Invention and Experiment: up to 1833
Compiled using "The Oxford Companion to British Railway History" by Jack Simmons & Gordon Biddle

Wooden Beginnings

The first recognisable railways appeared in Greece, Malta and parts of the Roman Empire at least 2000 years ago. These used stone-cut tracks to guide the wheels of horse-drawn wagons carrying goods. These tracks began reappearing in Germany around 1550, this time using rough wooden tracks. These were introduced as a response to the demand from the burgeoning coal industry, for an all-weather means to transport coal from the pithead to navigable water. The coal, which had previously been carried on the backs of packhorses along unmetalled roads, could now be transferred to wagons; these could be pulled more efficiently by horses and carry heavier loads.

The earliest recorded private pit railway in Britain was built at Wollaton near Nottingham in 1604 by Huntingdon Beaumont; he subsequently took the idea north, and by 1660 perhaps nine such railways existed on Tyneside. The railway thrived in the Tyne coalfields, and technical developments were exported to other fields in Yorkshire, Cumberland and Scotland. The profession of 'waggonway-wright' came into being as an early type of civil engineer, laying out routes and constructing cuttings and embankments.

Rails were typically of oak, 4½" square and pinned to close-set sleepers on well-drained deep ballast. These needed regular replacement under heavy use; and some railways began to protect the wood with thin wrought-iron straps. Gauge varied, and wheels were flanged; gravity was used in the downward direction, and horses on the up.

Simultaneous with the Tyneside system, railways were developed in Shropshire; using a narrower gauge, steeper gradients and less engineering, resulting in smaller wagonloads than those to the north. From 1665, these railways spread through the West Midlands, Wales, Lancashire and Scotland.

Early Iron Railways

As the industrial revolution made iron more widely available, it began to be used on the railways; initially in the early 1700s as a protection for the wooden rails. At this time, most mines were developed close to waterways to allow for ease of transportation. This frustrated those who owned inland coal seams but were unable to exploit them.

Opening notice for Surrey Iron Railway with tariff details [Public Domain]

On July 26 1803, Jessop opened the 8¼ mile double track Surrey Iron Railway, linking Wandsworth with Mitcham and Croydon. Horses were used to haul six 3½ tone freight wagons at about 2½ miles per hour for the various factories and mills along the route. This was arguably the world’s first public railway. The system was largely owned by the mill and factory owners, and was not open to passengers.

A New Form of Power

The steam engine was developed in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was the motive power behind the industrial revolution. From a working model by Denis Papin of about 1679, designs were built by Thomas Savery (1698), Thomas Newcomen (1712) and James Watt (1769); each built on the successes of the previous design. The first application for these stationary engines was to pump water from deep mineshafts.

As the designs developed, engineers began to experiment with steam powered vehicles. In 1769 Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot demonstrated his ‘steam wagon’ in Paris; this was the first functioning steam-powered vehicle.

Plans of Trevithick’s locomotive for Wylam Colliery [© Science Museum]

Further refinements led to the ‘London Steam Carriage’ in 1803; however it is for his invention in the following year that Trevithick will be remembered.

On February 21, 1804, Trevithick ran his rail-guided steam locomotive at the Pen-y-Darren ironworks near Merthyr Tydfil. It had no name, and pulled 10 wagons at speeds of around 5 miles per hour. Although it successfully demonstrated the principal, it was too heavy for the rails, which were designed for horse-drawn loadings only.

Trevithick continued to develop a publicise his designs, notably at a demonstration in London in 1808. However he had no financial backing, and soon abandoned his attempts to sell his rail-mounted steam engine. Trevithick eventually moved to South America, and died in penury.

In 1814 George Stephenson, who worked at a colliery on Tyneside, persuaded the colliery manager to allow him to build a steam engine. The resulting machine, the ‘Blucher’, had flanged wheels and successfully hauled 30 tons of coal at a time. Over the next five years, sixteen more such engines were built.

In 1822, Stephenson opened the Hetton to Sunderland railway, hauling coal using a combination of gravity and steam locomotives – thus becoming the first railway to operate without animal power.

The First Modern Railway

Engraving of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway [Public Domain]

The line opened on September 27 1825, with Stephenson’s new locomotive ‘Locomotion No. 1’ pulling 36 wagons carrying a mix of coal and flour as well as guests and workmen. The initial journey was slow, averaging just over 4 miles per hour; however in the final descent to Stockton the train reached 15 miles per hour and badly injured a passenger who fell from the wagon.

Most of the passengers were carried in open wagons, but a purpose-built passenger coach, ‘Experiment’, carried 18 dignitaries, and became the first such vehicle to carry people on a railway.

The railway soon established a regular passenger service; however the service was slow and unreliable, and continued to be secondary to the route’s main purpose, the transport of coal. This established an operating attitude which was to continue right into the 20th century. The freight service was an immediate success, with steam engines able to haul more coal more quickly and more cheaply. The horse-drawn traffic was gradually abandoned.

The S&DR was set up to mirror the operation of the road system of the time; the infrastructure was owned by the shareholders, who leased the use of the line to anyone who had the money and the rolling stock. There was no timetable, and disputes frequently arose over right of way.

By 1833 the S&DR was completely steam-operated, and was now the sole operator of the line. Two tracks were laid, with trains operating in one direction on each, timetables were drawn up, and even a crude form of signalling installed to control movements. Methods of operation were established at the S&DR which are still used today.