The Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the
first successful passenger carrying railway in the world, was begun in 1826.
Routed around the estates of the Earls of Sefton and Derby, the line crossed the
Liverpool - Warrington turnpike road at Kendrick's Cross, in the centre of
today's Rainhill Village. The oblique angle at which the line crossed the road
led to the construction of the Skew Bridge, still standing today, which itself
was the first of its kind, built of local sandstone blocks each carefully curved
and shaped.
Even though the construction of the line
was well under way in 1829, the means of powering the railway had still not been
decided. Some people favoured haulage by fixed engines and ropes while others
advocated the "locomotive". George Stephenson, the Engineer of the line was in
favour of locomotive power but some members of the L&M board strongly held
the opposing view. Following a report by Messrs. Walker and Rastrick, consulting
engineers, it was decided to offer a prize of £500 for the successful
construction of a locomotive engine which could meet strictly laid down
specifications.
A competition was to be held at which the
best designs would be tested. The site of the Trials, as they became known, was
a completed section of level line at Rainhill, 9 miles from Liverpool.
Locomotives were brought by sea to Liverpool, assembled there and carried to
Rainhill by horse-drawn wagons. Only three serious contenders reached the
starting line on October 6th, 1829. They were Timothy Hackworth's "Sans Pareil",
Braithwaite and Ericsson's "Novelty" and Stephenson's "Rocket".
The trials were held before a vast
concourse of spectators and the atmosphere was like that of a race meeting.
Grandstands were erected alongside the tracks (just as they were to be 150 years
later when visitors from all over the world came to for the "Rainhill 150"
celebrations). The clear winner was Stephenson's "Rocket" which hauled a
specified load 40 times over a distance of one and three-quarter miles and, in
fact, reached a speed of 30 miles per hour. Rocket also demonstrated its ability
to climb the nearby Whiston incline unaided, proving that static winding engines
were unnecessary.
Rocket's design proved to be the only one
at the trials which could be successfully developed further and its principles
were embodied in all subsequent steam locomotives.
The railway was finally opened by the Duke
of Wellington on September 15th 1830. It was the first full scale inter-city
railway exclusively powered by locomotives and providing a service for both
passengers and freight. Its double track throughout and its strict timetable
formed the prototype for subsequent railways throughout the world.
Acknowledgments to Derek Houghton, notes
written for the 1979 "Rainhill Trials Celebration Committee".
There is very informative site giving more
information about the trials, which includes extracts from engineering journals
of the time as well as drawings of the contenders. click here
The Rainhill Railway Museum, housed in an
old railway coach adjacent to the Library in View Road, Rainhill, has displays
and documents describing the Trials and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
This museum is maintained by Rainhill Railway and
Heritage Society. The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester contains
the building which formed the original Manchester terminus of the Railway. The
Liverpool Museum also has much of interest relating to the Railway, including an
early locomotive, the "Lion".
The Society's booklet "Transport Through Rainhill" gives more information about the Trials.
Click here for more details.
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