Early Steam Trains

Early Steam Trains - Transcript

Early Steam Trains, 1700-1840
The struggle to build and run the World’s first steam locomotives

The First Railways
 Before 1700, trucks ran on
wooden rails in Cornish
tin mines
 By about 1780, coal trucks
in the North-East were
running on wooden and
stone tracks. A few tracks
were made of iron
All these ‘waggonways’
were drawn by horses

Locomotives
• By 1800, fixed steam engines were
working in mines and factories
• The next step was the Locomotive – a
moving steam engine that pulled coal
trucks
• Between 1800-1830, a number of
‘engineers’ tried to build a locomotive
but their machines often broke down or
were very weak

Richard Trevithick
• In 1804, Trevithick ran his new steam
locomotive in Wales
• It pulled 10 tonnes of iron for a bet
• It travelled at 3½ m.p.h. for 100 yards and
then broke down
….but he won his bet!

New Cogs & ‘Puffing Billy’
In 1811, John Blenkinsop invented a
locomotive with an extra wheel. It had
cogs on it that gave the machine extra grip
on the track
Then in 1813, John Hedley built his
‘Puffing Billy’ to haul coal in
Northumberland
‘Puffing Billy’ ran for 50 years

Liverpool to Manchester Railway
• There was a competition in 1829 to see
who’s locomotive was best. Stephenson won
• He was chosen to build the Liverpool to
Manchester railway
• 400,000 people used the new railway in the
first year. They were thrilled to travel at 18
m.p.h.

Railway Mania!
• After 1830, there was a rush to build railways
• London & Birmingham linked in 1838
• All the main cities were linked by 1850
• The face of Britain changed, criss-crossed by
railway lines, bridges and tunnels
• There was a mad rush to invest in railways in
the 1840s. Some people made fortunes, many
went bust or were swindled
• Railways created jobs for ‘navvies’, train
drivers & staff, train builders, iron makers, coal
miners and more!

Railway Mania!

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Edinburgh Exeter Brighton
Coach
Train
Journey times from
London (in hours)

Each part of the
country had its own
time when the first
railways were built. It
caused such confusion
that station clocks
began using London
time. In 1880,
Greenwich Mean
Time became
everyone’s time in
Britain.

The ‘modern
world’ took off
with the coming
of the railways.
The world was
never the same
again after
1830.