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

tomscott.com - @tomscott - With thanks to all the team at the National Railway Museum, York! You can ride in the passenger section behind Rocket on certain days; get in touch with the Museum at nrm.org.uk for details.

[@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

[@johnnyboy3949]

Tom needs to do more train videos!

[@alsifjlasieflooo]

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

[@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.

[@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).

[@finalhour4406]

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

[@Shimimanokit]

Been there good day out

[@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.

[@joanneao5888]

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

[@The-Penniless-Gent]

If only there wasn't a petrol engine in the tender ton operate the air brakes!

[@Schmidtelpunkt]

Careful - that jarring motion of a train can damage your mind! Nobody should ever travel by those bewitched apparatuses. That is what the lord made them horses for!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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...

[@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

[@IsaiahBoutz]

0:08 Chris looks like young Tom Scott!

[@Dave_Sisson]

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

[@spiyder]

0:26

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@wawaweewa6633]

Question: How old is tom? Answer: Timeless

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@jjblahblah6396]

Gotta love York

[@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.

[@Liggliluff]

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

[@AKGStudios]

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

[@DENPTrains]

No...

[@tvdan1043]

"No brakes! No brakes!" - Al Bundy

[@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

[@goneutt]

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

[@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

[@joeturner1597]

You wanted brakes? You never said you wanted brakes.

[@brokenwave6125]

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

[@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...

[@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

[@Quasihamster]

Back when trains used reverse thrust to stop...

[@No-uc6fg]

There ain't no brakes on the society train.

[@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.

[@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

[@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.)

[@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!

[@yoingjoe]

Favourite place to go as a kid :D

[@aplimsollpunk2738]

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

[@DavidScholz-bu1ix]

NICELY WELL DONE!!

[@wutwut6191]

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

[@emoharalampiev1590]

oh no... it's my upvote that changes the upvote count from 6.9k to 7k... how am I to break a 69 number... even if it is seperated by a dot.

[@harrymu148]

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

[@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)

[@williaml.]

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

[@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

[@RNG_EDITS]

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

[@tibsie]

Trevithick for the win!

[@EcceJack]

That was fascinating!

[@drakel0]

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

[@nobbb890ggg]

Great stuff as always Tom

[@MrNoUsername]

STEPHENSON'S ROCKET IS A LOCOMOTIVE, NOT A TRAIN

[@EpicBoss-]

Is this the train from the trolley problem?

[@samwilliams6679]

That's pretty cool :D

[@FharishAhmedPortfolio]

Alright, that was kinda cool!

[@yegventures]

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

[@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!"

[@leahaquino6087]

Stephen your back

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!😃

[@missblankname]

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

[@sumvs5992]

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

[@Eli_Stevenson]

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

[@neilisbored2177]

Chris sounds like slightly higher pitched Matt.

[@DeviousMalcontent2]

cool! :D

[@travers114]

Perhaps do a follow-up on modern hydraulic controls.

[@mellowmelly9258]

what is break? you mean reverse, right?

[@Josbird]

Cooooooooooooool

[@snekaroo1397]

Chris looks like a young Tom Scott

[@leoroth6162]

york!! my hometown

[@D8W2P4]

Hydrostatic and electric transmissions can also do that.

[@AsbestosMuffins]

i feel like he spends weeks preparing to do these videos and then the end product is only 2 minutes long

[@fleecemaster]

That's what makes them so good though

[@reedwilliams1868]

all gas no brakes

[@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.

[@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.

[@anttipng]

8 years ago.

[@willdaymond1669]

Did rocket have a whistle or bell?

[@TheSpiralProgression]

DR. STONE

[@stubbsy3775]

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

[@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

[@jonahyudkindibdin4208]

3,000,000

[@setoman1]

That's called an engine brake. Still a brake.

[@Oliver-pi4wd]

I was on that about 4 years ago

[@turtleextra4128]

I've been on that train

[@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.

[@Falcrist]

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

[@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.

[@Indonongo]

i knew this