Timothy Hackworth: The Man who Moved the World

‘Timothy Hackworth: the man who moved the world ‘ is a celebration of the work and pioneering times for the early steam locomotives. A time when for fifteen years, between 1825 and 1840, Hackworth led the way in terms of ingenuity, accomplishment, and delivery of locomotive power. The story embraces three specific aspects of the era - The Adventure in America, The life of Timothy Hackworth and History of Shildon: the cradle of the railway. 

In America, Hackworth stood side by side with George Stephenson and alongside the three American steam locomotive pioneers, lauded for all that he devised. This edition of the story brings a substantially extended Afterword, to which is added reprints of a Commemoration of his life and of the first railway town, Shildon, reaching more than 400 pages with an additional 21 historic images. 

The book is a celebration of the Bi-Centennial Anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway – the first for public use in the world – an event as historic and consequential as the first landing on the moon. The Industrial Revolution was moved into the fast lane. The crucial history of events that followed has been allowed to bypass Timothy Hackworth, and lain at the feet of George Stephenson and his son Robert. It is time that history was corrected and rewritten.

Author Mike NORMAN has researched records at the National Railway Museum, Hackworth family records and innumerable digitised files in order to establish this challenging account of the critical and essential contribution of Timothy Hackworth. The outcome is a book that is at once readable and dangerously informative.