early railways

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 going to look at the struggle to get the idea for the line accepted, and how it almost fell at the first hurdle.

Listen to the episode now and find out what happened next...

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 show notes and more at https://historyoftherailways.com

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HistoryOfTheRailways/

Support the show at http://patreon.com/HistoryoftheRailways

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 accusations of conspiracy that followed. 

Going into the trial there were 5 entries:

• Thomas Brandreth’s Cycloped
• Timothy Burstall’s Perseverance 
• John Braithwaite and John Ericsson’s Novelty
• Timothy Hackworth’s Sans Pareil
• George Stephenson, Robert Stephenson and Henry Booth’s Rocket 

But what happened next?

Listen and find out...

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 show notes and more at https://historyoftherailways.com

Support the show at http://patreon.com/HistoryoftheRailways