The opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway

Hi Everyone,

Railway Stories today looks at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. This was the first railway in the world between two cities. The scene on the opening day, Wednesday 15th September 1830 was a huge occasion. Crowds thronged the streets of Liverpool which were near the station, situated as it was on the boundary of the town. The event attracted a good number of wealthy and fashionable people who paraded in colourful clothing, all of them enjoying the fair weather. They arrived in their impressive carriages at Crown Street between 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning, all eager to board the first special trains to Manchester.

Eight trains were assembled in turn to take their elegantly dressed passengers eastward.

At the first stop at Parkside near Newton-le-Willows for water, needed to replenish the locomotives, a sad event occurred. Among the passengers was Mr William Huskisson, the M.P. for Liverpool who had decided, along with others, to get down from his train whilst it was waiting. He had just shaken hands with the Duke of Wellington, when he was distracted by the approach of another train, wheron he lost his footing and stumbled. The leading wheel of the locomotive shattered his leg. the Earl of Wilton and others came to the rescue, but his last words before fainting were, "Where is Mrs Huskisson? I have met my death. God forgive me."

Fast American Steam Locomotives

Hi Everyone,

In today's railway stories we'll look at fast American steam trains. These ran in the 1930's on a number of lines, including the Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific Railroad, known as the 'Milwaukee Road'. In 1937 locomotive No.1, hauling the train they called the 'Hiawatha', completed the 85 miles from Chicago to Milwaukee in 76 minutes and 10 seconds, although this was 1 minute and 10 seconds over the scheduled time. This disguises the fact that parts of the journey, recorded by Baron G. Vuillet who rode on the engine, were run at over 100 miles per hour, including 9 consecutive miles through Lake, one of 6 separate occasions were the speed exceeded this figure. The late arrival was caused by restrictions at the start and end of the journey. This information comes from the book, Locomotive Practice and Performance, by O. S. Nock, published in 1949. This performance was not rare, but happened every day, and people turned out to see these trains go by at such great speed for those years. If you live in this area, maybe you or your ancestors were among them. More about this famous railroad can be found at the site of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association. www.oldmilwaukeeroad.com.

The first new steam locomotive to be built in Britain since 1960 was completed in Darlington (UK) in 2008. It's called Tornado, took 18 years to make and is now hauling long distance trains. I am one of its sponsors. Find out more at www.A1steam.com

Join me soon for more railway stories.

Charles.

Introduction to Railway Stories

Hi, my name is Charles Maycock, and this is my corner of the web featuring railway, or in North
America, railroad stories.

Since railways and railroads have become commonplace in the 19th Century, many interesting
events have taken place which are still able to captivate an audience after the passage of time.

Just a couple of these are:-

The delightful; such as Sir John Betjeman's description of traveling along the Metropolitan
Line to the north of London. You can find out about him at John Betjeman.com


The disasterous; such as the wreck in April 1900 on the Illinois Central Railroad when the legendary engineer John Luther 'Casey' Jones was killed near Canton Mississippi. His life is celebrated at the Casey Jones Museum, Jackson Tennessee, which is being expanded for the 2009 season. See Caseyjones.com


I hope you will join me for some good railway stories as we develop this blog.

Bye for now,

Charles.