Liverpool and Manchester Railway Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway

george stephenson, engineer of liverpool , manchester railway

the liverpool , manchester railway (l&m) founded on 24 may 1823 liverpool merchants joseph sandars , henry booth, aim of linking textile mills of manchester nearest deep water port @ port of liverpool. @ time, means of bulk transport between 2 towns other animal-drawn carts water transport on mersey , irwell navigation, bridgewater canal , leeds , liverpool canal, of slow , expensive use; transporting raw cotton 35 miles (56 km) liverpool manchester expensive initial cost of shipping america liverpool. although horse , human powered railways had existed centuries, , steam power beginning used in experimental industrial railways, l&m first steam powered railway provide inter-city passenger service, , expensive engineering project yet undertaken in britain. (because of liverpool , manchester railway ran on land owned investors in company, , because many of locomotives owned engineering firms built them rather l&m, impossible give precise figure l&m s construction costs. direct construction cost of line opening around £820,000, , 2 years of lobbying necessary railway authorised estimated have cost £70,000. in comparison, bridgewater canal, had same purpose l&m in connecting manchester port of liverpool, had cost estimated £220,000 build in late 18th century. average labourer s wage in area @ time around £20 per year.)

the marquess of stafford, owner of bridgewater canal, friend of liverpool s member of parliament william huskisson, whom had worked @ british embassy in paris. although marquess had feared potential impact of railways on income canal , had been opposed railway, huskisson persuaded him allow railway use lands , invest in scheme.

in 1826 george stephenson appointed design , build 35-mile (56 km) route. stephenson built line using 4 equally spaced rails; envisaged allow line operate double tracked railway line under normal circumstances, in event of locomotive needing haul particularly wide load or of 1 of outside rails breaking, train run along central pair of rails. felt that, having rails close together, reduce amount of land required extremely expensive l&m scheme.

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