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RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: june 2009 :: RMTnews 28 GEORGE STEPHENSON GREAT LIME ROAD, WEST MOOR, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE PEOPLE’S PUBS - Words by Mike Pentelow, Pictures by Peter Arkell "The father of the railways", as George Stephenson (1781-1848) became known, started his working life as a cowherd. This was in the Northumberland colliery village of Wylam, about seven miles west of Newcastle, where he was born. At the age of 17 he followed in his father's footsteps to become a fireman on the colliery's pumping engine. He taught himself to read and write and progressed to working on steam driven winding engines that hauled the coal wagons. These had fascinated him since childhood. In 1804 he got a job as a mechanical engineer in Killingworth's Highpoint colliery at West Moor pit (just near this pub) and lived alongside it at Dial Cottage, Great Lime Road, until 1822. The cottage was full of materials used in his experiments to develop new engines – and it was behind the cottage that he constructed his first locomotive – called Blucher – which pulled 30 tons uphill at four miles an hour, in 1814. The following year he invented a safety lamp for miners that did not explode when used near highly inflammable gases in the pits. At about the same time another more famous safety lamp was invented by Humphry Davy. Stephenson, however, after being made enginewright, concentrated on designing and making more powerful and more comfortable locomotives, constructing a further 16 while at Killingworth. He was then appointed to oversee the construction of the historic Stockton to Darlington railway and designing its first locomotive, called Locomotion. The line was opened in front of huge crowds on September 27, 1825, when the nine-mile journey took just under two hours. It was this achievement that earned him the title of "father of the railways"; and for this feat he is currently depicted on a Royal Mail stamp as a "pioneer of the industrial revolution". His fame spread further when his steam engine "The Rocket" won a race hands down with a world record speed of 35 miles per hour – and so became the one used on the new Liverpool to Manchester line. This opened in 1830 and became the first to carry passengers rather than cargo. He then became chief engineer on most of the lines laid in the 1830s, and was also adviser to the Belgian state railway. His deadly rival was Brunel (who featured earlier in this series) and Stephenson won the battle with him over what the standard gauge of the lines should be when it was decided they should be narrow rather than broad. The pub which bears his name is right next to the bridge which supports the main east coast railway line from London to Aberdeen. It has won best beer pub awards thanks to its Rivet Catcher beer from the local Jarrow brewery. George Stephenson’s house