Last September, the museum was thrilled to welcome the iconic Stephenson’s Rocket back to the place where it had worked over 180 years ago. But the time has now come to say goodbye as it continues its tour and moves on to our sister museum, the National Railway Museum in York.
There’s heritage transport, and then there’s Stephenson’s Rocket, built to run on the world’s first inter-city passenger railway.
In the second part of our blog post about George and Robert Stephenson, we turn our attention towards the younger’s achievements and the elder’s last years.
We’ve been thinking about Rocket a lot recently. Not just its engineering excellence that sets it apart from its rivals, but the stories of the people surrounding the iconic locomotive as well.
If you’ve read any of our Rocket blogs, you’ll already know that Rocket was designed by Robert Stephenson, son of engineer George Stephenson. But who exactly were they? What made them tick, and how did they rise to the heights that they did?
Michael Bailey, author of Rocket: A history of a pioneering locomotive, talks about the engineering that set Rocket apart from its rivals.
To celebrate the Rainhill Trials, let’s take a look at how the names of the engines captured the spirit of the era, and how what you call something continues to shape how we think of the past and the future.
Stephenson’s Rocket has returned to Manchester for the first time in over 180 years. Naturally, the Science and Industry Museum gang were all out in force to document its arrival on social media.
To celebrate the return of Rocket to Manchester, we asked you for your favourite locomotive-inspired songs—and you didn’t disappoint.
Like all great events, there was a range of merchandise to commemorate Rocket’s triumph at the Rainhill Trials. Here’s a selection of our favourite memorabilia from our collection…
Stephenson’s Rocket is to return to Manchester for the first time in over 180 years this September.