William Hedley | |
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| Born | 13 July 1779 (1779-07-13) Newburn, England |
| Died | 9 January 1843 (1843-01-10) (aged 63) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Colliery viewer |
William Hedley (13 July 1779 – 9 January 1843[1]) was born inNewburn, nearNewcastle upon Tyne. He was one of the leading industrial engineers of the early 19th century, and was instrumental in several major innovations in earlyrailway development. While working as a 'viewer' or manager atWylam Colliery near Newcastle upon Tyne, he built the first practicalsteam locomotive which relied simply on theadhesion of iron wheels on iron rails.
Before Hedley's time, such locomotives were far too heavy for the track that was then available. While most lines used cable haulage with stationary engines, various other schemes had been tried. William Chapman at theButterley Company in 1812, attempted to use a steam engine which hauled itself along a cable, while, at the same company, Brunton had produced the even less successful "mechanical traveller", orSteam Horse.
However, in 1812,Matthew Murray andJohn Blenkinsop had produced the first twin cylinder steam locomotive,Salamanca, forMiddleton Colliery railway nearLeeds, using apinion engaging with teeth along the ironedge rails track (the firstrack railway). This had been the first steam locomotive railway to work successfully, but the system was complex and expensive.
Hedley felt that if the pairs of wheels were connected, as withRichard Trevithick's engines, if one pair began to slip, it would be counteracted by the other. The mine owner,Christopher Blackett had just replaced the woodenwaggonway with iron flanged 'L' section plate rails. Hedley first constructed a test carriage operated by manpower, to test theadhesion under various loads. He then used it as the chassis for a locomotive constructed to Trevithick's pattern with a single cylinder and a simple straight through fire tube to the boiler. This engine was not satisfactory. Its motion was erratic, because of the single cylinder, and it produced insufficient steam.
He built a second engine, with the assistance of the, later to be famous,Timothy Hackworth, his foreman smith, and his principal engine wright, Jonathan Forster, using the 1812 twin cylinder plan ofJohn Blenkinsop andMatthew Murray and areturn flue boiler. This was the famoussteam locomotive,Puffing Billy which first ran in 1813 and is now preserved at theScience Museum inLondon. Its success encouraged them to build a second engineWylam Dilly, which is now in theNational Museum of Scotland inEdinburgh. In the same year, his system for using a coupling between the wheels was patented.
However, there was still considerable wear to the track, and the engines were rebuilt using twin four-wheeled bogies, introduced in Blackwell's design mentioned above. Initially the wheels were without flanges for use on the flanged plate rails. In about 1830 the line was relaid with the stronger edge rails, and both locomotives reverted to their original pattern, but with flanged wheels, which is how they are today. Both locos remained in active service until 1862.
Hedley died in 1843 at Burnhopeside Hall, nearLanchester and was buried at Newburn parish church. Four sons survived him and his descendants remained heavily involved in the coal-mining industry until nationalisation in the 1940s. In 1971, a charitable foundation was set up in the Hedley name, with assets based on the compensation from nationalisation.
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