Some Hedley & Wylam History

Hedley is an old name of Northumberland & Durham which became important in the development of locomotives in North East England 200 years ago.

1830s view over the Tyne to Wylam

The north bank of the Tyne around Wylam became heavily industrialised until the mid 20th century, with the need to move coal to keels on the river from the 17th century.    (Note that the Tyne was full of islands & mud banks from Wylam down to near its mouth prior to the work of the Tyne Improvement Commission in the mid 19th century, eg see DG Charlton's article in Tanfield Railway News 57 of March 2001.)

William Hedley

William Hedley was the Wylam colliery engineer who developed successful adhesion worked locos with return flues in the early 19th century, for moving coal.   Hedley followed the ideas of Richard Trevithick, whose locomotive designs had been tried at Wylam Colliery, the development being driven by Christopher Blackett the colliery owner, & underpinned by local maths & science teaching.   We can imagine that George Stephenson and Timothy Hackworth, both men born, raised & apprenticed at Wylam, would have gained from Hedley's Work, as would Nicholas Wood.   (Note that attribution of loco design among these people is contentious; while the Stephensons eventually claimed much of the spoils, Hackworth's designs (for the S&DR) were likely better until the Rocket.)

Wylam locomotive by TH Hair

Two of Hedley's locomotives of 1813 survive, although much adapted & rebuilt during their working lives.   Puffing Billy is at the Science Museum in London, & Wylam Dilly is at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.   There is a working replica of Puffing Billy at Beamish.   (Note that early incarnations of the locos had 8 flangeless wheels, but they were rebuilt with 4 flanged wheels about 1830 as railways evolved.)

Puffing Billy as a flanged 4 wheeler in later life

Wylam Dilly in the National Museum of Scotland

Puffing Billy replica at Beamish

Read more about William Hedley on Grace's Guide.

There is a small railway museum in the library at Wylam.

An 1858 OS 6" map on the National Library of Scotland web site shows the collieries, railways & industry of Wylam.

The nearby Heddon local history web site often publishes articles on railways & industry.

The NRM publishes an information sheet about Puffing Billy.

There is an excellent web page about Wylam Dilly published by the National Museum of Scotland.

There is an excellent book Wylam - 200 Years of railway History by George Smith on Google Books.

An excellent booklet is The First Locomotive Engineers by L.G.Charlton, published in 1974 by Frank Graham.

Google for more when you have a few spare days.