Perseverance
Design and development
Timothy Burstall, a Leith-based engineer who had previously built road locomotives, entered Perseverance for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway's Rainhill Trials in October 1829. The engine was a small 0-2-0 with twin vertical cylinders driving a single pair of wheels, broadly in the road-locomotive idiom Burstall had been developing.
Service and withdrawals
Perseverance was damaged en route to Rainhill — reportedly when the road wagon carrying it overturned — and Burstall spent the first days of the trials repairing it. The engine was finally able to run on the final day but could not achieve the required 10 mph minimum speed. Burstall was awarded a £25 consolation premium and withdrew. The engine was not preserved.
Identification features
Compact 0-2-0 with twin vertical cylinders and a single pair of driving wheels. No detailed contemporary illustration is known to survive.
Notable locomotives
- Perseverance (1829, not preserved)