three locomotives ran each day, and several tests for each locomotive were performed over the course of six days. Between 10,000 and 15,000 people turned up to watch the trials and bands provided musical entertainment on both days. Cycloped was the first to drop out of the competition. It used a horse walking on a drive belt for power and was withdrawn after an accident caused the horse to burst through the floor of the engine. The next locomotive to retire was Perseverance, which was damaged in transit to the competition. Burstall spent the first five days of the trials repairing his locomotive, and though it ran on the sixth day, it failed to reach the required speed and was withdrawn from the trial. It was granted a £25 consolation prize (equal to £ today). Sans Pareil nearly completed the trials, though at first there was some doubt as to whether it would be allowed to compete as it was overweight. However, it did eventually complete eight trips before cracking a cylinder. Despite the failure it was purchased by the L&MR, where it ran for two years before being leased to the Bolton and Leigh Railway. The last locomotive to drop out was Novelty. In contrast to Cycloped, it used advanced technology for 1829 and was lighter and considerably faster than the other locomotives in the competition. It was the crowd favourite and reached a then-astonishing on the first day of competition. It later suffered damage to a boiler pipe which could not be fixed properly on site. Nevertheless, it ran the next day and reached before the repaired pipe failed and damaged the engine severely enough that it had to be withdrawn. The Rocket was the only locomotive that completed the trials. It averaged and achieved a top speed of ) hauling 13 tons, and was declared the winner of the £500 prize (equal to £ today). The Stephensons were given the contract to produce locomotives for the L&MR. The Times carried a full report of the trials on 12 October 1829 from which the following extract are taken: Additional trials After the Rainhill trials Rocket was tested on the Whiston Incline and was able to haul eight tons up the 1:96 at and 12 tons at up the 1:96 gradient. Re-enactments Rocket 150 In May 1980 the Rocket 150 celebration was held to mark the 150th Anniversary of