Timothy Hackworth

Youth and early work

Timothy Hackworth was born in Wylam in 1786, five years after fellow railway pioneer George Stephenson had been born in the same village. He was the eldest son of John Hackworth, foreman blacksmith at Wylam Colliery until his death in 1804, who had built a strong reputation as a mechanical worker and boiler maker. When his apprenticeship ended in 1810, Timothy took over his father's position. Since 1804, mine owner Christopher Blackett had been exploring steam traction for the colliery's short five-mile tramroad.

Blackett formed a four-man working group including himself, viewer William Hedley, new foreman smith Timothy Hackworth, and wright Jonathan Forster. In 1808, they relaid the Wylam tramway with cast iron plates, replacing the original timber way. By 1811, the team tested adhesive properties of smooth wheels using a hand-powered carriage pushed by up to four men. That same year, a single-cylinder locomotive devised by someone named Waters, reportedly based on Richard Trevithick's model, was built and tried for a few months with erratic results.

A new dilly—the local term for all Wylam locomotives—was built and set to work in autumn 1812. Blackett's cast iron plateway couldn't handle the weight, so the next engine, built in 1813, rode on two four-wheeled power bogies; the first one was likely rebuilt similarly. When the Wylam line was relaid with wrought iron edge rails around 1830, both locomotives reverted to a four-wheel arrangement and continued working until the line closed in 1862.

The older engine, now called Puffing Billy, is preserved at the Science Museum in London; the second, Wylam Dilly, is in the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh. Although William Hedley is usually credited with the design, strong evidence points to joint collaboration where Blackett was the driving force and Hackworth played a preponderant engineering role.

Hackworth maintained the locomotives and improved their performance. As Blackett became occupied elsewhere, leaving Hedley in charge, Hackworth faced conflicts over his Methodist activities and refusal to work on the Sabbath, forcing him to leave Wylam in 1816. He quickly found work as foreman blacksmith at Walbottle Colliery.

The {{visible anchor|Royal George}} and blastpipe development

In 1824, Hackworth temporarily filled in as a borrowed man or relief manager at Robert Stephenson and Company’s Forth Street factory. Robert was in South America, and George was busy surveying new railways, like the Liverpool and Manchester line. Hackworth left that post by the end of the year and returned to Walbottle for contract work. On George Stephenson’s recommendation, he became locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway on 13 May 1825, staying until May 1840.

While at Forth Street, Hackworth likely helped develop the first Stephenson locomotive for that railway. Named Active, later called Locomotion No. 1, it arrived just before the railway’s opening on 27 September 1825. Three similar engines—Hope, Black Diamond, and Diligence—followed soon after, but serious operating problems made steam locomotives unpopular. Hackworth then created a better design, the Royal George of 1827.

This early 0-6-0 locomotive included a correctly aligned steam blastpipe, among other new features. Hackworth is generally credited as the inventor of this device. From 1830 onward, the Stephensons used the blastpipe on their improved Rocket and all later locomotives. Recently acquired letters at the National Railway Museum seem to confirm Hackworth’s role.

Before his work, engineers since Trevithick had used eductor pipes to send exhaust steam through the chimney, mainly for convenience and noise reduction, and they noticed its effect on the fire. Hackworth, however, was probably the first to fully understand how the blast could automatically create a perfect balance between steam production and use in a firetube boiler. He treated the blastpipe as a separate component, carefully designing its proportions, nozzle size, position, and alignment.

Sans Pareil and the Rainhill trials

In 1829, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the world's first inter-city railway, was under construction with huge potential for passenger and goods traffic. All locomotives built to date, including those for the Stockton and Darlington, had been intended for slow freight, with passenger service handled by horse-drawn coaches. Future locomotives clearly needed to be more versatile. Problems on the S&D complicated matters, sparking debate over ideal motive power.

George Stephenson, the line's civil engineer, favored steam traction and asked Hackworth for a report; Hackworth confirmed the locomotives' difficulties while working to resolve them. To settle the debate, directors set up a competition at Rainhill with three serious contestants. Hackworth, with very limited resources, entered the 0-4-0 locomotive Sans Pareil. It was officially deemed overweight but was ultimately allowed to compete.

A faulty cylinder casting caused steam leaks and premature withdrawal. Stephenson's Rocket won as the only locomotive that stayed the course while fully complying with the rules. None of the contestants fully answered the railway's requirements. Hackworth stayed after the event, repaired Sans Pareil, and showed it was a capable machine.

The L&M management purchased the locomotive, then resold it at a loss to the Bolton and Leigh Railway, where it worked until 1844. As Ahrons notes, the vertical cylinders would have given considerable hammer blow at speed, making it unsuited for long-term passenger service. Nevertheless, it performed very capably, largely due to its carefully designed and tuned blastpipe.

Later productions

In addition to working on the Stockton and Darlington, Hackworth set up his own business in which his son John Wesley Hackworth fully participated. The company produced a variety of machinery. In 1836, it built the first locomotive to run in Russia for the Tsarskoye Selo Railway at Shildon; John Wesley was responsible for safe delivery and preliminary trials. In 1838, the Samson was built for the Albion Mines Railway in Nova Scotia, becoming one of the first engines to run in Canada.

One of Hackworth's 1833 apprentices, Daniel Adamson, further developed his boiler designs, became a successful manufacturer, and influenced the inception of the Manchester Ship Canal. Hackworth's last new locomotive design was the 2-2-2 Sans Pareil II, a demonstrator of 1849. It was a development of the Jenny Lind type with six-foot driving wheels, 1,188 square feet of heating surface, and a partially-welded boiler. It performed very well in fuel efficiency and load-hauling performance.

Hackworth was so satisfied that he issued a public challenge to Robert Stephenson to test it against his latest York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway locomotive, No. 190. Nothing resulted from this, and Hackworth died the following year.

The Royal George and blastpipe development

In 1824, Hackworth took a temporary position as a borrowed man or relief manager at Robert Stephenson and Company's Forth Street factory while Robert was away in South America and George surveyed new railways like the Liverpool and Manchester. Hackworth stayed only until year's end, returning to Walbottle for contract work. On George Stephenson's recommendation, he was appointed locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway on 13 May 1825, a post he held until May 1840.

During his time at Forth Street, Hackworth is believed to have influenced the development of the first Stephenson locomotive for that railway. Named Active, later known as Locomotion No. 1, it arrived just before the opening ceremony on 27 September 1825. Three more of the same type—Hope, Black Diamond, and Diligence—followed in subsequent months, but severe operational difficulties made steam locomotives unappealing. Hackworth developed an improved design to address this, resulting in the Royal George of 1827, an early 0-6-0 locomotive that incorporated a correctly aligned steam blastpipe among many new features.

Hackworth is usually acknowledged as the inventor of this concept. From 1830 onward, the Stephensons employed the blastpipe on their updated Rocket and all subsequent locomotives. Recent letters acquired by the National Railway Museum appear to confirm Hackworth as the inventor. Since Trevithick's time, engineers had directed exhaust steam through the chimney using eductor pipes for convenience and noise reduction, noting its effect on the fire.

Hackworth was likely the first to fully account for the blast's role in automatically realizing the perfect equilibrium between steam production and usage in a firetube boiler, treating the blastpipe as a distinct device and focusing on its proportions, nozzle size, positioning, and precise alignment.