Many successful people are inspired by their parents and George Stephenson was no exception. In modern day vernacular, his father had one of the "coolest jobs in town" in the small village of Wylam, on the River Tyne, eight miles west of Newcastle, England, where George was born. Robert Stephenson raised his family in a primitive dwelling while serving as the pumping engine fireman at the local colliery, keeping the mines free of water. The company's coal wagon passed very close to the family's front door, helping George make up for his lack of formal education with up close and very personal attentiveness.

When George was eight yeas old, the mine's pumping engine broke down and work temporarily ceased, forcing his father to move the family in search of work. With the impact of engines permanently etched in his mind, the young boy began...