Historedia
Episode 1 of 1

First German Locomotive Trial

When
21 July 1840
Where
Berlin–Jüterbog railroad
Part of
August Borsig's first German-built locomotive wins its trial against a Stephenson engine

Borsig's first locomotive defeated a Stephenson engine on the Berlin–Jüterbog railroad, winning by 10 minutes.

The trial occurred on 21 July 1840. Borsig's locomotive, factory number 1, competed against a Stephenson-built engine. The victory demonstrated German capability, reducing the need for imports.

Sources

  1. August Borsig Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-09

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.