Robert Stephenson (1803–1859) was a railway and civil engineer born on 16 October 1803 at Willington Quay, near Newcastle upon Tyne, the only son of George Stephenson (1781–1848), colliery and railway engineer. He was educated at Bruce's academy at Newcastle upon Tyne. On leaving school in 1819 Stephenson was apprenticed to Nicholas Wood, viewer of Killingworth colliery. In 1821 he assisted his father in the survey of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and then in 1822 spent six months studying natural philosophy, chemistry, and natural history at Edinburgh University. On leaving Edinburgh, Stephenson settled in Newcastle upon Tyne to manage Robert Stephenson & Co at Forth Banks Works, the locomotive building establishment which his father had founded there in 1823 to build stationary and locomotive engines. The locomotive ‘Rocket’ was built under his direction and went on to win the Rainhill locomotive trials, held in October 1829, to determine the best means of propulsion on the Liverpool and Manchester line. He was responsible for surveying the line of the proposed London and Birmingham Railway and was appointed Chief Engineer. The railway was the world's first intercity passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives From 1838 until the end of his life he was engaged on railway work, not only in Great Britain, but all over the world; railways were constructed either under his own direct supervision or under his advice which later became the trunk lines of the countries in which they were laid down. Stephenson’s designs became the dominant type of locomotive in Great Britain. Notable among Stephenson locomotives was the long-boilered engine in which all wheels were placed ahead of the firebox so that there was no restriction on its size. Unsuitable for main line express service, the type was remarkably successful in the carriage of heavy freight where a reservoir ofsteaming capacity could be used with advantage. Stephenson was also successful at bridge building, he built the high-level bridge over the Tyne at Newcastle, the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick and the Britannia Bridge over the Conwy and the Menai Strait. Stephenson also proposed the great Victoria Bridge over the St Lawrence River at Montreal, which was begun in 1854 and completed in 1859 after his death. On 30 July 1847 Stephenson was elected MP for Whitby. He represented the town until his death. He died at his home at 34 Gloucester Square, London, on 12 October 1859 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

George Stephenson (1781–1848), colliery and railway engineer, was born at Wylam, Northumberland, on 9 June 1781. He is often credited as being the ‘Father of Railways.’ He was the second son of Robert Stephenson, foreman at the Wylam colliery pumping engine. At fourteen he was appointed an assistant fireman to his father and when he was seventeen Robert Hawthorne employed him in the position of ‘plugman’, or engineman. Robert worked on engines at Willington Quay, Killingworth and Montrose, Scotland, before returning to Killingworth, where in 1812 he was appointed engineman and given responsibility for all the machinery at a number of collieries in the Newcastle area. Stephenson built his first locomotive, Blucher, in 1814 for Killingworth colliery, and in 1816, he patented the ‘steam spring’ with William Losh, of Walker Ironworks, Newcastle. Losh had previously supported Stephenson’s claim that he invented the first safety lamp for underground mineworkers in 1815. In early 1822, George was appointed engineer to the Stockton and Darlington Railway, after submitting survey plans and cost estimates for the proposed line and in May 1823, the company was given permission to use steam locomotives on the line. On 23 June 1823, George Stephenson established the engine manufacturing company Robert Stephenson & Co. with Edward Pease, Thomas Richardson and Michael Longridge, which was to be managed by George’s son, Robert. Work commenced in August 1823 and by the time the Stockton and Darlington line opened for traffic on 27 September 1825, four winding engines had been delivered together with a operational steam locomotive: Locomotion No.1. In 1824, George was employed to undertake surveys and prepare plans for the proposed Liverpool and Manchester Railway, but the bill was rejected in parliament. A new bill was passed in 1826, and Stephenson was appointed engineer. Stephenson fought strenuously for using locomotive power on the line, and his locomotive Rocket, built under the direction of his son Robert, won the Rainhill locomotive trials, held in October 1829, to determine the best means of propulsion on the Liverpool and Manchester line. Stephenson was chief engineer to the Grand Junction line connecting Birmingham with Liverpool and Manchester, begun in 1833 and he was also chief engineer to the following railways: Manchester to Leeds, Birmingham to Derby, Normanton to York, and Sheffield to Rotherham, and others, all begun in 1836. The Derby to Leeds Railway (afterwards called the North Midland line) was commenced under his supervision in 1837. In 1838 Stephenson was elected vice-president of the mechanical science section of the British Association at its Newcastle meeting. In 1845, Stephenson’s party won a parliamentary battle as supporters of the locomotive against the upholders of the atmospheric railway system, led by I.K. Brunel. In 1847 Stephenson became president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, which was founded by him that year in Birmingham. He received in 1835 the honour of knighthood from Leopold I of Belgium and in 1845 he also visited northern Spain in connection with a proposed railway. Stephenson consistently refused all proffered honours in England, however, declining a knighthood on two occasions. He died of pleurisy at Tapton House, Tapton, near Chesterfield, on 12 August 1848. He was buried on 17 August at Holy Trinity Church, Chesterfield.

Wood, Nicholas (1795–1865), civil and mining engineer, was born at the farm of Daniel at Sourmires in the parish of Ryton, Co. Durham, on 24 April 1795. He was the son of a farmer Nicholas Wood, and lived with his uncle at Hallgarth, near Winlaton. Wood studied at the village school in Crawcrook and his success attracted the attention of his father's landlord, Sir Thomas Liddell. Wood was sent to Liddell's collieries in Killingworth, Northumberland in April 1811 to learn the business of a viewer or colliery manager. George Stephenson was also at Killingworth at that time and the two became friends. Stephenson’s son Robert was apprenticed to Wood from 1819 to 1821 at Killingworth. Wood assisted Stephenson in the development of his safety lamp, which was first tested in 1815. He was closely associated with Stephenson in his experiments with steam locomotives, and in 1821 accompanied him to Darlington, where they met Edward Pease and discussed the projected Stockton–Darlington railway line. Wood published the classic work of early railway literature ‘A Practical Treatise on Rail-Roads, and Interior Communication in General’ in 1825, in which he discussed the various types of ‘motive power’ then in use: self-acting planes, fixed steam-engine planes, horses, and locomotive steam engines. The work appeared in three subsequent editions, in 1831, 1832, and 1838. In 1827 Wood was invited to give evidence before committees of both houses of parliament on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Bill. In 1829 he was one of the three judges for the Rainhill locomotive trials on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, won by the Stephensons' Rocket. In 1845 he joined the ‘battle of the gauges’, taking sides with the Stephensons and the ‘narrow-gauge’ lobby. Wood's knowledge of coalmining and the geology of the north of England coalfields was frequently sought by mine owners and speculators, and he acquired interests in a number of mines in the area. Wood took over the management of the Hetton Coal Company collieries in 1844, in which he was a partner, and moved from Killingworth to Hetton Hall, Co. Durham. He took a prominent part in official investigations of the coal industry, most notably with regard to safety. A report in 1835 to the select committee on accidents stated that using men instead of children would, in many cases, mean that collieries could not be worked at a profit. He contributed to improvements in underground haulage technology, and was involved in the discussions leading to the Mines Inspection Act of 1851. In 1855 he examined all the candidates for the new mining inspectorate. Wood was elected the first president of the North of England Institute of Mining Engineers on its formation at Newcastle in 1852. He became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (1829) and Mechanical Engineers (1858), and a fellow of the Geological Society (1843) and the Royal Society (1864). Wood attempted to establish a college of his own in the north-east in the 1850s, ‘for the improvement and teaching of mining science, especially as applicable to coal mines’ which failed due to of lack of financial support. Wood married Maria Forster, daughter of Collingwood Forster Lindsay of Alnwick, clerk to the magistrates of Northumberland. He and his wife had four sons and three daughters. Wood was a widower some years before his own death on 19th December 1865 at 49 Sussex Gardens, Hyde Park, London. He was buried in the churchyard at Hetton.

Timothy Hackworth was born on 22 December 1786 in Wylam, Northumberland, he was the eldest of three sons and five daughters. His father was John Hackworth, master blacksmith at Wylam colliery and his mother Elizabeth Sanderson of Newcastle. Hackworth was apprenticed to his father at Wylam, where he later worked for Christopher Blackett and the coal viewer William Hedley and went on to be responsible for engines the ‘Wylam Grasshopper’ and the ‘Wylam Dilly’. Hackworth left Wylam in 1816 because of the Sunday working hours which conflicted with his Methodist beliefs. He moved to Warbottle Colliery where he worked for William Patter as a foreman blacksmith. Timothy Hackworth and Jane Hackworth (nee Golightly) were married in 1813 at Ovingham Parish Church, both were converted Methodists. They had six daughters and three sons. One son, Thomas died shortly after his birth. Hackworth then moved to Forth Street Works in Newcastle; a works built to construct engines for the Stockton and Darlington Railway. He managed the works whilst George and Robert Stephenson were away the former surveying Liverpool and Manchester Railway line and the latter working in South America. Apparently around this time Hackworth was offered the job of manager and a share in Forth Street Works but declined this offer. In 1825 he moved to Shildon to take up position of locomotive superintendent, manager and contractor for the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company. During this time he built marine engines, coal stathes at Middlesbrough and doubled the line between Brusselton foot and Stockton. He also designed locomotives for the line including the ‘Royal George’ a high performing locomotive which featured the ‘blast pipe’ an invention that discharged exhaust steam through a converging nozzle blast pipe in the chimney, greatly increasing combustion intensity and steam production. Went on to design more locos including ‘‘Majestic’’ and ‘’Wilberforce’’ type locomotives these were manufactured by Stephenson and co and R & W Hawthorne. Hackworth entered his locomotive ‘‘Sanspareil’’ into the Rainhill Trials of 1829; a competition initiated by the directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company. The Sanspareil was not successful and Robert Stephenson’s ‘‘Rocket’’ won the contest. The Sanspareil was purchased by the directors for £500 went on to run successfully on the Bolton and Leigh Railway until 1844. It has been suggested that a cylinder of the Sanspareil had been sabotaged by in the Forth Street, thus resulting in Hackworth losing the trail, however this view has generally been dismissed by historians. In 1833 Hackworth ceased to be a salaried employee and instead contracted work to the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company and also did work on a private basis. By this time his role had evolved from superintendent of locomotives to also managing the workshops, tools and machinery. Private contracts that he carried out during this time including manufacturing an engine for the Russian government in 1836, which John Wesley Hackworth couriered to Russia and manufacturing locomotives for the Albion Coal Mining Company in Nova Scotia, order by John Buddle in 1838. In 1840 Hackworth gave up his contract with the Stockton and Darlington Railway concentrated on his own works in Soho works in Shildon. He took over the works from his brother Thomas Hackworth who had run Hackworth and Downing from the premises. Timothy fulfilled contracts for the Clarence Railway and various collieries and also built stationary marine and industrial engines. In 1846 began to build engines for the London and Brighton Railway when John Gray was Locomotive superintendent. Gray designed a class of express passenger locomotives and the whole of this class (12 engines) was built by Timothy Hackworth at Soho 1846-1848. In 1849 Hackworth built Sanspareil no. 1, he had difficulty selling this locomotive and it remained unsold by the time of his death of typhus on 7 July 1850 at Soho Works, Shildon after an outbreak in the area. His sons and other relatives went on to be engineers. His eldest son, John Wesley Hackworth did a lot of work to promote his fathers memory after he died. His daughters, friends, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and ancestors to this day have worked to try and gain him a prominent place in railway history. Notably his grandson Robert Young wrote Timothy Hackworth and the Locomotive (London: Locomotive Publishing Company, 1923) in a bid to preserve and promote his memory.

John Dixon was born in 1796 and began his career as a bank clerk under Jonathan Backhouse, one of the promoters of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. He worked with George Stephenson surveying the route of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and then transferred to surveying the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway alongside Joseph Locke. He also worked as an Engineer on the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway with George Stephenson and as an Engineer on the Wear Valley Railway. He was also Resident Engineer and then Locomotive Superintendent of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. In 1845 he returned to the Stockton and Darlington Railway where he became the Consulting Engineer. In 1850 he was a Director of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway. He died in 1865.