The Robert Stephenson Trust
Stephenson's Works
20 South Street, Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 3PE, United Kingdom
The Life of Robert Stephenson – a Timeline
Childhood and Early Years
1803 Robert was born on 16th October (throughout his life he thought his birthday was 16th November). His birthplace was an upper room in a terraced cottage at Willington Quay, a few miles east of Newcastle upon Tyne. Robert’s parents were George and Frances Stephenson (George also played a major role in the development of railways and the, often overlapping, achievements of George and Robert Stephenson are frequently confused).
1804 His parents moved to Paradise Row (despite the name, one room and a loft), West Moor, Killingworth where George was working.
1806 His mother, Frances, died. Robert was left in the care of 20 year old Ann Snaith while his father, George, in his grief, went to work in Montrose, Scotland.
1808 Ann Snaith married George’s brother (also called Robert) and took the young Robert into their home. When George returned later that year, he resumed Robert’s care at Paradise Row.
ca 1810 Robert went to the village school in Longbenton and was taught by the parish clerk Tommy Rutter. He earned pennies taking miners’ picks to be sharpened at the local smithy.
1815 Robert started at a ‘proper’ school, Percy Street Academy, Newcastle. He became a reading member of the Literary and Philosophical Society. In the same year he helped his father make what became known as the ‘Geordie’ safety lamp.
1816 Robert did the calculations for a sundial which he and George then made and put up over their front door (hence the later name of ‘Dial Cottage’).
1819 He left school to become an apprentice mining engineer under Nicholas Wood at Killingworth Colliery.
1819 – 22 Robert helped superintend the Hetton Railway and helped his father survey the line for the Stockton & Darlington Railway. In charge of the engine workshop at West Moor he modified Losh and Stephenson’s 1816 patent engine and built a high pressure, and hence lighter, four-wheeled loco; he started to construct locos for the Hetton Railway.
1822 Robert helped William James with the first Liverpool and Manchester line survey. He advocated travelling engines, rather than the fixed engines commonly used with colliery waggonways. In October he enrolled as a student at Edinburgh University where he completed two terms.
1823 With the formation of Robert Stephenson & Co. he became managing partner at the age of 19. With Michael Longridge, he set up the new company and recruited staff.
1824 In February Robert attended a Parliamentary Committee over 34 days for the third Stockton and Darlington Railway Bill. In April he signed a 3 year contract with Herring, Graham and Powles, agents for what became the Colombian Mining Association. He completed engine designs for the Stockton & Darlington Railway.
South America
1824 (continued) On the18th June Robert sailed from Liverpool for La Guayra, in South America, to open up silver mines. He continued his education through Dr Roullin & M. Boussingault. In December ‘George Stephenson and Son’ was founded with Robert named as its Chief Engineer in his absence.
1827 Robert met Richard Trevithick who was also passing through Carthegena. He lent £50 to Trevithick to pay his passage to England. Robert set sail for New York but the ship was wrecked a few hours from port with no loss of life. In New York he inspected ‘the finest steam boats in the world’ (John Stevens the engineer) and also joined the Freemasons. He travelled inland to Niagara Falls and Montreal. Robert arrived back at Liverpool in November. It was recorded that ‘he accomplished his mission with great credit and made some investigations and reports which exhibit great foresight and talent’.
Newcastle upon Tyne
1828 – 1833 His first priority was to improve the efficiency and appearance of travelling engines. It was Robert who came up with the design of ‘Rocket’ for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway competition at Rainhill to choose the most efficient means of propulsion for that railway. He had to overcome impractical ideas put forward by his father as well as others who favoured stationary engines pulling loads on ropes, as was commonplace on colliery waggonways.
Marriage
1829 Robert married Frances Sanderson in London on 17th June. They set up home at 5 Greenfield Place, Newcastle upon Tyne. In October ‘Rocket’ won the Rainhill locomotive trials.
1830 The Liverpool & Manchester Railway Co. placed orders for engines with Robert Stephenson & Co. and Robert supervised their construction with the assistance of Chief Engineer William Hutchinson. First was ‘Northumbrian’. Robert became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. The Canterbury & Whitstable Railway opened with the Robert Stephenson designed ‘Invicta’. He designed the ‘Planet’ class which became the prototype for inside cylinder locos.
1831 While surveying for railways in Derbyshire, he realised the possibility of extensive coal deposits and persuaded his father to raise the money to buy the Snibston Estate. He became a partner in the Vulcan Foundry (near Warrington) with Charles Tayleur.
1832 Robert conducted surveys for the London and Birmingham Railway Bill.
1833 He obtained a patent for an engine to be known as the ‘Patentee’. In September he was appointed Chief Engineer for the London & Birmingham Railway. He would be responsible for all aspects of the railway – appointing contractors, designing bridges, cost management etc. He decided to move to London where he set up home at Haverstock Hill.
London & Birmingham Railway (111 miles long)
The scale of this undertaking was unprecedented but it was completed on time and to its budget of £5.5 million. His methods became models for railway engineering practice. He designed the tied arch iron bridge at Long Buckby
1836 Railway mania took hold in Britain. Robert opened an office at 16 Duke Street, London. He directed the Birmingham & Derby Junction, York & North Midland, and Midland Counties Railways.
1837 He moved office to 35½ Great George Street, London. On the 23rd December a dinner was held at Dunchurch to celebrate Robert’s achievement with the London & Birmingham Railway. He was presented with a silver salver engraved: ‘to Robert Stephenson, Esq, Engineer-in-Chief of the London and Birmingham Railway, a tribute of the respect and esteem from the members of the Engineering Department who were employed under him in the execution of that great work. Presented on the eve of their gradual separation.’
Railways and Bridges
1838 On the 4th July the Great Western Railway opened with two Stephenson 'Patentee' broad gauge locomotives. Robert Stephenson & Co. were now exporting to the USA, Russia and Europe as well as to many British companies. The Victoria Viaduct over the River Wear in County Durham opened - ‘This beautiful bridge with elegant curves of massive stone will exist as a memorial to Robert Stephenson’s capacity’.
1839 Robert spent 3 months travelling the continent, seeking orders and working as a consultant. In London on the 16th November another dinner was held in his honour by a testimonial committee established by John Stephenson, a railway contractor. He was presented with a service of plate and a candelabrum following donations of over £1250.
1841 Robert took over as Engineer-in-Chief of the Great North of England Railway. He took out a patent for a ‘long-boiler’ loco.
1842 Frances, his wife, died and he moved his home to 15 Cambridge Square, London.
1843 Robert’s London office moved to 24 Great George St. He spent the summer on the continent as a consultant.
1844 He reported to the Chester & Holyhead Railway Co. on the atmospheric system operating in Ireland and championed by Brunel. Robert was strongly against it. On the 18th June the Newcastle & Darlington Junction Railway, for which he had been responsible, opened. A dinner was held in the Assembly Rooms in Newcastle to celebrate a continuous line of railway from the Thames to the Tyne, virtually all built under Robert Stephenson’s auspices. He surveyed a route for the Newcastle & Berwick Railway Bill; he was also appointed in charge of the Chester & Holyhead Railway.
1845 Britain experienced railway mania again, with Robert acting as witness for or against some 60 parliamentary bills. He took over as Engineer-in-Chief of the Londonderry & Enniskillen Railway and saved the company £209,000. Robert produced drawings for a tubular girder bridge to span the Conway (400ft [122m]) for the Chester & Holyhead Railway. A parliamentary select committee investigated the case for the atmospheric system. Robert was still against it. Time proved it to be a technical failure. He started the design of a box-girder bridge to cross the Menai Strait (two spans of 460ft [140m]; and two of 230ft [70m]). On the 31st July the Newcastle & Berwick Railway Bill was approved and Robert was appointed in charge. He was responsible for all structures including Dean Street viaduct, the High Level Bridge over the Tyne, Central Station in Newcastle and the Royal Border Bridge over the Tweed at Berwick. The high level bow-string iron girder design is exceptional in having a top level for trains and a lower level for other traffic. On the 6th August the Gauge Commission started to examine whether Britain should adopt George Stephenson’s 4ft 8½in [1.435m] width between rails or Brunel’s favoured 7ft 0¼in [2.140m]. Robert gave evidence in favour of the narrower gauge. This was eventually adopted as standard.
1847 A trussed iron-girder bridge over the Dee collapsed, killing 5 people. Though it was not designed by Robert, he was responsible for it. A Royal Commission on the Application of Iron to Railway Structures (AIRS) was set up. On the 30th July he was elected Tory MP for Whitby. Robert visited Norway as a railway consultant and moved home again to 34 Gloucester Square, London.
1848 The first of the Conway bridge tubes was floated into position. Robert was responsible for the design and all arrangements connected to its erection. The tube was raised to its final position on 16th April. Two days later Robert drove the first locomotive through the tube. He gave evidence to the AIRS Commission and maintained faith in tubular girder wrought iron structures. On the 12th August George Stephenson died at his home, Tapton House, Derbyshire. Robert was chief mourner at George’s funeral on the 17th .
1849 Robert was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. On the 20th June the Britannia Bridge’s first tube was floated into position. Nearly a year later Robert drove the last rivet into the girder and also the first train over the strait. On the 28th September Newcastle’s High Level Bridge was officially opened by Queen Victoria.
1850 A dinner was held on the Newcastle Central Station platform to celebrate the creation of a continuous line of railway from Euston to Berwick. Robert had a yacht ‘Titania’ built and became a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron. In July he accepted a challenge from Commodore Stevens to race 'Titania’ against his 'America'. Thus was born the America's Cup race. On the 29th August: Queen Victoria opened the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick. Robert declined a knighthood. He travelled to Switzerland and gave advice about a railway network. He sailed to Egypt in 'Titania' and whilst he was there the Pasha sought his advice on railways.
1851 Robert became Engineer-in-Chief for the Alexandria to Cairo Railway. As a Commissioner of the Great Exhibition, he helped to ensure Paxton’s design for the Crystal Palace was accepted. Robert travelled to Norway as Engineer-in-Charge of the Christiania (Oslo) to Miosen Lake Railway.
1853 Robert submitted designs for a tubular girder bridge to span the St. Lawrence at Montreal. When built it became the world’s longest bridge.
1854 Robert was nominated by Faraday and became a member of the Royal Institution. He spent a month in the north-east helping Samuel Smiles with his biography of George Stephenson.
1855 Robert was made a ‘Chevalier de Legion d’Honneur’ by Napoleon III.
1856 Robert was elected President of the Institution of Civil Engineers for a two-year term. He lent his yacht to the Astronomer Royal, Prof. Piazzi Smythe.
1857 His godson, Robert Stephenson Smyth Powell (later Lord Baden-Powell), was born. Robert received a Doctorate of Civil Law from Oxford University.
1858 Robert visited Sunderland to see his reconstruction of Paine’s bridge over the Wear. He remarked: ‘there are no members of society for whom I have a higher respect than for industrious and intelligent workmen. It is to them that the engineer is indebted for the full and efficient realisation of his conceptions’. In October he sailed to Egypt and took what was to be a last Christmas dinner for both men with Brunel in Cairo.
1859 After another sailing trip, this time to Norway, Robert became ill and died at home on 12th October ‘of obstinate congestion of the liver followed by dropsy of the whole system’. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. His long-time friend and colleague Joseph Locke spoke for all when he said: ‘Robert Stephenson achieved some of the greatest works of art which have been witnessed in our day, and obtained an eminence in the scientific world rarely reached by any practical professional man'.