Blucher
The Blucher was an early railway locomotive built in 1814 by George Stephenson for the Killingworth Colliery.
The Blucher was the first successful locomotive incorporating the following design features:
- Flanged wheels keeping the locomotive on the tracks
- Traction only relying on the friction of wheels on rails
- Cylinder rods directly connected to the wheel disks
The Blucher was able to pull a train of thirty tons with a speed of 4 mph. The locomotive was named after the Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher who helped Britain defeat Napoleon at Waterloo.
Other early locomotive designs
