Wylam - Where Railways were Born
Wylam is located in Northumberland on the banks of the River Tyne, 10 miles west of Newcastle.
Wylam is often thought of as "Where Railways were Born", the first steam locomotives being developed at the village's colliery, and it was the birth place of railway pioneer George Stephenson.
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WYLAM
BIRTHPLACE OF THE RAILWAYS
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| Wylam Colliery and Village |
Wylam Colliery was upstream from Lemington, the closest coal staithes from where coal could be transported by boat. To move coal to the staithes, a 5 mile long wagonway was built for wagons to be drawn along wooden rails by horses.
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| Wylam Wagonway 1788 |
In 1804 Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick demonstrated the first ever steam locomotive on the Pen-y-darran wggonway in Wales. The engine used driving wheels in a rack and pinion system.
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| Richard Trevithick's pioneering Locomotive 1804 |
The Wylam Colliery owner Christopher Blackett became aware of the locomotive and recognising it's potential, ordered one from Trevithick's agents in Gateshead. This was the first locomotive to have flanged wheels. The locomotive was trialled at the colliery, however it was found to be too heavy for the wagonway and became a static engine.
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| Richard Trevithick's Locomotive 1804 for Wylam Colliery |
| Richard Trevithick's Wylam Colliery Engine Source: |
Assisted by other railway pioneering engineers, Timothy Hackworth, and Jonathan Foster, the earliest steam locomotives using smooth wheels and smooth track were developed.
Two locomotives were built by William Hedley, the resident engineer at Wylam Colliery.
Puffing Billy was built in 1813, and Wylam Dilly in 1815 and used on the Wylam Wagonway.
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| Wylam Colliery 1850s Steam Locomotive pulling waggons |
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| Puffing Billy Wylam Colliery 1862 |
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| Wylam Dilly Wylam Colliery 1862 |
GEORGE STEPHENSON
FATHER OF THE RAILWAYS
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| George Stephenson |
He was born in Wylam 9th June 1781, the second child of Robert and Mabel Stephenson. Robert worked as a firemen on a pumping engine at Wylam Colliery. He was born in High Street House adjacent to the Wylam Wagonway.
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| George Stephenson's Birthplace Wylam |
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| George Stephenson's Birthplace Wylam |
Illiterate till he was 18, George paid for his own education to become one of the greatest engineers of the Industrial Revolution. Founding an engineering company, which built the first ever steam locomotive to carry passengers and building the first intercity railway line to use locomotives, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, he laid the foundation of the worlds rail systems.
