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In the 18th century horses were used to take coal
and ore to the nearest waterway and by this time iron was used for the tracks
for the first time.
In 1727, the Ravensworth Wagonway in County Durham built
the world's first railway viaduct. Known as the Causey Arch, it carried a line
across Tanfield Moor and remarkably it still stands today!
In 1758, the Middleton Railway, a private colliery line near Leeds, became
the world's first railway line to be authorised by an Act of Parliament. One of
the conditions of extending the line beyond the boundary of the colliery was that
adequate fencing to protect the public had to be erected.
At the start of the 19th century Britain had 2400km (1500 miles) of industrial
railway - the next 50 years were to see a massive expansion of the railways that
revolutionised transport in Britain and across the world.
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All
trespass on the railways is a crime which can be punished in court with a fine
of upto £1,000 |
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The world's first public goods railway authorised by Act of Parliament, the
Surrey Iron Railway, was opened in 1803. Iron rails replaced the unstable wooden
rails and William Jessop designed a system of square rails with wagon wheels having
flanges on their inside edge. However, the only power to pull the wagons remained
the horse. - a situation that was soon to change.
Building on the stationary steam engine pioneering work of Thomas Newcomen
and James Watt, a Cornishman called Richard Trevithick
built the world's first steam locomotive in 1803. His second locomotive, called
'New Castle', was the first to be put to practical use when it began hauling iron
a year later at the Pen-y-darren Iron Works in South Wales. In 1807, South Wales
also saw the operation of the Oystermouth Railway - the world's first railway
to carry fare-paying passengers- although the wagons were still hauled by horses!
By 1808, Trevithick had perfected his design, incorporating his innovation of
a chimney to remove the exhaust gases, and exhibited his engine Catch Me Who Can
to the high society of London.
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The world's first commercial use of steam locomotives
occurred on the Middleton Railway, where in 1812 Matthew Murray's locomotive,
Salamanca, came into operation using a rack and pinion method of traction (used
later for mountain railways) devised by John Blenkinsop.
One of the many visitors to Leeds who came to see the rail operation was a young
man called George Stephenson, an engine -wright at Killingworth colliery near
Newcastle-upon Tyne. |
World's first commercially
successful steam locomotive. Middleton Railway, Nr Leeds, 1812, Copyright, Science
Museum |
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In
a typical year there are an
estimated 27 million cases
of trespass on Britain's railways. |
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George Stephenson started building engines and
his first called Blucher took to the rails in 1814 at Killingworth Colliery. At
nearby Wylam colliery, William Hedley also built engines, the first of which named
Grasshopper made an appearance a year earlier. George Stephenson eventually became
engineer of the Stockton & Darlington Railway that came into being in 1821.
In 1823 he opened the world's first railway locomotive construction company run
by his son, Robert, to build a locomotive for the railway.
On 27 September 1825 on the Stockton to Darlington line, the engine Locomotion
driven by George Stephenson became the world's first steam locomotive to haul
passengers on a public railway. 500 passengers were carried mostly in open goods
wagons, although a lucky few sat in a purpose built passenger coach called the
Experiment. The train was led by a man on horseback carrying a flag and it reached
a speed of 24kph (15 mph).
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Trains
can travel at 225kph (125 mph) and can take upto 2000m (1¼ miles) to stop. |
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The first railway line to be built between two cities was constructed from
Liverpool to Manchester a distance of 48km (30 miles). The building of the line
involved significant engineering expertise to cross Chat Moss bog, the Sankey
Valley and cut through solid rock at Olive Mount. The term navvies (named after
the navigators who had cut out the canals) was applied for the first time to the
hundreds of travelling workmen, many from Ireland, who achieved this feat using
little more than spades and pickaxes!
Before the line was opened, the owners decided to hold locomotive trials to see
which engine they would choose for their new railway. The famous Rainhill Trials
were held in September 1829 over a distance of 4km (21/2 miles) before crowds
of upto 15,000! There were five entrants - Sans Pareil built by Timothy Hackworth
from Shildon, Novelty entered by John Braithwaite, Timothy Burstall's Perseverance,
Cyclopede ( a treadmill worked by two horses!) and the legendary Rocket built
by George and Robert Stephenson.
The winner was the Rocket and in September 1830 the Liverpool to Manchester
line was opened with George Stephenson at the controls of Northumbrian. As a result
of the trials the Stephensons went on to construct eight locomotives for the railway.
Four months earlier a small local line between Canterbury and Whitstable had opened
mainly carrying freight. However the Liverpool-Manchester line was the world's
first true railway carrying passengers and freight over some distance on a double
track line of metal rails.
Between 1830 and 1850 some 9,650km (6,000 miles) of public railway were built
in Britain - this period became known as the age of Railway Mania. In 1837, the
first long distance line, the Grand Junction Railway, built by another railway
pioneer Joseph Locke, was opened between Birmingham and the Liverpool-Manchester
Railway. A year later Robert Stephenson completed
the first section of the London to Birmingham Railway between the newly constructed
Euston Station (where the first railway hotel was opened in 1839) and Boxmoor
in Hertfordshire. Now there were the beginnings of the world's first true railway
system.
Railway safety became an obvious issue - George Stephenson designed the world's
first locomotive whistle for the engine Samson following its collision with a
horse and cart on the Leicester to Swannington line. The first laws for the safety
of the railways were enacted under the Regulation of Railways Act 1840 to be followed
by a succession of Acts covering passenger safety and comfort.
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Each
year an estimated 4 million
objects are thrown at trains. |
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There was a massive growth in passenger traffic with many people travelling
just for fun.
The first excursion train ran in July 1840 from Nottingham to Leicester and in
the same year Midland Counties Railway ran an excursion train for 2,400 passengers!
Control of the rail system developed with introduction of the first semaphore
signals at New Cross on the London & Croydon Railway in 1841. The same year
saw the first use of the electric telegraph to send simple messages from one signalman
to another at Chesterfield on the North Midland Railway.
Railway tracks had originally been laid on stone blocks, but the use of wooden
sleepers placed at right angles to the track became widespread. With the expansion
of the railway system there were obvious advantages in having all tracks the same
width or gauge. Following the Stephensons' example most used the 1,435 mm (4'
81/2") gauge, which became the standard gauge for all but one line in 1844.
The exception was the Great Western railway line from Paddington to Penzance,
built by the outstanding engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel,
that remained at a gauge of 2,140 mm (7' 01/4") until 1892.
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Trespassing on or near railway lines is a criminal offence
which carries a fine of up to £1,000
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