What improved?
Rods linked the wheels so that more wheels could help pull. The cylinders stood upright inside the boiler.
THE ENGINE ROOM / 10
Small parts. Big discoveries.
A little steam. A clever machine. Let’s see what makes it move.
ON THE WORKBENCH0-4-0 · Vertical cylinders1825 · 0-4-0 · Vertical cylinders
Explore the steam history timeline
3D MODEL
Locomotion No. 1Based on the preserved locomotive, which was altered during its working life. This is not an exact reconstruction of every detail on opening day.
Drag to turn · Scroll or pinch to zoom · Right-drag or two-finger drag to panTap a part to discover it
Ready when you are
FROM THE HISTORICAL RECORD · 1825 · 0-4-0 · Vertical cylinders
THE ENGINE’S STORYMeet Locomotion No. 1
On 27 September 1825, Locomotion pulled the opening train on the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Coal wagons and passengers travelled together. George and Robert Stephenson helped turn an experiment into a working railway.
Original, replica or teaching model?
Read the source Based on the preserved locomotive, which was altered during its working life. This is not an exact reconstruction of every detail on opening day.
How did life change?
Railways began connecting mines, towns and ports. They needed drivers, track workers, signal staff and many other skilled people.
In the archive
Select a photograph to look closer. Captions distinguish originals, replicas and related examples.
Locomotion No. 1 displayed at the Greatest Gathering, Derby, 2025.
Maxopolitan · CC BY-SA 4.0Archive record ↗
YOUR NEXT DISCOVERY
Look closer. Have a go. Find out.Think like an engineer.
The opening-day train
Make up the opening-day train. Put the engine, its fuel and water, goods and passenger vehicles in a sensible order.
Tap each vehicle to join the train, starting at the front. Keep fuel and water next to the engine. This is a simplified train-planning puzzle.
No timer. Try as often as you like. These puzzles explain ideas; they are not instructions for operating a real engine.