Blenkinsop, John (1783-1831)

English engineer. He was a forerunner of George Stephenson in the development of the locomotive. His locomotive, patented in 1811, was a twin-cylinder engine driving two cogwheels that engaged cast-iron rack rails. In a test at Hunslet, Leeds, on 24 June 1812, it covered 2.5 km/1.5 mi in 23 minutes, ‘without the slightest accident’.