Rail Services in 19th and 20th century England
What was happening? How did Locomotive services progress? Were rail services problematic economically? Did this get fixed?
Early History
For Louth and surrounding areas, we covered rail service in the article 19th Century England and the Locomotive Part 5. In this part, we will cover other events and locations within Great Britain with respect to the railways.
In 1830, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened. The pattern was set for modern railways. This was the first inter-city passenger railway and the first to schedule services. The railway carried both goods and passengers. The first goods terminal station was at the Park Lane railway goods station at Liverpool’s south docks.
Many of the first public railways were built as local rail links operated by small private railway companies without concern for the potential for traffic. The 1840s were the busiest decade for railway growth. Britain had few railways at the beginning of the 19th century but within 10 years had laid down a complete network through most towns and villages.
