The Rainhill Trials were a competition held in 1829 to determine the best locomotive for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
Notable Locomotives
The following locomotives have their own separate pages:
Thomas & Friends only
Novelty
Novelty was an early steam engine built by John Ericsson and John Braithwaite. With the engine's unique design, Novelty is now regarded as the very first tank engine. Novelty was lighter and considerably faster than the other engines in the competition, with the exception of Stephenson's Rocket/Stephen. Even so, Novelty broke down first during the trials.
Technical Details
Basis
Novelty is based on the real Novelty locomotive, one of the engines that competed in the Rainhill Trials in 1829. Two replicas exist today, one using parts from the original locomotive, which is currently preserved at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England.
Livery
Novelty is painted brown with a blue running board, bufferbeams, and wheels. Novelty has black pipes and inner workings.
Appearances
Thomas & Friends
- Series 20 - Cautious Connor (indirectly mentioned), Engine of the Future (not named; does not speak) and Over the Hill (indirectly mentioned)
Specials
- 2013 - King of the Railway (not named; does not speak)
Trivia
- In Stephen's flashback in the Thomas & Friends special King of the Railway, Novelty bears several differences from the real engine:
- The boiler and chimney are much taller than those of the real engine.
- The middle section of the boiler is square rather than round in order to fit the face.
- The coal bunker is much wider at the bottom.
- Novelty's Thomas & Friends model reuses various components from other CGI models in the series:
- He reuses Stephen's driving wheels, albeit with the rivets removed.
- A side orthographic of Novelty's model shown in the background appears to include rivets on the wheels, however these are not present on the model seen in the final animation.
- He reuses Toby's face.
- He reuses Stephen's driving wheels, albeit with the rivets removed.
Gallery
Thomas & Friends
CGI Series
Sans Pareil
| This article is about 'the standard gauge'. You may be looking for 'the minimum gauge engine'. |
Sans Pareil is an early steam engine built by Timothy Hackworth and William Hedley. Sans Pareil - along with Novelty - broke down during the trial run, thus allowing Stephenson's Rocket/Stephen to win the race.
Technical Details
Basis
Sans Pareil is based on the real Sans Pareil locomotive, one of the engines that competed in the Rainhill Trials in 1829. The original locomotive is on static display at the Shildon Locomotion Museum, and a working replica is preserved at the National Railway Museum.
Livery
Sans Pareil is painted light green, with yellow lining and yellow wheels. Sans Pareil also has a black funnel, water barrel, and running board.
Appearances
Thomas & Friends
- Series 20 - Cautious Connor (indirectly mentioned), Engine of the Future (not named; does not speak) and Over the Hill (indirectly mentioned)
Specials
- 2013 - King of the Railway (not named; does not speak)
Trivia
- Sans Pareil is French for 'peerless' or 'without equal'.
- In Stephen's flashback in the Thomas & Friends special King of the Railway, Sans Pareil bears several differences from the real engine:
- The driver operates from the rear of the engine in the flashback, standing beside the funnel, rather than on the front as was the case with the prototype. This was most likely done to accommodate a face on Sans Pareil without the driver obstructing the engine's view.
- In Stephen's flashback, Sans Pareil was not shown with siderods, incorrectly appearing to be a 0-2-2, whereas the real engine was a 0-4-0.
- According to historic documents, Sans Pareil was intended to push its tender, with the driver standing at the "rear" of the vehicle. In the BBC history which deals with Stephenson's first railway, the replica Sans Pareil is driven in this manner.
- Sans Pareil's Thomas & Friends model reuses various components from other CGI models in the series:
- Stephen's driving wheels, cylinders, motion, and tender water barrel.
- The body, wheels, axleboxes and buffers from a 7-plank wagon, albeit the body is heavily modified to look more like a tender.
- He reuses Charlie's face.
Gallery
Thomas & Friends
CGI Series
Perseverance
Perseverance was an early steam locomotive that took part in the Rainhill Trials, built by John Reed Hill of London and Timothy Burstall of Leith.
Technical Details
Basis
Perseverance is based on the real Perseverance locomotive, one of the engines that competed in the Rainhill Trials in 1829. Perseverance was damaged on the way to the trials and Timothy Burstall spent the first five days trying to repair the engine. It ran on the sixth and final day of the trials but only achieved a speed of 6 miles per hour.
Appearances
Thomas & Friends
- Series 20 - Cautious Connor (indirectly mentioned), Engine of the Future (indirectly mentioned) and Over the Hill (indirectly mentioned)
Trivia
- The name of the locomotive was taken from "Persevere", Leith's town motto.
Cycloped
Cycloped was an early horse-powered locomotive, built by Thomas Shaw Brandreth of Liverpool.
Technical Details
Basis
Cycloped is based on the real Cycloped locomotive, one of the engines that competed in the Rainhill Trials in 1829. It was also the only entry in the trials that did not rely on steam power, instead utilising a treadmill that was kept continually moving by a horse mounted on top.
Brandeth and some people believed that that gave the Cycloped an unfair advantage, But the Cycloped was a primitive idea and because of its failure to generate enough speed to equal its competitors, it ultimately lost in the trials.
Appearances
Thomas & Friends
- Series 20 - Engine of the Future (indirectly mentioned) and Over the Hill (indirectly mentioned)
External Links
- Novelty on Wikipedia
- Sans Pareil on Wikipedia
- Perseverance on Wikipedia
- Cycloped on Wikipedia
- Rainhill Trials on Wikipedia