Blucher

This article is about locomotive "Blucher". See also "Blücher"

The Blucher was an early railway locomotive built in 1814 by George Stephenson for the Killingworth Colliery.

The Blucher was the first successful locomotive incorporating the following design features:

• Flanged wheels keeping the locomotive on the tracks
• Traction only relying on the friction of wheels on rails
• Cylinder rods directly connected to the wheel disks

The Blucher had the ability to pull a train of thirty tons with a speed of 4 mph. The locomotive was named after the Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher who helped Britain defeat Napoleon at Waterloo.

Other early locomotive designs

• Salamanca by John Blenkinsop
• Puffing Billy by William Hedley
• Sans Pareil by Timothy Hackworth