Edward Entwistle

1909.

Driver of the Rocket locomotive.

At the age of 16 he fired the Rocket on its trial trip between Liverpool and Manchester in 1831. He subsequently drove the locomotive over the route for two trips a day 'for nearly three years'. He emigrated to the USA and settled in Des Moines in 1856. He was engineer on the steamer Troy and the Hudson River, and later engineer on several lakes steamers. In Des Moines he was in charge of the engines in various large mills. He died in Des Moines in his 95th year.. Note: this source spells his name as Entwhistle.

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Obituary 1909

SEVENTY-NINE years have elapsed since George Stephenson's first passenger locomotive travelled on its historic journey from Liverpool to Manchester. The man who claimed to be the engine driver of that t r a in, and whose name was Edward Entwistle, died in the early part of last month at his home in the town of Des Moines, in Iowa. He was born at Tillsley Banks, near Manchester, on March 24th, 1815. At fourteen years of age he was apprenticed to the Duke of Bridgewater, and served in his machine shops at Manchester.

At that time locomotives had been in use for about four years for hauling coal, but they had not been employed for passenger traffic, although such use was contemplated. On commencing his apprenticeship young Entwistle was immediately set to work on the construction of locomotives, and in 1830 he was elected to fill that important and responsible post of driver of George Stephenson's famous locomotive, "The Rocket." . . . .

In 1873 he left England for America . . .

Mr. Entwistle served as driver on the train for twenty-three months, at the end of which time his nerves had become so shaken that he asked George Stephenson to allow him to discontinue the work. . . . He always said that his mother's brother, Edward Thompson, was the first engineer on the SS Great Western, . . . [more]

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See Also

• The Engineer 1909/12/03

• The Engineer 1909 December 17th, page 643, readers letters.