The Rocket

Rocket, The, first locomotive powered by steam. It was invented by George and Robert Stephenson of Britain in 1829 to provide a railway link between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester. The name derives from a response by the Stephensons to a public jibe that the locomotive was as hazardous to ride as a space rocket. The speed of The Rocket reached as high as 36 mph (57.9 kmph).

See also: Locomotive.