William Hedley
William Hedley (born July 13, 1779 in Newburn , † January 9, 1843 at Durham ) was an English mine director.
Life
In 1800, when he was 21, Hedley became mine director at the Walbottle colliery, but soon switched to the Wylam colliery. As early as 1804, attempts were made there to replace the horse business on the approximately eight-kilometer-long sliding route with the use of coal-fired steam locomotives. Richard Trevithick , employed for this purpose, built a functioning locomotive, but the load of the cast-iron rails that was common at the time could not withstand the load.
Hedley became known in 1813 for his own development of one of the first steam locomotives , the Puffing Billy , which he built together with Timothy Hackworth , the future engineer of the Stockton and Darlington Railway . The machine proved that a train could only be moved by wheel-rail friction, but the rails at that time were not able to cope with the axle load of the machine and therefore two more axles were added. The machine thus remained in operation until around 1860. The machine has been preserved and is in the London Science Museum.
In 1828 Hedley went into business for himself and rented the South Moor colliery. For this colliery he developed a well-functioning steam pump, which soon sold well and was used in many collieries in northern England.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hedley, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English mine director |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 13, 1779 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Newburn |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 9, 1843 |
| Place of death | at Durham |