The Liverpool and Manchester Railway: An Operating History

Much has been written about the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, especially how it came into being and the Rainhill Trials, but very little has been said about what happened after the grand opening on 15 September 1830. Drawing on years of research, and practical experience of working with the replica of Stephenson’s Planet, this book shows how the Liverpool & Manchester Railway worked in its day-to-day operations, including passenger and goods working, timetabling, signalling and when things went wrong. Chapters will describe what it was like to work and travel on the railway, and will study the evolution of passenger accommodation, working and safety practices. Finally the book looks at how the Liverpool & Manchester fits into the wider picture, how its operational practices, rules and regulations, became the basis of national practices in 1841. AUTHOR: Anthony Dawson is an historian and archaeologist with over ten years’ experience of working in museums and heritage, having worked for the Museum of the Manchester Regiment and the Science & Industry Museum in Manchester, home to the world’s oldest passenger railway station. He is a Railway Volunteer at S&IM and the NRM, working as a fireman on the unique replica of Robert Stephenson’s Planet. A graduate of the University of Bradford and a post-graduate research student at the University of Leeds, Anthony is also a member of the Railway & Canal Historical Society and the Newcomen Society. He has also written on the Crimean War, including the Charge of the Light Brigade (Letters from the Light Brigade, Pen & Sword, 2014). 50 colour and b/w illustrations, maps