Salamancawas the first commercially successfulsteam locomotive,built in 1812 byMatthew MurrayofHolbeck,for theedge-railedMiddleton RailwaybetweenMiddletonandLeeds,England[1]and it predatedStephenson's Rocketby 17 years.[2]It was the first to have two cylinders. It was named after theDuke of Wellington'svictory at thebattle of Salamancawhich was fought that same year.
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Salamancawas also the firstrack and pinionlocomotive, usingJohn Blenkinsop's patented design forrack propulsion.A single rack ran outside thenarrow gaugetracks and was engaged by a largecog wheelon the left side of the locomotive. The cog wheel was driven by twin cylinders embedded into the top of thecentre-flue boiler.The class was described as having two 8 "×20" cylinders, driving the wheels through cranks. The pistoncrossheadsslid in guides, rather than being controlled by aparallel motionlinkage like the majority of early locomotives. The engines saw up to twenty years of service.[3]
It appears in the first painting of a steam locomotive, a watercolour by George Walker (1781–1856) published in hisThe Costume of Yorkshire.[4] Four such locomotives were built for the railway.Salamancawas destroyed six years later, when itsboiler exploded.According toGeorge Stephenson,giving evidence to a committee ofParliament,the driver had tampered with the boiler's safety valve.[5]
Salamancais probably the locomotive referred to in the September 1814 edition ofAnnals of Philosophy:"Some time ago a steam-engine was mounted upon wheels at Leeds, and made to move along a rail road by means of a rack wheel, dragging after it a number of waggons loaded with coals." The item continues to mention a rack locomotive about a mile north of Newcastle (BlücheratKillingworth) and one without a rack wheel (probablyPuffing BillyatWylam).[6]
A model of the locomotive, built by Murray in 1811, is part of the collection held atLeeds Industrial Museum.It is the world's oldest model locomotive.[7]
References
edit- ^Hamilton Ellis (1968).The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Railways.The Hamlyn Publishing Group. p. 20.
- ^"Letter from Leighton Dalrymple, Lieutenant Colonel. Account of his visit to Wakefield and Leeds, including a description and sketch of John Blenkinsop's Steam Locomotive 'Salamanca' | Science Museum Group Collection".collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk.Retrieved26 May2021.
- ^"Curiosities of Locomotive Design".Catskill.Retrieved22 March2008.
- ^McCann, Mick (2010).How Leeds Changed the World: Encyclopaedia Leeds.Leeds: Armey Press. p. 227.ISBN0-9554699-3-7.
- ^Nabarro, Gerald(1972).Steam Nostalgia: Locomotive and Railway Preservation in Great Britain.London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. p. 139.ISBN0-7100-7391-7.
- ^Thomson, Thomas, ed. (1814).Annals of Philosophy.Vol. IV. Robert Baldwin. p. 232.Retrieved16 December2014.
- ^"Last stop for Leeds antique super model as Salamanca comes home".Leeds City Council News.Retrieved8 September2023.