coal fire burned in the firebox which heated water in the boiler. As the water in the boiler boiled it produced steam which flowed into a cylinder. The Steam pushed down a metal disc called a piston. The piston was connected to a rod that turned the wheels.
