The Early Steam Train With No Brakes: Stephenson's Rocket

[@metleon]

So it basically works like every car in every video game.

[@smokingsamosa]

Yes it does. I didn't think of that

[@christian13342]

Not in BeamNg Drive

[@largesoda1729]

GTA and Mafia series, and part of the ETS 2 controls when set to simple

[@datguymiller]

Yea

[@HECKproductions]

a lot of games today let you set a button to brake/reverse but also let you choose to have seperate buttons instead also having a seperate button to go backwards or having to put it in reverse gear is standard in sims

[@Hysterii]

Nobody seems to have commented yet on the fact that Chris White was Tom's teammate on the quiz show Only Connect!

[@almostcertainlynotapotato6528]

YES

[@IamKDog]

Which explains that if you want to be famous instead of studying Politics and Economics be a Freelance Web and Video Designer standing on things in windy conditions.

[@jeannareadsbooks8475]

I live in the village where Stevenson's rocket was first tested and have done all my life. The Rainhill Trials was a test to see whether locos or stationary engines should pull the trains on the new Liverpool to Manchester Railway. Stevenson's rocket was the only one that managed to complete the trials and was therefore declared the winner, reproduced and used as a template for steam trains all over. It's quite cute actually because the railway where the trials took place is still there ( I use it all the time to get to Liverpool and Manchester), the local primary school has a model of the rocket in the school yard made of wicker and our little library has a mini museum about it in a retired train carriage that has been attached to said library.

[@stubbsy3775]

That's cool!!

[@whistonjuniors]

probably bumped into you then, I live in the same place and have the same commute

[@slaughterround643]

Yo I live there too! I'll say hi if I see you around

[@CymruJedi]

I would love to have been there and watch the trials

[@Grymbaldknight]

*Fun* *fact*: Rocket actually killed a man during the opening ceremony of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830. A gentleman was talking to the occupants of a carriage, while Rocket was moving into position on the adjacent line that the gentleman was standing on. Rocket was a prototype engine, and despite the fact that her sisters - all built after her - had brakes, she still hadn't been fitted with them. Even though everyone saw the collision that was about the occur by several seconds, Rocket was unable to stop and the gentleman unable to vacate the tracks. His leg was crushed by Rocket's drive wheel, and he died later that day surrounded by family and friends.

[@libbybollinger5901]

How fun is that really?

[@Sammie1053]

Odd, I remember hearing that it was a railway official who fell asleep on/near the tracks while drunk. Eirhsr way, my high school history teacher pointed out the terrible luck you'd need to be killed by a train, on the only rail line on earth, by the only moving train on earth.

[@presfieldgoalie]

No ordinary person either, he was the MP for Liverpool.

[@MegaMGstudios]

How is that a fun fact?!

[@Lynxfan2]

@@presfieldgoalie - William Huskisson

[@Schyzofrenic87]

we had a girl comming in the shop who went from 5th to reverse on the motorway *trying to put it in 6th on a 5 gear car*. needless to say, the car didn't survive. R.I.P. Renault Clio

[@Penguin-kr9do]

And British people make fun of us Americans for having automatic transmissions.

[@jedrorm]

Penguin236 I've put my car in reverse once or twice while trying to fall into fourth, it's very obvious what you've done as soon as you start to release the clutch.

[@Penguin-kr9do]

bbqroast The thing is though, why bother with the clutch and all that if you don't have too? On an automatic car, the computer handles the gear switch, making it impossible to go into reverse if you're going forward and vice versa.

[@jedrorm]

+Penguin236 The computer knows less than you, you know if you're pulling into a parking bay or changing lanes to overtake a truck, you know if your about to hit a hill or a crest. This foresight means that a manual driver can have better control over their speed, while an automatic car can often delay maneuvers as it switches to provide the necessary ratio.

[@Penguin-kr9do]

bbqroast " delay maneuvers as it switches to provide the necessary ratio." Computers may know less than humans, but they are MUCH quicker. If you were to go up a hill, the computer would switch gears much quicker than a human could. Either way, if you feel you need more torque, most cars have specific settings to force the high torque gears.

[@Kevin15047]

I'm gonna watch every one of your videos and then audition for Jeopardy.

[@CrippleX89]

+Kevin Hosford hours and hours worth of (mostly) useless bits of info that are actually very fun to watch. It kinda broadens your horizon...

[@michaelramsey82]

Fun fact: this "no real brakes on the locomotive" policy was common up until the late 1850s. Long trains were stopped using hand-activated brakes on each car, operated manually by a brakeman. Most locomotives didn't have their own brakes until around the time of the Civil War, and trains didn't commonly have airbrakes (which allow the brakes on the entire train to be activated all at once by one person) until around 1900.

[@kyle8952]

The civil war was centuries before they had trains.

[@dannypeck96]

they didn't have trains in the 1660's....

[@ThePixel1983]

The one civil war in the world. 😉 r/USdefaultism

[@zg4705]

@@kyle8952 probably meant the US civil war

[@ethansdeadchannel671]

My home town is Rainhill, it's always nice to see our little village get mentioned so much :)

[@BeinZilex]

Ayyy im also from rainhill

[@IsaiahBoutz]

0:08 Chris looks like young Tom Scott!

[@Dave_Sisson]

But he's wearing a flat cap because... Yorkshire.

[@spiyder]

0:26

[@helenlunn3829]

Unfortunatly, as a rail enthusiast, I knew that already!

[@Darkstar.....]

Did you know that train was the inspiration for the rocketman from one piece. You aren't an anime fan so I bet you didn't know that.

[@Marcy53Volkswagen]

same

[@johnnyboy3949]

Tom needs to do more train videos!

[@jjblahblah6396]

Gotta love York

[@Markus9705]

1:31 "Don't film me!"

[@fartonaut2291]

?

[@glipk]

?

[@thomashambly3718]

?

[@t2hk_]

?

[@JLWCproductions]

?

[@metropod]

speaking of which, the four locomotives at Walt Disney World don't have engine breaks ether. While in service, they are reliant on the air brakes on the passenger cars to stop. I was on their behind the scenes steam tour once as a guest of the cast member who was serving as the guide (it was technically a version of the public tour, but for new employees. But the guide was the man in charge of the tour and a real old friend of my dad and he had invited us. They had been in the NYPD together and the guy always said "When I retire for the force, I'm gonna move to Florida and drive the Disney World steam trains" and by God that's exactly what he did), and I was the only person who noticed there were no break shoes on the locomotive wheels and no independent brake handle in the cab.

[@blackoak4978]

Electric power equipment, like forklifts, operate similarly. They of course do have normal breaks, but an operator can also stop the truck by switching directions(called plugging), which changes the polarity in the motor. The truck comes to a gradual stop, then goes in the opposite direction. Combining the two breaks u can get a forklift to be VERY responsive

[@hartleymartin]

Modern trains do something similar. Most use electric motors to drive the wheels. Most are permanent magnet motors, and you simply cut the power and drop a heavy wire as a short across the motor terminals and you've got modern "dynamic braking."

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

and if it uses the resultant electricity for something it's called "regenerative braking". But it's fundamentally different from this steam braking because it's not applying power in the opposite direction of motion, it's retrieving power from the same direction of motion. In a steam context, it would be like using the train's momentum to run a turbine to build steam pressure.

[@Electroblud]

Indeed, @reaperexpress. But you can also put reverse current into an electric motor to increase the braking torque even further. Note that this should only be done in an emergency braking situation, because all the energy (electrical AND mechanical) get dissipated inside the motor as heat, bringing it up to destructive temperatures rather quickly.

[@DavidScholz-bu1ix]

NICELY WELL DONE!!

[@alsifjlasieflooo]

Wow, the mic really makes a difference! Sound's great.

[@exernosense]

My teacher has showed this video in class at English lesson. That was cool to see Tom! I didn't expect to see him there. We were talking about old investions and the video perfectly sticks with it. I'm surprised!😃

[@nobbb890ggg]

Great stuff as always Tom

[@missblankname]

Watching your videos and embroidering is quite a lovely way to spend an afternoon!

[@nightlightabcd]

I actually did not know that! The original Rocket is in the museum and it looks little, very little, like the replica! It was saved at the end of it's working life and in really bad shape!

[@beinzgoofensmirtz]

it looks little like the replica because the replica is of its original state

[@EcceJack]

That was fascinating!

[@leahaquino6087]

Stephen your back

[@yoingjoe]

Favourite place to go as a kid :D

[@drakel0]

I love how Tom Enjoys making these almost as much as we love watching them

[@trainsyork4608]

and now nearly 10 years later, the original rocket is at the railway museum in york (they don't call it the national railway museum anymore for some reason)

[@chriswouse7713]

I did not know that, but what strikes me as strange is that when the Rocket was first used as passenger transport, people claimed the speed of 30mph! (holy crap!) would kill you if not tear your face off.....I'd have been more concerned that the braking relied on the fact that you still had to have steam! if you run out of coal or water on the move your KNACKED!!

[@chriswouse7713]

michael nickson nickson yeh but if you're going down hill, you can't stop.

[@MrGman590]

Apparently women were, at one time, not allowed to ride trains. The reasoning was that their ovaries would come out, or something along those lines. While admirable that they wanted to protect the women, this was clearly not very well thought through.

[@Milamberinx]

@@MrGman590 it's strange what men used to think of women's bodies, they literally thought that ovaries and uteruses would just wander around inside.

[@olibob203]

to be fair, although not a traditional brake - it stops motion , I would describe that as a break, it's like hydraulics , how something can be stopped in a similar fashion would be called a brake

[@Minecraftzt176]

I was in cuba several years ago and there was a taxi car which also had no brakes. The driver used hills and the engine-brake to stop the car. It was a really strange feeling...

[@jackkraken3888]

I love Tom Scott's videos and the line 'Thing you might not know'. On some American content creators videos they would title it 'Thing you don't know', believing that obviously you don't know, but since he's British I wonder if it because he's polite.

[@TheJohnboyhunter]

Jack Kraken It's probably because he's aware that there are people that will know these things, even if the majority of people watching don't. If these videos were called 'Things you don't know' the comment section would be full of people saying they did know.

[@napoleonbonerfarte6739]

@@TheJohnboyhunter big up northumbria vote NIP

[@leoroth6162]

york!! my hometown

[@ZukaroTravon]

There's just something about stopping it that way which I like. I think the reason I like it is to me, it seems like it would cause a lot less wear (so would last a lot longer).

[@Liggliluff]

But is it still fitted with actual breaks for emergency and legal reasons? Not using the breaks as of a tradition makes perfectly sense. But I could imagine them requiring actually having breaks.

[@aviralgupta393]

they literally said the same thing in the video

[@MollyBlueDawn]

This reminds me that I need to read Raising Steam!

[@christophervalkoinen6358]

It's an awesome book and Pratchett really did his research. It's surprisingly accurate to the time when Stephenson was working. Not that he needed to be - it is a fantasy after all.

[@MollyBlueDawn]

Christopher White I think Terry Pratchett gets a kick out of putting more realism into his comical fantasy world than most serious authors put into their "realistic" fiction.

[@Juli414]

I just finished reading the book, myself. I had been wondering what a "footplate" was. Thanks to this video, I have some idea, but I'm about to hit Google for a fuller explanation.

[@MollyBlueDawn]

Pspaughtamus Terry Pratchett books are both the result and the cause of much research!

[@tvdan1043]

"No brakes! No brakes!" - Al Bundy

[@FharishAhmedPortfolio]

Alright, that was kinda cool!

[@wutwut6191]

thank you for putting ''might'' in the title and the fun fact but i already known that

[@goneutt]

One step away from a Jake Brake. Let the pistons draw from atmosphere, then obstruct the exhaust

[@williamou417]

American locomotives back in the 1800s have no brakes, their air brakes wasn't invented until in the 1870s by George Westinghouse. The improved brakes was invented in the 1880s

[@wawaweewa6633]

Question: How old is tom? Answer: Timeless

[@finalhour4406]

I pretty much assumed they didn't have the superior technology for brakes on a train!

[@bertmurphy8096]

Just like Mr Ferrari- "I made my cars to go, not stop"

[@Darkstar.....]

That's strange. Elon busk said the same thing about Tesla.

[@Scoots996]

wasnt this the steam engine that burned down because the maker left the fire burning when he went in the pub ? or was that the penderyn

[@tibsie]

Trevithick for the win!

[@SparkyLabs]

So basically it does engine braking. If I pull my foot off the accelerator the engine that is going at so speed is now sucking in just enough mixture to keep it going and is sucking through a restriction. If I drop the gear as well and the gear box is now working in reverse with the weight of the car pushing the engine along the engine has to go round faster whilst sucking mixture through the same minimum hole.

[@mattsmocs3281]

The same goes for John Bull but with some modifications by the PRR. It has the early brakes so pre Westinghouse equipment due to a overhaul after the civil war in the 1860s even tho British law is more lose than American these days so replicas of these engines can run. The real John Bull and its replica are stored operational but there firebox was are counted as illegal because politics don't want others using something they don't understand. Which makes it hard for steam unless proven otherwise.

[@RNG_EDITS]

Dude tom scott made a video on a steam locomotive an i NEVER KNEW

[@Shimimanokit]

Been there good day out

[@samwilliams6679]

That's pretty cool :D

[@D8W2P4]

Hydrostatic and electric transmissions can also do that.

[@FishKungfu]

Cool!

[@travers114]

Perhaps do a follow-up on modern hydraulic controls.

[@Oliver-pi4wd]

I was on that about 4 years ago

[@GaryvanderMerwe]

In many ways that's similar to how I've seen speed skaters stop. Hockey and figure skaters stop by getting their skates to skid sideways, by turning the skate close to perpendicular to the direction of travel, which causes large amounts of friction between the blade of the skate and the ice. Speed skaters are more sensitive to blunt blade, and so they avoid doing this. Rather, if they need to stop, they toe-in, which is what you would do if you wanted to skate backwards, effectively going into reverse mode, and gently resist the bending of the legs. (You seldom see them do this, they normally just glide until they come to a stop. But when they do need to stop, they generally do it this way.)

[@yegventures]

That's how an episode of the new MacGyver series stopped a train ahha.

[@turtleextra4128]

I've been on that train

[@darrinsmith1042]

Fuck train literally has no brakes.

[@zacmitchel92]

Ok ray

[@Booksds]

I didn't expect to see this comment here, I was just about to make it myself! RIP Roy from Challenge Finders

[@tangerinealarm]

I knew of Stephenson's Rocket and I also know how steam trains function. As that's how on historical lines without a turntable they're able to take the carriages up and down the line at the same speed forwards or reverse. What I didn't know was that the replica has to have brakes 'because that's the law'. Which is somewhat disappointing. Do other old original trains at the steam museum have to have brakes retrofitted?

[@christophervalkoinen6358]

"By law" I mean the requirement for a continuous train brake on a passenger train. This is a brake controlled by an air pipe that runs the full length of the train including all of the carriages. It is very important because if the train became separated (if the carriage became unconnected from the rest of the train) then the brakes are automatically applied to both parts and prevents a serious accident. This has been a legal requirement since 1889 (when this accident happened en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armagh_rail_disaster) so most exhibits in the railway museum are fitted with it from when they were built. The replica has a modern system fitted because it is used for running passenger trains. That said, we try not to use it when we are running demonstrations but it's there if we need it and it would still work if the train is divided. We don't steam any of the locomotives in our collection that are older than 1889 so we haven't fitted modern brakes to any of them.

[@christophervalkoinen6358]

***** In the last few years, regenerative braking has also started to make an appearance. I don't think it would work on Rocket though.

[@harrytodhunter5078]

The oldest working original (not replica) steam engine in the UK is Furness Railways No20, whih has brakes. Any older original engine wuch ad the original rocket, puffing billy or Wylam Dilly dont have brakes and didnt have them retrofitted to conply with the law as they will never run.

[@harrytodhunter5078]

Also, engines after FR 20 would have brakes anyway

[@josbird]

Cooooooooooooool

[@aplimsollpunk2738]

He bought too many games. Now we gotta play them all. So all aboard the steam train!

[@Quasihamster]

Back when trains used reverse thrust to stop...

[@JO-tg2cg]

odd, I would have thought you just toss the links into the ahead or astern direction.

[@brunhildevalkyrie]

I can’t believe I haven’t seen this video until 2023

[@bahnspotterEU]

Very interesting certainly. I just wonder how you get the engine to properly stop, not just go the other way.

[@mrb692]

Simple, you would use steam to slow down, then cut the steam altogether when you reach a stop. No steam, no go.

[@snekaroo1397]

Chris looks like a young Tom Scott

[@anttipng]

8 years ago.

[@MrLabpro]

puffing tom

[@Darkstar.....]

Aye nice one piece knowledge. Although you mean the rocketman. Watching this episod got me fired up for the water 7 ark.

[@williaml.]

Mhh and does it completely stops ? Or it's only for 2 seconds before speeding again in the other side ?

[@stubbsy3775]

0.06 is that a class 205 "thumper" in network southeast livery!?

[@Liggliluff]

Why does Chris White sound like Matt Gray? The voice isn't exactly right, but it has similar speech patterns.

[@reedwilliams1868]

all gas no brakes

[@DeviousMalcontent2]

cool! :D

[@_bigblind]

so, to completely stop this thing you have to rock the thing back and forth until the steam uns out? :p

[@skellious]

no, you can also just vent the steam directly out.

[@christophervalkoinen6358]

To stop the loco you would wait for it to come to a halt and then shut the regulator (turn off the steam to the cylinders) and take it out of gear. You'd also use the handbrake if you were on an incline to prevent the train from rolling away. There might also be a guards van with a brake as well.

[@skellious]

Christopher White an erudite explanation. I was simplifying because of lack of time to write the comment earlier, thank you for taking it up where I left off.

[@EpicBoss-]

Is this the train from the trolley problem?

[@brokenwave6125]

so it still has brakes...just a different type of brakes

[@Falcrist]

This may be the coolest video in this series... not sure. :D

[@joeturner1597]

You wanted brakes? You never said you wanted brakes.

[@AKGStudios]

Is it me or does this guy really looks a bit like james blond?

[@DENPTrains]

No...

[@daniellittle7846]

That's my home city I am in it now

[@maxdavies9958]

What about now?

[@dududadadede96]

I assume that's what they tried to do in the Titanic?

[@brettcheeseman1154]

yes

[@zealotguy]

And something to add on. The central screw on the Titanic was a turbine. It could only run forward and it was impossible to put in reverse.

[@daverees8644]

Yup

[@willdaymond1669]

Did rocket have a whistle or bell?

[@thomasesthomas1996]

Electric fans use a turbine electromagnet to turn the blades. It pulses the direction that you want the blades to move. If you flip the directions while it’s going, since the blade props don’t actually touch the turbine, the EM pulses slow the blades until they stop and simply begin turning the opposite way.

[@ollyk22]

Can anyone tell me what purpose the pipe up the stacks serves? I kind of thinking a steam whistle?

[@christophervalkoinen6358]

It's not a whistle, that wasn't invented until a decade or so later. It's actually to measure the water in the boiler. Since it only has one gauge glass, if you aren't sure it's working you can open some taps above in the side of the boiler to test the water level (you see whether steam or water comes out). This pipe leads from the space that should have steam (although this one isn't in use on the replica, it is just for show but there is an alternative set of taps for the same purpose).

[@ollyk22]

Thank you!

[@brettcheeseman1154]

yes thank you

[@thelunaticcultist5157]

I remember seeing this train in one of the Thomas The Tank Engine Movies. Unfortunatly, it was made by Mattel, so it was kinda bad, and thus unmemorable.

[@trueriver1950]

It is indeed literally true that the Rocket had no brakes. It's also true that it had regenerative braking. Duh????!!!!! The increased pressure gives you some work for free when you move off again.

[@mellowmelly9258]

what is break? you mean reverse, right?

[@Midknight212]

I feel like there's a heritage railway

[@harrytodhunter5078]

This is a railway museum. The line they are on is one kf their demonstration lines.

[@BritishOrangutan]

0:36 York Minster

[@krashd]

"I'm sick of the brakes on this motherfu.." "I'll have to stop you there. I know you were about to say 'train', but this one doesn't have any brakes. Also, no profanity!"

[@Alex-Lay]

I expected the train would be louder.

[@christophervalkoinen6358]

Rocket is remarkably quiet (great for filming BTW). It's due to the really long chimney. The chuff sound you get from a steam loco occurs when the exhaust steam from the cylinders comes out of the chimney. The really long chimney spreads out the beat which makes it quieter.

[@Alex-Lay]

Christopher White that's neat, thanks.

[@TheSpiralProgression]

DR. STONE

[@joanneao5888]

the rocket has no brakes1!1!!!!!

[@seaweed5856]

1:30, look at the chimney there is no smoke... hmmmm

[@maxdavies9958]

You don’t have constant visible smoke and steam pouring out. Especially at low speeds where it’s not being blasted out. Look up how steam locomotives work and you will get a better understanding.

[@Indonongo]

i knew this

[@neilisbored2177]

Chris sounds like slightly higher pitched Matt.

[@No-uc6fg]

There ain't no brakes on the society train.

[@RandomSime]

Which lever is the velocitator and which the deceleratrix, hmm?

[@stormbob]

Put it in H!

[@harrymu148]

so... dynamic brakes were invented before normal brakes... huh

[@Darkstar.....]

So is it just me or is that the rocketman train from one piece?

[@Darkstar.....]

Never mind. Some one realised this at least a month ago.

[@sumvs5992]

That is how you stop Stevenson's rocket Oof...oof

[@Eli_Stevenson]

You spelt it wrong but hey I'm a rocket now 🤣