Hetton Lyon’s Stephenson ‘origins’ exposed as ‘fake news’
NOT only did George Stephenson play no part in building Hetton Colliery’s celebrity 0-4-0 Lyon, but the locomotive is far from being one of the oldest in the world, as long claimed, experts have announced.
A seven-month investigation by Dr Michael Bailey and Peter Davidson into the engine, based at the Locomotion museum at Shildon, has established that it was not constructed in 1822, as wrongly believed for 120 years, but at the colliery in County Durham in 1849.
The project began in April 2019 and saw world renowned specialists Michael and Peter conduct a forensic-like examination of the locomotive and tender alongside detailed archival research.
On July 7, the findings of the study were
