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On the 4th July 1837, the Grand Junction Railway linked Liverpool and Manchester with Birmingham.
In this episode we:
• Take a look at some of the civil engineering works on the GJR
• Meet Thomas Brassey, who would command an international force of about 80,000 navvies
• See how the Grand Junction handled their opening.
The GJR has been underplayed in most railroad histories, so come and hear why I think it’s important, and marks a turning point in the nature of railways and the character of the engineers who built them.
Show notes
- 01:23 Last episode’s trivia answer
- 02:00 What we can really know about history
- 05:36 The Wolverhampton and Preston Brook Tunnel and the coldest winter on the 19th century
- 08:51 Dutton Viaduct
- 11:35 Penkridge Viaduct
- 13:03 Joseph Locke’s approach to contracts
- 16:55 Thomas Brassey
- 22:00 Birmingham Terminus at Vauxhall not Curzon Street
- 22:53 James Watt Jr and the course of the line
- 25:19 Double-headed, parallel, fish-bellied, Vignoles, and Stevens rail
- 30:39 Opening Day
- 35:40 Conclusion
Research and Reading List
These are some of the books and websites I used for research for this episode. Many are free resources on the internet, some you can buy for yourself … if you do fancy any of them, then buying them through these links is a great way to support the show at no extra cost to you *.
The Evolution of the Steam Locomotive, 1803 to 1898 – G.A. Sekon (Nokes), 1899
The British steam railway locomotive, 1825-1925 – E.L. Ahrons, 1927
Railway Carriages in the British Isles, 1830-1914 – C. Hamilton Ellis, 1965
Images
George Stephenson (1781 – 1848)
* I use affiliate links to help support the podcast. If you buy through these links then you pay exactly the same price, and I earn a (very!) small commission.
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