R. and W. Hawthorn: Sunbeam
1837 Railway engine built by R. and W. Hawthorn and designed by them for the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The engine driver was Edward Corner. [1]
Considerable interest attaches to the Stockton and Darlington engine Sunbeam - by R. and W. Hawthorn, 1837, in that although the design was on the lines of Stephenson's Planet, the engine was purchased by the railway of which Timothy Hackworth then had the contract for locomotive power. The driving wheels were 5ft. in diameter, and the cylinders 12in. by 15in. The leading wheels were 4ft. diameter. Weight in working order 9 tons 13 cwt., and empty 5 tons ll cwt.
The Sunbeam does not appear to have been built for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, but was one of four engines intended for the New York, Boston and Providence Railway, U.S.A., of which only one appears to have been sent to America. The two others went to the Paris and Versailles Railway.[2]