- 1.11 – Grand Junction Railway pt. 2
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.
- 1.10 – Grand Junction Railway pt. 1 – A Fight for Control
The final episode in our mini-series on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway explores the formal opening and early locos of the world’s first modern railway.
It is considered a milestone in world history, but the opening day itself was a disaster.
• It started by shooting a man in the face with a cannon
• It was the scene of protests which led the Prime Minister to flee a city (no less a man than the “Iron” Duke of Wellington, at that!)
• It killed one of its greatest supporters with a machine it was trying to convince the public was safe
- 1.09 – L&MR pt. 4 – Opening Day and Early Locomotives
The final episode in our mini-series on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway explores the formal opening and early locos of the world’s first modern railway.
It is considered a milestone in world history, but the opening day itself was a disaster.
• It started by shooting a man in the face with a cannon
• It was the scene of protests which led the Prime Minister to flee a city (no less a man than the “Iron” Duke of Wellington, at that!)
• It killed one of its greatest supporters with a machine it was trying to convince the public was safe
- 1.08 L&MR pt. 3 – Making it a Reality
In part 3 of our mini-series on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, we’re working our way along the line, exploring some of the magnificent works of civil engineering on the railroad.
We’ll meet George Stephenson’s resident engineers: Joseph Locke, William Allcard, and John Dixon who had responsibility for these amazing structures.
And I’ll also try to give an idea of what building them might have involved, if you were one of the nameless hundreds of navvies who did the actual physical work.
- 1.07 L&MR pt. 2 – Try, Try Again
In part 2 of our mini-series on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, we’re going to hear how the L&MR clawed its way back from the rejection of their first bill and finally got approval.
Along the way I’ll discuss the squabbles of engineers who should have known better: George Stephenson, Charles Blacker Vignoles, George Rennie and John Rennie.
