Rail, steam, and speed : the ""Rocket"" and the birth of steam locomotion

New York : Columbia University Press, 2004. First Edition. Hardback. An exceptional copy; fine in an equally fine dw. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Literally as new.; 8vo 8"" - 9"" tall; 379 pages; Description: x, 379 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. Subjects: Steam locomotives --England --History --19th century --Railroads. Summary: From October 6 through 14, 1829, in a small village just outside Liverpool, England, ten thousand spectators gathered to witness one of the most remarkable events of the Industrial Age: a battle among locomotives that became known as the Rainhill Trials. Five machines were entered in the competition: the horse-powered Cycloped attained a top speed of only five miles per hour, while Perseverence -- which looked like a giant iron bottle standing upright atop four wagon wheels -- creaked along at a walking pace. But the three-way race between Robert Stephenson's Rocket, Timothy Harworth's Sans Pareil, and the crowd favorite, John Braithwaite and John Ericson's Novelty, astonished the gathered crowds. The unfamiliar clank of machinery, huge billows of steam, and unprecedented speeds of thirty miles per hour thrilled the crowds during the trials'carnival-like atmosphere. The Rocket won the competition, though it had been claimed that the machine was not the superior locomotive. Rail, Steam, and Speed explains why and offers an absorbing account of the trials, people, and science that gave birth to steam locomotion.