The Rocket is considered by many to be the forerunner of all the later generations of steam locomotives. It was designed and built by George Stephenson with the help of Henry Booth and his son, Robert, for the 1829 Rainhill Trials. The Trials were held by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to find the best locomotive engine for their railway line that would serve the two northern English cities. On that day, some 15,000 people came along to see the race of the locomotives. During the race, the Rocket reached speeds of 24mph during the 20 laps of the course. This was due to several new design features. It was the first locomotive to have a multi-tube boiler with 25 copper tubes rather than a single flue or twin flue. Plus, the blast pipe increased the draught to the fire by concentrating exhaust steam at the base of the chimney. This all meant that the boiler generated more power (steam), so the Rocket was able to go faster and thus secure its place in history. The Rocket can be found at the Science Museum in London.

The General entered service in the city of Paterson, NJ, in December of 1855. She was then shipped from Philadelphia to Georgia and then by rail to her home, the yard of the Western and Atlantic Railroad in Atlanta. The American 4-4-0 would run on the W&ARR’s 138 miles of track throughout most of her life, mostly on a run between Chattanooga and Atlanta. She became immortalized when on April 12, 1862, 21 Union spies stole The General from Big Shanty and ran her to Ringgold, Georgia. When the General ran out of fuel, the spies hastily disembarked and fled. Unable to move to a side track under her own power, the General got an assist from her
‘sister’ The Texas, who pushed the engine to Greysville for wood and water, then pulled her to Ringgold for repair. After the capture of Andrews’ Raiders in the forests of North Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama, The General hauled them back to Atlanta on May 2.