John Braithwaite (March 19, 1797 - September 25, 1870) was an English engineer who invented the first steam fire engine. John Ericsson (July 31, 1803 - March 8, 1889) was a Swedish-American inventor, active in England and the United States, and regarded as one of the most influential mechanical engineers ever. During the late 1820s Ericsson and Braithwaite were working together building horse drawn fire engines with steam pumps. These used a boiler designed by Ericsson and were built in the London works of Braithwaite. In 1829 they constructed for the Rainhill experiments the locomotive engine, The Novelty. This engine was the first that ever ran a mile within a minute (56 seconds). The Novelty was an 0-2-2WT locomotive and is regarded as the very first tank engine. It had a unique design of boiler and a number of other novel design features. Unfortunately, several of the major components had significant design weaknesses which ultimately resulted in its failure at the Trials.