The Liverpool & Manchester Railway was Britain’s first mainline, intercity railway; opened in 1830 it was at the cutting edge of railway technology. Engineered by George Stephenson and his team – John Dixon, William Allcard, Joseph Locke – the project faced many obstacles both before and after opening, including local opposition and the choice of motive power, resulting in the Rainhill Trials of 1829. Much of the success of the line can be attributed to the excellence of its engineering but also its fleet of pioneering locomotives built by Robert Stephenson & Co. of Newcastle. This is the story of those locomotives, and the men who worked on them, at a time when the locomotive was still in its infancy. Using extensive archival research, coupled with lessons learned from operating early replica locomotives such as Rocket and Planet, Anthony Dawson explores how the locomotive rapidly developed in response to the demands of the first intercity railway, and some of the technological dead ends along the way.

The fascinating history of LMR 57 Lion, the real locomotive featured in the cult film 'The Titfield Thunderbolt'.

Much has been written about the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, especially how it came into being and the Rainhill Trials, but very little has been said about what happened after the grand opening on 15 September 1830.Drawing on years of research, and practical experience of working with the replica of Stephenson's Planet, this book shows how the Liverpool & Manchester Railway worked in its day-to-day operations, including passenger and goods working, timetabling, signalling and when things went wrong.Chapters will describe what it was like to work and travel on the railway, and will study the evolution of passenger accommodation, working and safety practices. Finally the book looks at how the Liverpool & Manchester fits into the wider picture, how its operational practices, rules and regulations, became the basis of national practices in 1841.

This fascinating book explores the development of locomotives over the course of fifty years. From Richard Trevithick's first experimental road engine of 1801 up to the Great Exhibition some fifty years later, locomotives have come far in reimagining and reinventing themselves to serve the people and British industry.The early years showed slow development amongst locomotives: Trevithick's first railway locomotives failed significantly as the engine broke the brittle cast-iron rails. The story is continued through the years when locomotives were developed to serve collieries, a period that lasted for a quarter of a century, and saw many different engineers trying out their ideas; from the rack and pinion railway developed by Blenkinsop and Murray, to George Stephensons engines for the Stockton & Darlington Railway. The most significant change came with Robert Stephensons innovative Rocket, the locomotive that set the formula for future developments.British engineers dominated the early years, although in France Marc Seguin developed a multi-tubular boiler at the same time as Stephenson. The next period was marked by the steady spread of railways in Europe and across the Atlantic. Timothy Hackworth of the Stockton & Darlington railway supplied locomotives to Russia, and his men had an exciting ride to deliver parts by sleigh across the snowy steppes, pursued by wolves. In America, the first locomotives were delivered from England, but the Americans soon developed their own methods and styles, culminating in the Baldwin engines, a type that has become familiar to us from hundreds of Western films.This is more than just a book about the development of a vital technology, it is also the story of the men who made it possible, from the steadily reliable team of William Buddicom and Alexander Allan, who developed their locomotives at Crewe, to the flamboyant Isambard Kingdom Brunel, whose broad gauge was served by the magnificent engines of Daniel Gooch.

The first steam locomotives used on any British railway, worked in industry. The use of new and second hand former main line locomotives, was once a widespread aspect of the railways of Britain. This volume covers many of the once numerous manufacturers who constructed steam locomotives for industry and contractors from the 19th to the mid 20th centuries. David Mather has spent many years researching and collecting photographs across Britain, of most of the different locomotive types that once worked in industry. This book is designed to be both a record of these various manufacturers and a useful guide to those researching and modelling industrial steam.