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

[metleon]

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

[Hysterii]

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

[jeannareadsbooks]

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.

[Schyzofrenic]

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 

[Kevin]

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

[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.

[michaelramsey]

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.

[IsaiahBoutz]

0:08
Chris looks like young Tom Scott!

[helenlunn]

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

[ethansdeadchannel]

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

[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.

[blackoak]

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

[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!

[missblankname]

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

[alsifjlasieflooo]

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

[jackkraken]

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.

[drakel]

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

[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!😃

[olibob]

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

[chriswouse]

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 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!!