Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway' (L&MR) was the world's first intercity passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and operated by steam locomotives. This differed from the Stockton and Darlington, as sections of this line employed cable haulage, and only the coal trains were hauled by locomotives. Further, horse-drawn traffic could use the Stockton and Darlington upon payment of a toll. The passenger-carrying Canterbury and Whitstable Railway opened three months before the L&MR. However, it used cable haulage by stationary steam engines over much of its length, with steam locomotives restricted to the level stretch. The L&MR was primarily built to provide faster transport of raw materials and finished goods between the port of Liverpool and mills in Manchester in north-west England.
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company was founded on 24 May 1823. The 35-mile (56 km) line was a remarkable engineering achievement for its time, beginning with the 2,250-yard (2,060 m) Wapping Tunnel beneath Liverpool from the docks to Edge Hill. Following this was a two mile (3 kilometres (1.9 mi)) long-cutting, up to 70 feet (21 m) deep, through rock at Olive Mount, and a nine 50-foot (15 m) span arch viaduct over the Sankey Brook Valley, around 70 feet (21 m) high. There was also a 4.75 miles (7.64 km) crossing of the Chat Moss bog.
To determine which locomotives would be suitable, the directors organised the Rainhill Trials. These were arranged as an open contest that would let them see all the locomotive candidates in action, with the choice to follow. A prize of £500 was offered to the winner of the trials. The trials were won by Rocket, built by George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson. Rocket was the first locomotive to use a multi-tubular boiler, which allowed more effective heat transfer from the exhaust gases to the water. It was also the first to use a blastpipe, where used steam from the cylinders discharges into the smokebox beneath the chimney in order to increase the draught of the fire. With these innovations, Rocket averaged 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) achieving a top speed of 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) hauling 13 tons, and was declared the winner of the trials. The Stephensons were accordingly given the contract to produce locomotives for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway.
The line opened on September 15, 1830 with termini at Liverpool Road, Manchester (now part of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester) and Edge Hill, Liverpool.
Read more about this topic: History Of Rail Transport In Great Britain To 1830
Famous quotes containing the words manchester and/or railway:
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