George Stephenson

ONE of Liverpool's most famous sons, the inventor and engineer George Stephenson, will today be officially saluted for his contribution to the age of steam.

A commemorative plaque is to be unveiled outside 34 Upper Parliament Street, where Stephenson lived in the early 1800s.

Stephenson made history through his locomotive, The Rocket, which won the Rainhill Trials - a race that opened the age of train travel.

The speed of the Rocket during the trials - 29mph - was considered unbelievably fast at the time.

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