A pair of rare panoramas of rolling stock on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway

Travelling on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway [Pair of panoramas of rolling stock on the Liverpool to Manchester Railway].

Author: HUGHES, S.G. and PYALL, H after BURY, Thomas Talbot

Publication place: London

Publisher: Ackermann

Publication date: 1833.

Physical description: Pair of hand-coloured engravings with aquatint.

A pair of rare panoramas of rolling stock on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

The panoramas were printed to accompany, but were sold separately from, Bury’s main work: ​‘Coloured Views on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway’, published the same year. The panoramas each comprise two views showing trains for First & Second Class passengers, and those for wagons and cattle.

The L&M was the first modern, inter-city passenger railway. It was also the first to rely exclusively on steam power, to have a signalling system, a scheduled passenger service and to carry mail. Its opening took place on 15 September 1830 and was marked by tragedy.

During the first ride, William Huskisson, MP and former cabinet member, was fatally wounded by an oncoming train when approaching PM Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington’s carriage to shake hands. Despite this fatality, the line became very successful and influenced the development of railways across Britain in the following years. 

Published only one year after the opening by Anglo-German carriage designer and print-maker Rudolf Ackermann (1764–1834), the views represent the four types of trains operating on L&M railway including carriages for passengers, cattle and goods. 

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This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

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