Hetton Star
Star was one of the original steam locomotives of the Hetton Colliery Railway, built to George Stephenson's design around 1822 for the opening of the railway. It was one of the five original Stephenson 0-4-0 locomotives — named Dart, Hetton, Star, Tallyho, and one unnamed — that hauled the Hetton Colliery's coal trains on the level sections between the self-acting inclines from November 1822.
The name Star continued a naming tradition that appeared on several early railways and was later used by the GWR for its celebrated broad-gauge opening locomotive North Star and subsequently for the GWR Star Class 4-6-0 express engines of the Churchward era. The coincidence of name connects three entirely separate and unrelated locomotives across nearly a century of British railway history.
Star was not preserved and no detailed technical record specific to this locomotive survives. For the broader context of the Hetton Colliery Railway fleet, see the Hetton Colliery locomotives entry.
Identification features
Standard Hetton-pattern 0-4-0 with long horizontal boiler, twin vertical in-boiler cylinders, side-rod coupled driving wheels, and a tall vertical chimney.
Numbers and names
Named locomotives (outside the listed ranges)
- 0 — Star
Single named locomotive.
Notable locomotives
- Star (1820, not preserved)
