'The Collier', an 1814 aquatint by Robert Havell. In the background is a rack locomotive on the Middleton Railway, built by Matthew Murray of Leeds.
Image: Science Museum/SSPL
Early steam locomotives
The steam locomotive first became useful when it was used to haul coal from mines to the places where it was off-loaded into boats or ships.
The Leeds engineer Matthew Murray designed a rack locomotive in 1812 for the Middleton Colliery railway. This was the first commercial use of the steam locomotive anywhere in the world.
By 1820 there were about 20 steam locomotives in operation, all in Britain in industrial settings.
