# Rainhill trials
The Rainhill trials were a locomotive competition held from 6 to 14 October 1829 at Rainhill, near St Helens, on the nearly completed [Liverpool and Manchester Railway](https://www.edgepedia.org/liverpool-and-manchester-railway), held to decide whether steam locomotives or stationary rope-hauled engines should work the line and which locomotive design should be chosen[1](https://www.rainhilltrials.org/the-trials-history.html) • [2](https://www.nationaltransporttrust.org.uk/heritage-sites/heritage-detail/rainhill-station-and-trials-of-1829). [Stephenson's Rocket](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephensons-rocket) was the only entrant to complete the course, won the £500 prize, and its design became the prototype for most subsequent steam locomotives[3](https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co26704).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates and place | 6–14 October 1829, on a level stretch of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway known as the Rainhill Level, south of St Helens[1](https://www.rainhilltrials.org/the-trials-history.html) • [4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf) |
| Prize | £500 offered by the railway's directors for the most improved locomotive engine[5](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/73518/73518-h/73518-h.htm) |
| Core requirement | Haul a load three times the engine's own weight at at least 10 mph, simulating a round trip between Liverpool and Manchester[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf) • [6](https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/rainhill-trials/) |
| Competitors | Five: Cycloped, Novelty, Perseverance, Sans Pareil, and Rocket[3](https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co26704) |
| Winner | Rocket, the only locomotive to complete the trials, averaging 13.4 mph on its first round and 14.2 mph on its second[3](https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co26704) |
| Judges | John Urpeth Rastrick, Nicholas Wood, and John Kennedy, all independent of the railway company[2](https://www.nationaltransporttrust.org.uk/heritage-sites/heritage-detail/rainhill-station-and-trials-of-1829) |
| Outcome | The railway adopted locomotive power; Robert Stephenson and Co. received the contract to build locomotives for the line[3](https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co26704) • [7](https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/guide-historical-challenge-prizes/the-rainhill-trials/) |
## Why the trials were held
By the late 1820s Britain had some 200 miles of tramways and railways, and horses remained the most common source of motive power; the other options were gravity-operated inclines, rope haulage by stationary engines, and locomotives[8](https://www.rainhilltrials.org/the-1829-trials.html). The Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the world's first inter-city passenger railway, was nearing completion, and its directors had not settled the question of motive power[2](https://www.nationaltransporttrust.org.uk/heritage-sites/heritage-detail/rainhill-station-and-trials-of-1829). A study by the practicing engineers James Walker and John Urpeth Rastrick, presented to the directors on 9 March 1829, found no significant financial advantage for either system and concluded that fixed winding engines spaced along the line would be preferable[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf).
[George Stephenson](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-stephenson), the railway's engineer, argued for locomotives, contending that fixed engines would be cumbersome, slow, prone to rope problems, and vulnerable to a single breakdown paralyzing the whole line, while locomotives could be added as traffic grew and one failure could be covered by another engine[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). A director, R. Harrison, had proposed a competition with a reward to stimulate innovation, and the directors adopted the idea. The contest was advertised in the Liverpool Mercury on 1 May 1829[8](https://www.rainhilltrials.org/the-1829-trials.html), and the formal announcement of the stipulations and conditions appeared in the Manchester Mercury on 25 April 1829[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf).
## The stipulations
The conditions were written to let designs of different sizes compete fairly, and they settled several questions at once[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf):
- The engine had to effectually consume its own smoke, a requirement of the Railway Act of 7 [George IV](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-iv), which in practice meant burning coke rather than coal[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf) • [8](https://www.rainhilltrials.org/the-1829-trials.html).
- A six-ton engine had to draw a train of twenty tons gross weight, including tender and water tank, at 10 mph on a level plane, with boiler pressure not exceeding 50 pounds per square inch[5](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/73518/73518-h/73518-h.htm).
- There had to be two safety valves, one completely out of the engineman's control, and neither fastened down while working[5](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/73518/73518-h/73518-h.htm).
- The engine and boiler had to rest on springs and six wheels, unless the weight did not exceed 4.5 tons, in which case four wheels would suffice; height from ground to chimney top could not exceed 15 feet[5](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/73518/73518-h/73518-h.htm) • [8](https://www.rainhilltrials.org/the-1829-trials.html).
The test course was the Rainhill Level, a level stretch almost two miles (3.2 km) long. Allowing one-eighth of a mile at each end for starting and stopping, each locomotive ran at full speed for 1.5 miles between markers; ten trips, five of them with the train pushed in reverse, approximated the 35-mile railway, and after refueling ten further trips completed the round trip[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). The company supplied clean-burning coke to all the steam contestants to limit smoke[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf).
## The competitors and the running of the trials
Ten individuals or partnerships expressed interest within the first two months, but five machines appeared on the first day[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). Cycloped, built by Thomas Brandreth of Liverpool, was the sole non-steam entrant, powered by two horses walking on a treadmill; it was admitted as a courtesy to Brandreth, a company director, and retired when the horses broke through the treadmill and floor[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). Novelty, built by John Ericsson and John Braithwaite of London, had a novel boiler and quickly became the public favorite[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf) • [8](https://www.rainhilltrials.org/the-1829-trials.html). Perseverance, built by Timothy Burstall of Edinburgh, was damaged while being unloaded and later could manage only about 5 mph even without a train[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). [Sans Pareil](https://www.edgepedia.org/sans-pareil-locomotive), built by Timothy Hackworth of Shildon, was overweight but allowed to compete; it posted marginally better times than Rocket before its boiler feed pump failed on the eighth trip[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf).
Rocket performed its measured runs on 8 October, completing the first round at an average of 13.4 mph and the second at 14.2 mph, with no difficulties[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). Novelty was granted repeated chances but its boiler feed pipe burst on 10 October, and on the final day, 14 October, a flue collapsed and Ericsson and Braithwaite withdrew[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). Rocket was declared the winner of the £500 prize, and Stephenson then ran it back and forth over the track twice at speeds up to 35 mph[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf).
**A public spectacle.** An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people witnessed at least part of the trials, and the company ordered a large tent to shelter spectators[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). [The Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-times) of 8 October reported that never had so many scientific gentlemen and practical engineers been collected at one spot; spectators lined the track, kept off the course by 200 railway employees, and one local public house renamed itself the Rail Road Tavern[8](https://www.rainhilltrials.org/the-1829-trials.html).
## Rocket and the locomotive that followed
Rocket was designed by [Robert Stephenson](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-stephenson), the engineer's son, and built at the Robert Stephenson and Co. works in Newcastle, the first factory built specifically to manufacture railway locomotives[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). Its key features were a horizontal fire-tube boiler with 25 tubes, where earlier engines had one or two flues, giving a much greater heating surface, and two cylinders connected directly to the drive wheels without gears or levers; exhaust steam discharged through a nozzle at the base of the chimney, the blast pipe, drawing air through the fire to sustain combustion[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf) • [9](https://blog.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/rocket-engineering-excellence/).
The design was refined almost immediately. Cylinders were lowered from their original 45-degree angle to nearly horizontal, improving running and reducing stress on the track, and a smokebox was added; the railway applied these changes to Rocket itself[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). Robert Stephenson received a contract for seven locomotives like Rocket and went on to produce all but seven of the L&MR's first 33 locomotives[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). His Planet class of 1830 placed the cylinders and idler wheels ahead of the drivers, and the railway bought 19 more Planet-type locomotives between 1830 and 1834[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf).
## Aftermath and significance
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened on 15 September 1830, relying exclusively on steam power, fully double-tracked, with a signaling system and mail carriage[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). At the opening, Rocket, driven by [John Locke](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-locke), struck and fatally injured William Huskisson MP at Parkside Station, the first death in a railway accident[3](https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co26704).
The trials settled the motive-power question: every locomotive tested showed that adhesion between an iron wheel and rail was sufficient to haul a useful load, and the railway abandoned fixed engines, which thereafter were limited to short railways with steep inclines[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). ASME, in designating the railway and trials site a historic mechanical engineering landmark, describes the stipulations and conditions as the earliest known example of measured, head-to-head performance trials in a real-world environment used to select the best of multiple options, a method now standard in engineering procurement[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). The trials also served as a model for later competitions, including the locomotive contest held for the Semmering railway in the Alps[10](https://hummedia.manchester.ac.uk/institutes/mui/marg/news/LiverpoolReportv2.pdf).
Rocket was substantially rebuilt within 18 months and laid aside within 10 years; it was preserved in 1862, donated to the Patent Office Museum in London, which became the Science Museum, and is now displayed at the [National Railway Museum](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-railway-museum) in York[3](https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co26704). Sans Pareil, though it did not complete the trial, was purchased by the railway and later served the Bolton and Leigh Railway until 1844; it survives at the National Railway Museum's Shildon site[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf). A replica of Novelty, incorporating surviving original wheels and a cylinder, is displayed at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester[4](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf).
## References
1. [The 'Locomotive Trials' History, Rainhill Railway & Heritage Society](https://www.rainhilltrials.org/the-trials-history.html)
2. [Rainhill Station and Trials of 1829, National Transport Trust](https://www.nationaltransporttrust.org.uk/heritage-sites/heritage-detail/rainhill-station-and-trials-of-1829)
3. [Rocket locomotive, Science Museum Group Collection](https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co26704)
4. [The Rainhill Trials on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, ASME Landmark brochure 263](https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/resourcefiles/aboutasme/who%20we%20are/engineering%20history/landmarks/263-l-mr-rainhill-trials.pdf)
5. [The Evolution of the Steam Locomotive, Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/73518/73518-h/73518-h.htm)
6. [The Rainhill Trials, Linda Hall Library](https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/rainhill-trials/)
7. [The Rainhill Trials, Nesta](https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/guide-historical-challenge-prizes/the-rainhill-trials/)
8. [The 1829 Trials, Rainhill Railway & Heritage Society](https://www.rainhilltrials.org/the-1829-trials.html)
9. [Rocket's engineering excellence, Science and Industry Museum](https://blog.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/rocket-engineering-excellence/)
10. [Liverpool Report, Manchester University](https://hummedia.manchester.ac.uk/institutes/mui/marg/news/LiverpoolReportv2.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Rail transport › Rail systems and operations › Rolling stock and locomotives*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license