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)

9781108070751, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 March 2014

364 pages, 6 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2.1 cm, 0.46 kg

Relying on incremental experiment and practice rather than individual 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. Volume 2 covers his advocacy of standardisation of the permanent way during the Gauge War, and his life as a bridge builder and politician.

1. The battle of the gauges
2. Iron bridges
3. The Britannia bridge
4. The high level bridge at Newcastle-upon-Tyne
5. Affairs, public and private, during the construction of the Chester and Holyhead Railway
6. Robert Stephenson as politician and member of the House of Commons
7. Robert Stephenson in London society
8. The great Victoria Bridge over the river St Lawrence in Canada
9. Concluding years at home and abroad
10. Last scenes
Index.

Subject Areas: History of engineering & technology [TBX]