The Life of Robert Stephenson, F.R.S.
With Descriptive Chapters on Some of his Most Important Professional Works

Drawing on first-hand testimony, this two-volume 1864 biography of Robert Stephenson (1803–59) traces his railway and civil engineering career.

John Cordy Jeaffreson (Author), William Pole (Author)

9781108070744, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 March 2014

386 pages, 1 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2.2 cm, 0.49 kg

Relying on incremental experiment rather than leaps into the unknown, Robert Stephenson (1803–59) forged an influential career as a highly respected railway and civil engineer. From the steam locomotive Rocket to the London and Birmingham Railway and the Britannia Bridge, his work helped to consolidate the foundations of the modern engineering profession. Based on the first-hand testimony of relatives and contemporaries as well as correspondence and official records, this 1864 biography by John Cordy Jeaffreson (1831–1901), published only five years after Stephenson's death, tells the story of this quiet industrial innovator. Five chapters by engineer William Pole (1814–1900) provide a more technical insight, examining some of Stephenson's most significant railway bridges and his involvement with the atmospheric system. Volume 1 traces Robert's early life, carefully moulded by his father George, and also covers the building of the London and Birmingham Railway.

Preface
1. The Stephenson family
2. Long Benton
3. Robert Stephenson, the schoolboy
4. Robert Stephenson, the apprentice
5. Preparations for America
6. South America
7. From South America to Newcastle
8. Residence in Newcastle
9. Residence in Newcastle (cont.)
10. Construction of the London and Birmingham Railway
11. Affairs, public and private, during the construction of the London and Birmingham Railway
12. From the completion of the London and Birmingham Railway to the opening of the Newcastle and Darlington line
13. Railway progress and railway legislation
14. The atmospheric system of railway propulsion.

Subject Areas: History of engineering & technology [TBX]