Timothy Hackworth

Born	22 December 1786
Died	7 July 1850
Nationality	English
Employer	Wylam Colliery (foreman blacksmith); Walbottle Colliery; Robert Stephenson and Company, Newcastle (Manager 1824–1825); Stockton & Darlington Railway (Locomotive Superintendent 1825–1840); Soho Works, Shildon (proprietor)

Timothy Hackworth (1786–1850) was an English locomotive engineer who served as Locomotive Superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway from its historic opening in September 1825 until 1840 — the man responsible for keeping the world's first public steam railway in operation through its critical first decade and a half — and who designed the Royal George of 1827, the first six-coupled locomotive and a machine incorporating several technical advances that became standard in subsequent locomotive development.

Born at Wylam, Northumberland on 22 December 1786, Hackworth grew up in the colliery village that also produced William Hedley, and worked as the colliery blacksmith at Wylam before assisting Hedley and Jonathan Forster in building Puffing Billy and Wylam Dilly in 1813–14 — the world's oldest surviving steam locomotives. He worked at Walbottle Colliery and briefly managed the new locomotive works of Robert Stephenson and Company at Newcastle before being appointed to the Stockton and Darlington in time for its opening in September 1825.

The Royal George of 1827 incorporated the return flue boiler, the exhaust blast pipe directing exhaust steam up the chimney to create a draught on the fire, and direct cylinder drive to the six coupled wheels — a combination of advances that decisively improved locomotive performance and became standard practice. At the 1829 Rainhill Trials Hackworth entered Sans Pareil, a vertically-cylindered 0-4-0 that was disqualified on weight but ran serviceably for the Bolton and Leigh Railway for years afterwards — the locomotive survives in the national collection. From 1833 Hackworth combined his S&DR duties with the Soho Works at Shildon, building locomotives for British and overseas railways including the first locomotive supplied to Russia in 1837. He died at Shildon on 7 July 1850.

Biography

Timothy Hackworth (1786–1850) was an English locomotive engineer and one of the formative figures of the early steam railway. As Locomotive Superintendent of the Stockton & Darlington Railway from its opening in 1825 he was responsible for keeping the world's first public railway running with locomotive power, and he designed and built Sans Pareil as his entry for the 1829 Rainhill Trials.

Born at Wylam, Northumberland on 22 December 1786, Hackworth grew up in the same colliery village as William Hedley and assisted in building Puffing Billy and Wylam Dilly, the world's oldest surviving locomotives, at Wylam Colliery in 1813–1814. He worked at Walbottle Colliery and briefly managed the new locomotive works of Robert Stephenson and Company at Newcastle in 1824–1825 before being appointed by Stephenson to the Stockton & Darlington post.

His Royal George 0-6-0 of 1827 was the first six-coupled engine and pioneered the use of a return flue boiler, exhaust blastpipe, and direct cylinder drive to the wheels. Sans Pareil, a vertically-cylindered 0-4-0, was disqualified at Rainhill on weight, but ran serviceably for the Bolton & Leigh Railway for many years afterwards and survives today in the National Collection.

From 1833 Hackworth combined his S&DR duties with proprietorship of the Soho Works at Shildon, where he built locomotives for British and overseas customers. The works supplied the first locomotive in Russia (the Nikolaev Railway) in 1837. He retired from S&DR service in 1840 and devoted himself fully to Soho. He died at Shildon on 7 July 1850.

Locomotives designed

Puffing Billy — William Hedley's 1813 Wylam Colliery locomotive, the oldest surviving steam locomotive in the world. Built at Wylam Colliery's own workshops to a design by colliery viewer Hedley with engineman Jonathan Forster and blacksmith Timothy Hackworth, Puffing Billy demonstrated for the first time that simple wheel-on-rail adhesion (without rack-and-pinion drive) was sufficient for steam locomotion, a fundamental discovery that shaped all subsequent locomotive practice. The engine worked at Wylam from 1814 to 1862, nearly 50 years' service. Currently on permanent display at the Science Museum, London.
Royal George — Timothy Hackworth's 1827 locomotive for the Stockton & Darlington Railway, the first British steam locomotive with six coupled wheels, and the engine that established Hackworth's reputation independent of George Stephenson. Royal George demonstrated that the S&DR's coal traffic could be reliably steam-hauled in heavy loads, a key proof against critics who argued the early Stephenson engines were inadequate for sustained heavy haulage. Hackworth's reworked blast pipe arrangement on Royal George significantly improved steaming. No original survives.
Samson — An 1831 0-4-0 built for the Stockton & Darlington Railway, part of the second generation of S&DR coal locomotives. Distinct from the earlier Stephenson Samson of 1830 (which was a 0-6-0 prototype).
Sans Pareil — Timothy Hackworth's 1829 locomotive, the most powerful engine to compete in the Rainhill Trials of October 1829, but defeated by Rocket through inferior steaming and high coal consumption. Sans Pareil was Hackworth's bid to win the Liverpool & Manchester Railway's motive-power contract on the basis of raw power. The engine completed parts of the trials successfully but was less efficient than Rocket. Following Rainhill, Sans Pareil was sold to the Bolton & Leigh Railway, where it worked until approximately 1844. The engine survives in modified form and is currently displayed at the National Railway Museum, Shildon.
Sanspareil II — An 1837 Timothy Hackworth 0-6-0 successor to his unsuccessful Rainhill entrant of 1829, built for the Stockton & Darlington Railway and reflecting Hackworth's continuing commitment to vertical-cylinder, return-flue boiler locomotive design even as the rest of British practice followed the Stephensons towards horizontal cylinders and multitubular boilers.
Stanhope — An 1837 Timothy Hackworth 0-4-0 built for the South Hetton Colliery Railway in County Durham. A typical Hackworth colliery engine of the period, working coal traffic on the colliery's private railway.
Wylam Dilly — Sister engine to Puffing Billy and one of the two oldest surviving steam locomotives in the world. Built at Wylam Colliery in approximately 1815 to William Hedley's design (with Jonathan Forster and Timothy Hackworth), Wylam Dilly is the sister of Puffing Billy of 1813, both engines using the same general arrangement and working the Wylam Waggonway from Wylam Colliery to the staiths at Lemington-on-Tyne. The engine worked at Wylam from approximately 1815 to 1862, nearly 50 years' service. Currently on permanent display at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.