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Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed the Clifton suspension bridge, which was accepted on his 5th attempt.
On the 6th october the Rain Hill trials occured, to find out if steam engines were a reliable enough technology to form the basis of the railways.
The notable competetors for the contract were "novelty" from London which failed due to burst bellows, "Sans Pareil" by Timothy Hackworth, and "The Rocket" by Robert Stevenson.
"Sans Pareil" failed due to water pump problems, which were eventually traced to a crack in one of the cylinders which had been made by the Stevensons.
While there is no proof that it was industrial sabotage on their part, the suspicion was definately there.
However "The Rocket" was undoubtedly the better machine. It included double acting pistons, and a multi-tubular boiler that made it the first of the modern locomotives.
last modified 00:51 2004/10/22