Robert Stephenson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Stephenson in 1856 | |
| Born | (1803-10-16)16 October 1803 Willington Quay, Northumberland, England |
| Died | 12 October 1859(1859-10-12) (aged 55) London, England |
| Resting place | Westminster Abbey |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Spouses |
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| Parent | George Stephenson |
| Relatives | George Robert Stephenson (cousin) |
| Engineering career | |
| Projects | |
| Awards | |
Robert StephensonFRS, HonFRSE, FRSA,DCL (Hon. causa) (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an Englishcivil engineer and designer oflocomotives. The only son ofGeorge Stephenson, the "Father of Railways",[2] he built on the achievements of his father.
Robert Stephenson became an apprentice under mining engineerNicholas Wood after completing his education in 1819. In 1821, he and his father surveyed theBishop Auckland area to helpEdward Pease build a railway that would transport coal from the area to Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees. In 1823, the Stephensons and Pease foundedRobert Stephenson and Company to manufacture locomotives; the company designed such locomotives as theLancashire Witch in 1828 and theJohn Bull in 1831, the latter of which became the first steam locomotive to run inNew Jersey.
Throughout the 1830s Robert oversaw the construction of several railways, including theCanterbury and Whitstable Railway, the Bolton & Leigh railway, theWarrington & Newton Railway and the Leicester & Swannington railway. He drew the plans for theLondon and Birmingham Railway, which opened in 1838. In 1832 he was appointed surveyor for a project to build a railway between Lanehead Farmhouse and Consett in County Durham, but the railway line closed in 1840, six years after its completion. In 1839 he spent three months in France, Spain and Italy advising on railways, and after returning to England he advised Parliament and arbitrated in disputes between railway companies and contractors. He was made Knight of the Order of Leopold in 1841 for his improvements to locomotive engines.
In 1845 Robert designed an iron bridge that would cross the River Dee; theDee bridge was completed in 1846 but collapsed under a locomotive, causing the deaths of five people. Robert was accused of manslaughter during the inquest, but a verdict of accidental death was ultimately returned. He also designed theBritannia Bridge, which crosses theMenai Strait and consists of four tubes; it was opened to public traffic in 1850. TheHigh Level Bridge, another of his works, crosses the Tyne and was opened in 1849 byQueen Victoria. She offered Robert a knighthood, but he refused.
Robert, who was a member of theConservative Party, was elected as the Member of Parliament forWhitby; he held the position until his death in 1859.
Robert has been called the greatest engineer of the 19th century.[1][3] Stephenson's death was widely mourned, and his funeral afforded marks of public honour. He is buried inWestminster Abbey.[4]
Robert Stephenson was born on 16 October 1803,[note 1] atWillington Quay, east ofNewcastle upon Tyne, toGeorge Stephenson and Frances (née Henderson), usually known as Fanny. She was twelve years older than George, and when they met she was working as a servant where George was lodging. After marrying, George and Fanny lived in an upper room of a cottage; George worked as a brakesman on thestationary winding engine on the Quay, and in his spare time he cleaned and mended clocks and repaired shoes.[6]
In 1804, George became a brakesman at the West Moor Pit, and the family moved toKillingworth. Fanny's health deteriorated, and she died on 14 May 1806.[7][8] Robert was first sent to a village school1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) away inLong Benton. George had received little formal education but was determined that his son would have one and so sent the eleven-year-old Robert to be taught at the Percy Street Academy in Newcastle. Robert became a member of theNewcastle Literary and Philosophical Society and borrowed books for him and his father to read. In the evenings, he would work with his father on designs for steam engines. In 1816 they made asundial together, which is still in place above the cottage door.[9][10]
After leaving school in 1819, Stephenson was apprenticed to the mining engineerNicholas Wood, manager of Killingworth colliery.[11] As an apprentice Stephenson worked hard and lived frugally, and unable to afford to buy amining compass, he made one that he would later use to survey theHigh Level Bridge in Newcastle.
In 1829, Stephenson married Frances Sanderson; the couple had no children, and he did not remarry after her death in 1842. In 1847, he was elected Member of Parliament forWhitby, and held the seat until his death. Stephenson declined a Britishknighthood, for unstated reasons, as his father had before him.[note 2] He did accept several non-British honours: He was decorated inBelgium with theKnight of the Order of Leopold, inFrance with theKnight of the Legion of Honour and inNorway with theKnight Grand Cross of the order of St Olaf.
He was elected aFellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1849.[1] A later fellow of the society wasRobert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, who was Stephenson's godson and named after him.[15] Stephenson also served as President of theInstitution of Mechanical Engineers and of theInstitution of Civil Engineers. Oxford University conferred an honoraryDoctor of Civil Law degree on Stephenson.[16]
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Ways were investigated in the early 19th century to transport coal from the mines in theBishop Auckland area toDarlington and the quay atStockton-on-Tees, andcanals had been proposed. The Welsh engineer George Overton suggested atramway, surveyed a route in September 1818 and the scheme was promoted byEdward Pease at a meeting in November.[17][18][note 3] Aprivate bill for aStockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was presented toParliament in 1819 but was opposed by landowners and did not pass.[20] The route was changed, Overton carried out another survey and anact of Parliament, theStockton and Darlington Railway Act 1821 (1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. xliv), receivedroyal assent on 19 April 1821; Pease and George Stephenson met for the first time in Darlington that same day,[21][note 4] and by 23 July George had been appointed to make a fresh survey of the line.[23]
Stephenson had not completed his apprenticeship, but he was showing symptoms of tuberculosis, and his work was hazardous; he was down West Moor Pit when there was an underground explosion. Wood agreed to release the 18-year-old so that he could assist his father during the survey.[24][25] By the end of 1821 they reported that a usable line could be built within the bounds of the act of Parliament, but another route would be shorter and avoid deep cuttings and tunnels.[26] George was elected engineer by shareholders with a salary of £660 per annum.[27] He advocated the use of steam locomotives,[28] Pease visited Killingworth in the summer of 1822,[29] and the directors visitedHetton colliery railway, on which George had also introduced locomotives.[30] During the survey of theS&DR George had been persuaded, mainly by the Scottish engineerRobert Bald, that Robert would benefit from a university education. George could have afforded to send his son to a full degree course atCambridge but agreed to a short academic year as he wished that Robert should not become a gentleman but should work for his living. Robert first helpedWilliam James to survey the route of theLiverpool and Manchester Railway and then attended classes atEdinburgh University between October 1822 and April 1823.[31][32]
On 23 May 1823, a secondS&DR act of Parliament, theStockton and Darlington Railway Act 1823 (4 Geo. 4. c. xxxiii), received royal assent with the Stephensons' deviations from the original route and permission for the use of "loco-motives or moveable engines".[33] In June 1823 the Stephensons and Pease openedRobert Stephenson and Company at Forth Street in Newcastle to build these locomotives, Pease lending Robert £500 so he could buy his share. As George was busy supervising the building of the railway, Robert was placed in charge of the works with a salary of £200 per annum. Robert also surveyed the route and designed the Hagger Leases branch, which was planned to serve the collieries at Butterknowle and Copley Bent. A new act of Parliament was required for the line, and Robert stayed in London for five weeks while the bill passed through its parliamentary process, with royal assent being given to theStockton and Darlington Railway Act 1824 (5 Geo. 4. c. xlviii) in May 1824.[34] TheS&DR ordered two steam locomotives and two stationary engines from Robert Stephenson & Co. on 16 September 1824,[35] and the railway opened on 27 September 1825.[36][37]
On 18 June 1824, Stephenson sailed on theSir William Congreve fromLiverpool for South America with a contract for three years.[38] At that time Colombia and Venezuela had not been independent of Spain for long, and they were both part of the same republic,Gran Colombia. The area's natural resources were attracting some British investors, including the Colombian Mining Association which had been formed to reopen gold and silver mines worked by the Spanish in colonial times.[39] A Robert Stephenson & Co. partner,Thomas Richardson, was a promoter. Robert Stephenson & Co. received orders for steam engines from the company, and Richardson suggested to Stephenson that he go to South America.[40]
To prepare for the trip, Stephenson took Spanish lessons, visited mines inCornwall, and consulted a doctor, who advised that such a change of climate would be beneficial to his health.[41][42] After a five-week journey Robert arrived at the port ofLa Guayra in Venezuela on 23 July 1824. He investigated building abreakwater and pier at the harbour, and a railway toCaracas. A railway linking Caracas to its port was an ambitious project as Caracas is nearly 1,000 meters above sea level: one was not completed until the 1880s.[43] Stephenson had potential backers for his railway in London, but he concluded that while the cost of a pier, estimated at £6,000, would be sustainable, that of a breakwater or railway would not.
He travelled overland toBogotá, arriving on 19 January 1825.[44] Travelling onward, Robert found the heavier equipment atHonda on theMagdalena River; there was no way to get it to the mines as the only route was a narrow and steep path. The mines were another 12 miles (19 km) fromMariquita, and Stephenson set up home atSanta Ana in a bungalow.[45] The Mining Association sent Cornish miners to work the mine, but they proved difficult to manage and drank so heavily that only two-thirds were available for work on any given day. They refused to accept that Stephenson, who had not been brought up in Cornwall, could know anything about mining.[46]
His contract ended on 16 July 1827. He travelled toCartagena to see if he could walk across thePanama Isthmus, but this proved too difficult. While waiting for a ship to New York, he met the railway pioneerRichard Trevithick,[note 5] who had been looking for South American gold and silver in the mines of Peru and Costa Rica, and gave him £50 so he could buy passage home.
Stephenson caught a ship to New York; en route this picked up shipwrecked survivors that were so weak they had to be winched aboard, before the ship he was on sank in another storm. Everyone was saved, but Stephenson lost his money and luggage. He noticed that one second-class passenger was given priority over first-class passengers in the lifeboats: the captain later said privately that he and the passenger wereFreemasons and had sworn an oath to show such preference to each other in times of peril. Stephenson was impressed and became a Freemason in New York.[48][49][note 6] Wishing to see something of North America, he and four other Englishmen walked the 500 miles (800 km) toMontreal viaNiagara Falls. He returned to New York, caught thepacketPacific across the Atlantic and arrived in Liverpool at the end of November 1827.[50]
In 1827 George was working as the chief engineer of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR).[51] He had built theExperiment locomotive with sloping cylinders instead of the vertical ones on previous locomotives.[52] Robert wanted to improve the way the wheels were driven and had a chance when an order arrived in January 1828 from the L&MR. TheLancashire Witch was built with inclined cylinders that allowed the axles to be sprung, but the L&MR withdrew the order in April; by mutual agreement the locomotive was sold to theBolton and Leigh Railway. Several similar locomotives with four or six wheels were built in the next two years, one being sent to the US for theDelaware and Hudson Canal Company.[53] As well as working at the locomotive works, Robert was also surveying routes for railways and advised on a tunnel under theRiver Mersey.[54]
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In March 1828 Robert wrote to a friend saying he had an attraction toBroad Street in London as Frances (Fanny) Sanderson lived there.[note 7] Robert and Fanny had known each other before he had gone to South America, and after calling on her soon after returning he had an invitation from her father to be a frequent visitor. He introduced her to his father in August 1828, and she accepted his proposal of marriage at the end of that year. Robert spent so much time in London the following year that his partners accused him of neglecting his business. Robert had not wished for a long engagement, but it took some time until a suitable house was found at 5 Greenfield Place in Newcastle, and Robert and Fanny married in London on 17 June 1829.[56][57][58]
The L&MR directors had not decided whether to use fixed engines with ropes or steam locomotives and resolved to hold trials to see if a steam locomotive would meet their requirements.[59] The trials were to be held at a two-mile (3.2 km) double-track railway that was to be built atRainhill.[60] Robert designed the locomotive for the trials during the summer of 1829. Only two of the wheels were driven, as experience had shown that wrought-iron wheels had a high rate of wear that quickly resulted in wheels of different size, and gears were provided for both forward and reverse running .[61][note 8] The performance-enhancing idea to heat water using many small diameter tubes through the boiler was communicated to Robert via a letter from his father who heard about it fromHenry Booth andMarc Seguin .[63][note 9] With both George and Booth in Liverpool, Robert was responsible for the detail design, and he fitted twenty-five 3-inch (76 mm) diameter tubes from a separate firebox through the boiler. In September theRocket locomotive was sent to Rainhill where it was coupled with its tender.[61]
TheRainhill trials started on 6 October, and between 10,000 and 15,000 people had assembled to watch. Five locomotives had arrived, butPerseverance did not compete, having been damaged on the way to Rainhill, andCyclops, powered by two horses in a frame, was not a serious entry. ChallengingRocket wasNovelty, built byJohn Ericsson andJohn Braithwaite in London, andSans Pareil, built at theShildon railway works byTimothy Hackworth, the locomotive supervisor of the S&DR. On 8 October at 10:30 amRocket started its 70-mile (110 km) journey forwards and backwards across the course.Rocket covered the first 35 miles in 3 hours and 12 minutes. Then, it took a 15 minutes break for replenishing its coke and water supplies before completing the course in another 2 hours 57 minutes. It had run at an average speed of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h), and the highest speed reached was over 29 miles per hour (47 km/h).[67][68]Sans Pareil was found to be overweight but was allowed to run. She burnt fuel at more than three times the rate ofRocket before her boiler ran dry.Novelty was tried again the following day, was withdrawn after a joint failed again, andRocket was declared the winner.[69]
The L&MR purchasedRocket and ordered four similar locomotives from Robert Stephenson & Co. before the end of October.[70] Four more similar locomotives followed, beforePlanet was delivered on 4 October 1830 with cylinders placed horizontally under the boiler. Hackworth was buildingGlobe at the Robert Stephenson & Co. works at the same time, andEdward Bury deliveredLiverpool the same month, both with cylinders under the boiler. It has been alleged that Stephenson copied Hackworth or Bury; he later said he had no knowledge ofLiverpool at the time he was designingPlanet.[71]John Bull, aPlanet type locomotive, was shipped to the US and became the first movement by steam on a railway inNew Jersey when it ran on theCamden and Amboy Railroad in 1831.[72] So many orders for locomotives were received that Stephenson proposed in 1831 to open a second locomotive works. It was agreed that the Stephenson name would not be attached to any other works, and what was to become theVulcan Foundry was developed atNewton-le-Willows.[73][74]
George Stephenson & Son had been created on the last day of 1824, when Robert was in South America, with the same partners as Robert Stephenson & Co. Formed to carry out railway surveys and construction, George and Robert were both listed as chief engineers and responsible for Parliamentary business, and the list of assistant engineers includedJoseph Locke,John Dixon,Thomas Longridge Gooch and Thomas Storey. The company took on too much work[75] that was delegated to inexperienced and underpaid men.[76]
Soon after he had returned from America, Robert took over responsibility for overseeing the construction of theCanterbury & Whitstable Railway, and this opened on 3 May 1830 with a locomotive similar toRocket calledInvicta, supplied by Robert Stephenson & Co.[77] He was also responsible for two branches of the L&MR, the Bolton & Leigh andWarrington & Newton railways.[78] TheLeicester & Swannington Railway was built to take coal from the Long Lane colliery toLeicester, and Stephenson was appointed engineer. Robert Stephenson & Co. suppliedPlanet type locomotives, but these were found underpowered and were replaced in 1833.
On 18 September 1830 George Stephenson & Son signed a contract to survey the route for theLondon and Birmingham Railway.[79] George recommended the route viaCoventry, rather than an alternative viaOxford, but it was Robert that did most of the work;[80] that same year Robert joined theInstitution of Civil Engineers as a member.[81][note 10] There were two surveys in 1830–31 which met opposition from landowners and those who lived in market towns on the coach route that would be bypassed.[83] Robert stood as the engineering authority when a bill was presented to Parliament in 1832,[84] and it was suggested during cross-examination that he had allowed too steep an angle on the side of the cutting at Tring. Remembering thatThomas Telford had cut through similar ground atDunstable, Robert left with Gooch inpost-chaise that night, and arrived at the cutting at dawn to find it the same angle he had proposed. He returned and was in the company solicitor's office at 10 am.[85] That year the bill passed through theCommons but was defeated in theLords. After a public campaign and another survey by Robert, the necessary act of Parliament, theLondon and Birmingham Railway Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. xxxvi), was obtained on 6 May 1833,[86][87] and it was Robert, not yet 30 years old, that signed the contract on 20 September 1833 to build the 112-mile (180 km) railway fromCamden Town toBirmingham.[88][89]
Robert was awarded a salary of £1,500 plus £200 expenses per annum,[note 11] and he and Fanny moved from Newcastle to London.[91] He drew up plans and made detailed work estimates, dividing the line into 30 contracts, most of which were placed by October 1835. A drawing office with 20–30 draughtsmen was established at the empty Eyre Arms Hotel in St John's Wood;George Parker Bidder, whom Robert had first met at Edinburgh University, started working for him there.[92][note 12]Primrose Hill Tunnel, Wolverton embankment, andKilsby Tunnel all had engineering problems and were completed using direct labour.[94]
The line permitted by the 1833 act of Parliament terminated north ofRegent's Canal at Camden (nearChalk Farm Underground station), asBaron Southampton, who owned the land to the south, had strongly opposed the railway in the House of Lords in 1832. Later Southampton changed his mind, and authority was gained for an extension of the line south over Regent's Canal toEuston Square. This incline, with a slope between 1 in 75 and 1 in 66, was worked by a stationary engine at Camden − trains from Euston were drawn up by rope, whereas carriages would descend under gravity. The oft repeated statement that the rope-working was necessary because locomotives of the period were insufficiently powerful was denied in 1839 by Peter Lecount, one of the assistant engineers. In fact the incline was worked by locomotives from the opening date of the southern section of the line, 20 July 1837, until 14 October 1837, also whenever the stationary engine or rope were stopped for repairs, then for Mail Trains from November 1843, and entirely from 15 July 1844, without any real increase in the power of the locomotives. The reason given by Lecount for the rope working was the London and Birmingham Railway Act 1833, by which he said they were 'restricted ... from running locomotive engines nearer London than Camden Town.'[95][96][note 13][98]
The L&BR opened ceremonially on 15 September 1838. Construction had taken four years and three months, but had cost £5.5 million against the original estimate of £2.4 million.[99][100]
In 1835 Robert travelled with his father to Belgium. George had been invited to adviseKing Leopold on theBelgian State Railway and was decorated with theOrder of Leopold; Robert returned with his father two years later to celebrate the opening of the railway between Brussels andGhent. By agreement with the L&BR, Robert was not permitted to work on any other engineering project while the railway was being built, but he was permitted to act as consultant.[101][102]
TheStephenson valve gear was developed in 1842 by Stephenson employees in Newcastle.[103] The six-coupled Stephensonlong-boiler locomotive design was developed into a successful freight locomotive but was unsuitable for sustained high speeds.[104]
TheStanhope and Tyne Railroad Company (S&TR) had been formed in 1832 as a partnership to build a railway between thelime kilns at Lanehead Farmhouse and the coal mines atConsett in County Durham. The partners had decided to build a railway instead of upgrading the existing Pontop Waggonway, and commissioned Robert as surveyor and consulting engineer, and withThomas Elliot Harrison as acting engineer, construction started atStanhope in July 1832,[105][106] and the line opened in 1834.[107] Instead of obtaining an act of Parliament the company had agreedwayleaves with the land owners, requiring payment of rent. The company borrowed heavily, and the debt grew to £440,000;[108] by 1840 the lime kilns and the section from Stanhope to Carrhouse had closed, and the remaining Stanhope to Annfield section was losing money. A creditor sent a bill to Stephenson that the railway company could not pay, and Robert found that as the S&TR was not alimited company, shareholders were liable for the debt. Fearing financial ruin Robert sought the advice of Parker, the insolvent railway company was dissolved on 5 February 1841 and a new limited company, the Pontop and South Shields Railway, was created to take over the line, Robert contributing £20,000. The southern section from Stanhope to Carrhouse was sold to theDerwent Iron Company at Consett.[109][110][111] The Great North of England Railway opened in 1841 to York with a railway connection at Darlington to London, and theNewcastle and Darlington Junction Railway (N&DJR) was formed to extend this line to Newcastle using five miles of the Pontop and South Shields Railway.George Hudson, a railway financier known as the "Railway King", was the chairman of the N&DJR, and Robert was appointed engineer.[112][113]
Some work still needed to be completed on the L&BR, and theNorth Midland Railway and lines fromOstend toLiège andAntwerp toMons in Belgium required Robert's attention. In 1839 he visited France, Spain and Italy for three months to advise on railways, meeting the leading French railway engineerPaulin Talabot. When he returned he was in demand, travelling the country, giving evidence to Parliament and was often asked to arbitrate in disputes between railway companies and their contractors.[114]
My dear Fanny died this morning at five o'clock. God grant that I might close my life as she has done, in true faith and in charity with all men. Her last moments were perfect calmness.
Robert, like his father, planned a railway line that avoided gradients as much as possible, extending the route if necessary,[note 14] and proposed such a route for a line between London andBrighton, but an alternative was selected.[117] In August 1841 Robert was made Knight of the Order of Leopold for his improvements to locomotive engines.
In the summer of 1842 Robert was away working on the N&DJR, in September in Cardiff and then in London working on a report for the French Railways. Fanny had been diagnosed with cancer two years previously and she grew seriously ill at the end of the month. She died on 4 October 1842. Her wish was that Robert remarry and have children, but he stayed single for the rest of his life. Her funeral was on 11 October, and Robert returned to work the following day,[118] although he was to visit to her grave for many years.[119][note 15]
Robert grew to dislike the house on Haverstock Hill after the death of his wife. He moved to Cambridge Square in Westminster to be nearer to London'sgentlemen's clubs, but soon afterwards the house was damaged by fire and he lived in temporary accommodation for ten months.[121] The Newcastle and Darlington Junction Railway opened on 18 June 1844. A special train left Euston at 5:03 am, and travelling via Rugby,Leicester,Derby,Chesterfield andNormanton, reachedGateshead, south of theRiver Tyne, at 2:24 pm. Festivities were held in the Newcastle Assembly Rooms, where George was introduced as the man who had "constructed the first locomotive that ever went by its own spontaneous movement along iron rails", although there were people present who should have known better.[122][123][124]
When George had built the Stockton & Darlington and Liverpool & Manchester he had placed the rails4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm) apart, as this was the gauge of the railway at the Killingworth Colliery.[note 16]Isambard Kingdom Brunel, chief engineer to theGreat Western Railway, had adopted the7 ft (2,134 mm) orbroad gauge, arguing that this would allow for higher speeds.[125] Railways built with the different gauges met for the first time atGloucester in 1844, and although an inconvenience to passengers, this became a serious problem for goods, with delays and packages being lost at Gloucester. In 1845 aRoyal Commission was appointed and of the forty-six witnesses that gave evidence, only Brunel and his colleagues at the Great Western supported the broad gauge.[126] Comparisons between a Stephenson locomotive between York and Darlington and one built by Brunel between Paddington and Didcot showed the broad gauge locomotive to be superior, but the commissioners found in favour of a4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) gauge, due in part to the greater number of route miles that had already been laid.[127][128][note 17] Brunel also supported propelling trains using theatmospheric system. Robert sent assistants to theDalkey Atmospheric Railway in Ireland to observe, but advised against its use as the failure of one pump would bring traffic to a stop.[131]
Robert's stepmother Elizabeth had died in 1845. That year George was returning ill from a trip to Spain and suffered an attack ofpleurisy in the cabin of the packet bound for Southampton. He retired toTapton House, nearChesterfield, and married his housekeeper early in 1848. Later that year he died on 12 August following a second attack of pleurisy, and was buried in Trinity churchyard, in Chesterfield. George had been the President of the newly formedInstitution of Mechanical Engineers, and Robert took over that role until 1853.[132]
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TheChester & Holyhead Railway received its permission in 1845, and Robert became the chief engineer and designed an iron bridge to cross theRiver Dee just outsideChester. Completed in September 1846, it was inspected by the Board of Trade Inspector, Major-General Paisley, on 20 October.[133] On 24 May 1847 the bridge gave way under a passenger train; the locomotive and driver made it across, but the tender and carriages fell into the river. Five people died. Conder attended the inquest at Chester: he recounts that Paisley was so agitated he was nearly unable to speak; Robert was pale and haggard and the foreman of the jury seemed determined to get a verdict of manslaughter. Robert had been prepared to admit liability but was persuaded to present a defence that the cast-iron girder could only have fractured because the tender had derailed from a broken wheel. Robert was supported by expert witnesses such Locke,Charles Vignoles, Gooch and Kennedy, and a verdict of accidental death was returned. Robert never used long cast-iron girders again, and a Royal Commission was later set up to look at the use of cast iron by the railway companies.[134][135][note 18]
TheBritannia Bridge was built for the Chester & Holyhead Railway to cross theMenai Strait from Wales to the island ofAnglesey.[136] The bridge needed to be 1,511 feet (461 m) long, and theAdmiralty insisted on a single span 100 feet (30 m) above the water.[137] Problems during the launch of the wrought-iron steamshipPrince of Wales meant that she fell with her hull not supported for 110 feet (34 m), but was undamaged. Robert was inspired by this and withWilliam Fairbairn andEaton Hodgkinson designed a wrought-iron tubular bridge large enough for a train to pass through.[note 19] They experimented with models in 1845 and 1846[139][140] and decided to use similar design on the 400-foot (120 m)Conwy Bridge to gain experience.[141] The first Conwy tube was floated into position in March 1848 and lifted the following month, allowing a single line railway to open on 1 May. The second tube was lifted into position that October; on these days Brunel was with Robert supporting his friend. The positioning of the first of the four tubes for the Britannia Bridge was carried out in June 1849, when both Brunel and Locke were with Robert, and this was lifted into position in October. The second tube was in lifted into place 7 January 1850, a single line was open to public traffic through these tubes 18 March 1850, and the second line was open 19 October.[142]
The route north of Newcastle toEdinburgh along the coast, viaMorpeth andBerwick, had been recommended by George in 1838, and Hudson promoted this route for theNewcastle and Berwick Railway in 1843.[143] The required act of Parliament, theNewcastle and Berwick Railway Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. clxiii), was givenroyal assent in 1845, included a high level road and rail bridge across the Tyne at Newcastle and theRoyal Border Bridge across theTweed at Berwick. TheHigh Level Bridge is 1,372 feet (418 m) long and 146 feet (45 m) high and made from cast-iron bows held taut by horizontal wrought-iron strings. The first train crossed the Tyne on a temporary wooden structure in August 1848; the iron bridge was formally opened byQueen Victoria in September 1849, Robert having been elected aFellow of the Royal Society in June. The bridge across the Tweed is a 28-arch stone viaduct, and was opened by the Queen on 29 August 1850. At the celebratory dinner Robert sat beside the Queen; he had just been offered aknighthood, but had declined.[144][145]
InAugust 1847, Robert was elected unopposed as the Member of Parliament forWhitby; he continued as their MP for the rest of his life.[146] He entered Parliament as a member of theConservative Party, holding strongprotectionist Tory views and opposed tofree trade. Hismaiden speech was in favour of theGreat Exhibition and, with Brunel, he became one of the Commissioners. Robert spoke against educational reform, saying workmen needed only to learn how to do their jobs, although he made donations to educational organisations.[147] In 1850, the pope appointedBishop Wiseman as the first EnglishRoman Catholic Cardinal since theReformation; Robert wrote in a private letter that this was aggressive, saying that in the "battle as to the mereform in which the creator is to be worshiped – the true spirit of Christianity is never allowed to appear."[148] He later voiced strong opposition to theCrimean War but supported the government in January 1855, although the government lost the vote and the prime minister resigned.[149][150][note 20]
Robert had become a member of theSociété d'Études du Canal de Suez in 1846, and the following year had accompanied Talabot andAlois Negrelli to look at the feasibility of aSuez canal. He advised against a canal, saying it would quickly fill up with sand,[151][152] and assisted in the building of a railway betweenAlexandria andCairo, with two tubular bridges that he had designed. This opened in 1854, and was extended toSuez in 1858.[153][154] He spoke in Parliament against possible involvement in a Suez canal scheme in 1857 and 1858.[151]
Robert had moved to 34 Gloucester Square in 1847; when in London he would socialise at theAthenaeum andCarlton clubs, delaying returning home until late. By 1850, Robert had been involved in a third of the country's railway system, and had prematurely aged and become ill with chronicnephritis, then known as Bright's Disease.[155][156][157]
Robert found that he attracted the unwelcome attention of inventors and promoters; if he was too ill to be at Great George Street they visited him at home in Gloucester Square. In part to defend himself from these intrusions in 1850 he commissioned a 100-ton yacht, calling herTitania. Finding that he had no unwanted visitors when aboard, he referred to her as "the house that has no knocker"; when he went aboard, he seemed to grow younger and would behave like an excited schoolboy.[158] He joined theRoyal Yacht Squadron in 1850, becoming its first member not from an upper-class background.[159]Titania missed the 1851 Royal Squadron Cup race, whichAmerica won and started theAmerica's Cup challenge, but lost toAmerica in a private race a few days later.[160] A second yacht, alsoTitania but 90 feet (27 m) long and 184 tons, was built in 1853 after the first was destroyed by fire in 1852.[158][161]
In 1850, the route for theNorwegian Trunk Railway fromOslo (then Christiania) to LakeMjøsa was surveyed, and Robert became chief engineer. Bidder stayed on as resident engineer, Robert returning in 1851, 1852 and 1854.[162][163] In August 1852 Robert travelled to Canada to advise theGrand Trunk Railway on crossing theSt Lawrence River at Montreal. The 8,600-foot (2,600 m)Victoria Bridge had a 6,500-foot-long (2,000-metre-long) tube made up of 25 wrought iron sections,[164] and was to become for a time the longest bridge in the world.[9]
In 1853, he was elected a member of theNorth of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers[165] and in 1854 was elected as one of the institute's vice Presidents.[166] In 1855 Robert was decoratedKnight of the Legion of Honour by theEmperor of France.[167][168]
Having served as vice-president of the Institution of Civil Engineers since 1847, he was elected president in 1856, and the following year received anHonorary Doctorate of Civil Law at Oxford along with Brunel andLivingstone.[169]
During his life he had become close friends with Brunel and Locke, and in 1857, although weak and ill, he responded to a plea for help from Brunel in launching theSSGreat Eastern. Robert fell from the slipway into riverside mud, but continued without an overcoat until the end of his visit. The following day he was confined to his bed for two weeks withbronchitis.[170]
In late 1858, Robert sailed with some friends to Alexandria,[note 21] where he stayed on boardTitania or atShepheard's Hotel in Cairo. He dined with his friend Brunel on Christmas Day before returning to London, arriving in February 1859. He was ill that summer, but sailed to Oslo in the company ofGeorge Parker Bidder to celebrate the opening of the Norwegian Trunk railway and to receive the KnightGrand Cross of the order of St. Olaf. He fell ill at the banquet on 3 September and returned to England on boardTitania in the company of a doctor, but the journey took seven days after the yacht ran into a storm. As Robert landed in Suffolk, Brunel was already seriously ill following a stroke and died the following day. Robert rallied, but died on 12 October 1859.[171] He was three years older than Brunel.
By 1850 Stephenson had been involved in the construction of a third of England's railway system. He designed theHigh Level Bridge andRoyal Border Bridge on theEast Coast Main Line. WithEaton Hodgkinson andWilliam Fairbairn he developed wrought-iron tubular bridges, such as theBritannia Bridge in Wales, a design he would later use for theVictoria Bridge in Montreal, for many years the longest bridge in the world. He eventually worked on 160 commissions from 60 companies, building railways in other countries such as Belgium, Norway, Egypt and France.[155]
Robert's death was deeply mourned throughout the country, especially since it happened just a month after the death of Brunel. His funeral cortège was given permission by the Queen to pass throughHyde Park, an honour previously reserved for royalty. Two thousand tickets were issued, but 3000 men[note 22] were admitted to the service atWestminster Abbey, where he was buried beside the great civil engineerThomas Telford. Ships on theThames,Tyne,Wear andTees placed their flags at half mast. Work stopped at midday onTyneside, and the 1,500 employees of Robert Stephenson & Co. marched through the streets of Newcastle to their own memorial service.[168][173]
Robert left about £400,000 (equivalent to £50,609,375 in 2023):[note 23] the Newcastle locomotive works, Snibston collieries and £50,000 went to his cousinGeorge Robert Stephenson, the only son of George's younger brother Robert, £10,000 was left to Parker Bidder and the Newcastle Infirmary, and the rest was left to friends and as legacies to institutions.[168][174] One of the bequests, for £2,000, was to the fund from which theNorth of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers was anticipating the creation of its permanent Newcastle Headquarters. Robert was a member of this institute.[175]
The minutes of the Council having been read, Robert Stephenson, Esq., M.P., was elected a member of the Institute.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWhitby 1847–1859 | Succeeded by |
| Professional and academic associations | ||
| Preceded by | President of theInstitution of Mechanical Engineers 1849–1853 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of theInstitution of Civil Engineers December 1855 – December 1857 | Succeeded by |
