'Puffing Billy' Locomotive
- Materials:
- wood (unidentified) , iron and steel (metal)
- Object Number:
- 1862-2/1
- type:
- steam locomotive
'Puffing Billy' Locomotive with Tender and Rails
- Made:
- 1813-1814 in Wylam Colliery
- designer:
- William Hedley
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LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseLocomotive 'Puffing Billy' with tender, 10 fish-bellied rails
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Side view detail of Puffing Billy
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Puffing Billy piston
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Locomotive 'Puffing Billy' with tender, 10 fish-bellied rails
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Locomotive 'Puffing Billy' with tender, 10 fish-bellied rails
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Locomotive 'Puffing Billy' with tender, 10 fish-bellied rails
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Locomotive 'Puffing Billy' with tender, 10 fish-bellied rails
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Locomotive 'Puffing Billy' with tender, 10 fish-bellied rails
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Locomotive 'Puffing Billy' with tender, 10 fish-bellied rails, 12 chairs, 6 sleepers, shovel, 3 firing irons. Driving wheel diameter 3 feet 3 inches; cylinders 9 inches x 36 inches; working pressure 50lb; weight approximately 8 tons, exclusive of tender.
Puffing Billy is the world’s oldest surviving steam locomotive.
Dating to 1813-1814, it was built by William Hedley, Jonathan Forster, and Timothy Hackworth, for use at the Wylam Colliery near Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.
Built to replace the horses used on the tramway, Puffing Billy was one of three engines built by Hedley, the resident engineer at the colliery. It remained in service at the colliery until 1862, when it was lent to the Patent Office Museum in South Kensington, which became the Science Museum. The Museum later bought the locomotive.
It has been suggested that the colloquialisms “puffing like Billy-o” and “running like Billy-o” came from the locomotive’s name.
Details
- Category:
- Locomotives and Rolling Stock
- Object Number:
- 1862-2
- Materials:
- wood (unidentified), iron, steel (metal) and rope
- Measurements:
-
overall: 4572 mm x 2159 mm x 6782 mm, 8000kg
driving wheel: 991 mm,
- type:
- steam locomotive
- credit:
- Captain Blackett
Parts
Track for 'Puffing Billy' Locomotive.
- Object Number:
- 1862-2/2
- type:
- track
Part for 'Puffing Billy' Locomotive
- Object Number:
- 1862-2/3
- type:
- collar
Part for 'Puffing Billy' Locomotive
- Object Number:
- 1862-2/4
- type:
- part
Part for 'Puffing Billy' Locomotive
- Object Number:
- 1862-2/5
- type:
- rope harness
Spare Part for 'Puffing Billy' Locomotive
- Object Number:
- 1862-2/6
- type:
- spare parts
Metal Pole Part for 'Puffing Billy' Locomotive
- Object Number:
- 1862-2/7
- type:
- metal pole
Metal Coil and Hoops, Parts of 'Puffing Billy' Locomotive
- Object Number:
- 1862-2/8
- type:
- coil and hoops
Metal Coil and Hoops, Parts of 'Puffing Billy' Locomotive
- Object Number:
- 1862-2/9
- type:
- key - hardware
