From October 6 through 14, 1829, a competition was held in Rainhill to find a locomotive that could maintain a speed of ten mph for a round trip totaling thirty-five miles, the distance separating Liverpool and Manchester, which were soon to be linked by the world's first passenger railway. George and Robert Stephenson's Rocket won the competition, but the Rocket was not necessarily the superior locomotive. Rail, Steam, and Speed explains why and offers an absorbing account of the trials, people, and science that gave birth to steam locomotion.
