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The Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company set down rules for the competition to be held at Rainhill as follows:
1829. GRAND COMPETITION of LOCOMOTIVES on the LIVERPOOL & MANCHESTER RAILWAYSTIPULATIONS & CONDITIONS on which the directions of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway offer a premium of £500 for the most improved locomotive engine.
NB. - The Railway Company will provide the ENGINE TENDER with a supply of Water and Fuel for the experiment. The distance within the Rails is four feet eight inches and a half. |
The four engines that took part in the Rainhill Trials This image is taken from
M. Greenwood: The Railway Revolution, p. 21. (Longman Then and There series, 1955). |
Interestingly, the boiler of the Sans Pareil was cast at Stephenson's works. It was supposed to be 1½ inches thick but in reality was only 5/8 inch thick. The boiler burst and the Sans Pareil did not complete the course. In fact, only the Rocket did complete the requirements of the competition, making the victory somewhat hollow.
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Last modified
1 August, 2017
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