The Rocket locomotive earned its place in history on October 29, 1829, for winning an experimental locomotive contest, the Rainhill Trials. Many steam locomotives of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were patterned after the Rocket’s pioneering design. Built by the Robert Stephenson and Company, the Rocket used a boiler that produced steam and burned fuel efficiently. The company owners and father-son duo, George Stephenson (1781–1848) and Robert Stephenson (1803–1859), knew they could increase locomotive power by improving how a boiler produced steam. The Rocket’s boiler had twenty-five copper tubes that carried the hot gases from the firebox directly to the smokestack. The tubes increased the surface area through which heat could be conducted in the water which increased the amount of heat delivered for a given amount of fuel and sped up the production of steam. This improvement along with others made the Rocket fast, reliable, and lightweight, and demonstrated that rail transportation could be a practical and potentially profitable industry. 

The scientific and cultural importance of the Rocket stems from its role in transforming transportation. It helped make it possible for trains to travel faster and more efficiently than ever before. In this manner, it sped up industrialization and played a key role in the development of many modern industries. It also laid the foundation for the widespread use of the railroads and had a profound impact on the Industrial Revolution. The legacy of the Rocket still exists today, showing how innovation can bring about profound changes in science, technology, and society.