The English railway engineers George Stephenson (1781-1848) and his son, Robert Stephenson (1803-1859), pioneered in steam railway engineering, which led directly to the onset of the railway age in Britain.

George Stephenson was born on July 9, 1781, at Wylam, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He followed his father's trade of colliery engineman with its concomitant migratory life. A natural mechanical bent led him to positions of increasing responsibility. In 1804 at Killingworth Colliery he took charge of a winding engine belonging to the Grand Allies, an important group of coal masters who controlled the pits. By 1812 Stephenson had become engine wright at Killingworth and was charged with maintaining the Grand Allies' machinery at all their collieries. He also acted as an adviser to other colliery owners. In 1815 he invented a safety lamp for miners at about the same time as did Sir Humphry Davy.

During the Napoleonic Wars coal masters became increasingly interested...