George Stephenson is among the most famous engineers of all time. His rise from ‘rags to riches’ is a stirring story of its kind. But much of the work of innovative engineers for his period lay not in the work itself but in persuading people that such work was desirable and necessary. It was in this field that George Stephenson excelled, providing openings in which his proteges could change the world. They did not let him down, and we should give him full credit for being ‘The Father of the Railways’.