A detailed history of the locos of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, Britain’s first inter-city railway opened in 1830.
The book describes the development of steam loco technology starting with the success of “Rocket” at the Rainhill Trials of 1829 and her sister locos such as “Comet” and “Arrow”, with subsequent chapters covering later designs including the luggage-hauling locos starting with “Samson” and “Goliath”, the six-wheeled Patentee type loco and John Melling’s patent locos.
There are then chapters on Timothy Hackworth’s “Sans Pareil”, the locos developed by Edward Bury and by John Braithwaite and John Ericsson and, lastly, the products of Manchester-based loco builders Galloway, Bowman & Glasgow (who developed the L&M’s first loco to be built in Manchester, appropriately named after its birthplace city!) and Sharp, Roberts & Co.
Towards the end the book describes the railway’s passenger coaches and goods vehicles. As well as drawings of the original coaches there are also photos of replica first class enclosed and second class open coaches built in 1930 for the L&M centenary.
Hardback. 292 pages. Approximately 40 photographs and drawings.