The Liverpool and Manchester Railway is perhaps the best known of Britain’s early railway companies. The hosting of the Rainhill Trials thrust the railway into the public eye and paved the way for the rapid advances in steam locomotive technology that took place in the following years.
But there was much more to the Liverpool and Manchester than that. It was the world’s first inter-city, double-track main line public railway. Much has been written about how the Liverpool and Manchester Railway came into being, but very little has been said about what happened after the grand opening on 15 September 1830.
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway: An Operating History describes how the railway worked in its day-to-day operations, including passenger and goods working, timetabling, signalling and when things went wrong. Author, Anthony Dawson, has drawn on years of original research and practical experience gained working with the replica of Stephenson’s Planet, to create an interesting account of the railway’s operating practices.
Chapters describe what it was like to work and travel on the railway, and study the evolution of passenger accommodation, working and safety practices. Finally the book looks at how the Liverpool and Manchester contributed to the wider picture and how its operational practices, rules and regulations, became the basis of national practices in 1841.
The book is predominantly text but does contain 16 pages of colour illustration plates, maps and diagrams. 246 pages. Hardback.