History of the Railways

On the 4 th July 1837, the Grand Junction Railway linked Liverpool and Manchester with Birmingham.     In this episode we: • Take a look at some of the civil engineering works on the GJR • Meet Thomas Brassey, who would command an international force of about 80,000 navvies • See how the Grand Junction handled their opening.   The GJR has been underplayed in most railroad histories, so come and he...

On the 4 th July 1837, Britain's first trunk railway opened.   The Grand Junction Railway linked Liverpool and Manchester with Birmingham, and paved the way for all 3 to be connected to the capital by rail when the London & Birmingham line was fully opened a year later.   The Grand Junction also launched the national reputation of Joseph Locke, and led to yet another falling out with George Stephe...

The opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway is rightly considered a milestone in world history, but in truth the opening day itself was a disaster.  It started by shooting a man in the face with a cannon  It was the scene of protests which led the Prime Minister to flee a city (no less a man than the "Iron" Duke of Wellington, at that!) It killed one of its greatest supporters with a machine...

In part 3 of our mini-series on the L&MR, we're working our way along the line, exploring some of the magnificent works of civil engineering on the railroad. We'll meet George Stephenson's resident engineers: Joseph Locke, William Allcard, and John Dixon who had responsibility for these amazing structures. And I'll also try to give an idea of what building them might have involved, if you were one...

In part 2 of our mini-series on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, we're going to hear how the L&MR clawed its way back from the rejection of their first bill and finally got approval. Along the way I'll discuss the squabbles of engineers who should have known better: George Stephenson, Charles Blacker Vignoles, George Rennie and John Rennie.    History of the Railways is a podcast for anyone int...

The Liverpool & Manchester Railway is recognised as the first modern railway, but it almost never got off the ground. And the main reason might surprise you ... George Stephenson's poor performance. As engineer of the line, Stephenson had to brief parliament on it and he did so badly that... well, you'll just have to listen to find out... In the first of a two-parter on the birth of the L&MR we're...

The Rainhill Trials weren't what most people think ... As far as the directors of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway were concerned, the Rainhill Trials wasn't a competition between locomotives … it was a test to prove that any locomotives were a viable option.  In the second of a two-parter on Rainhill, we look at the trials themselves - how each engine fared - and some of the controversies and a...

The Rainhill Trials weren't what most people think ... As far as the directors of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway were concerned, the Rainhill Trials wasn't a competition between locomotives … it was a test to prove that any locomotives were a viable option.  In the first of a two-parter on Rainhill, I introduce the engines that competed, and the men behind those engines.  Thomas Brandreth's Cy...

In September 1825 a public railway opened with a passenger carriage being pulled by a steam locomotive: The Stockton & Darlington Railway.   Let's dig into what we know about what some authorities consider the first railway.   Come and join Michael Lancashire as he gets distracted, fascinated ... and yes, even sidetracked ... by stories from the railways (or railroads if you're American).   Find s...

You waited patiently through episode 1 thinking, "When's he going to get to the engines?" Well, this is the one about the engines!   Contrary to popular opinion Rocket was not the first locomotive in Britain. In fact, it was about the seventieth.   This episode uses some of the important ones that came before to illustrate the state-of-the-art for motive power before the Rainhill Trials in 1829.  ...

When the railway age kicked off, it didn't come out of nowhere. Railways need 4 things to work: A track People to build it Rolling stock And some form of motive power In this episode we look at the development, and state of the art, of the first three down to 1825, setting the scene for our next episode on motive power. Find show notes and more at https://historyoftherailways.com/   Come and join...

History of the Railways is one man's (probably hopeless) attempt to describe the history of the railways across the world using nothing more than a microphone, his wits, and a stack of dusty old books.   Come and join Michael Lancashire as he gets distracted, fascinated, and yes, even sidetracked, by stories from the railways (or railroads if you're American).