1.10 - Grand Junction Railway pt. 1 - A Fight for Control
Manage episode 409436539 series 3560679
On the 4th July 1837, Britain’s first trunk railway opened.
The Grand Junction Railway linked Liverpool and Manchester with Birmingham, and paved the way for all 3 to be connected to the capital by rail when the London & Birmingham line was fully opened a year later.
The Grand Junction also launched the national reputation of Joseph Locke, and led to yet another falling out with George Stephenson.
Oddly, the GJR doesn’t get a lot of attention in history books, so today’s episode dives into the story of the beginning of that railway, and the fight for control between two titans of early railway history, to see what we’ve been missing.
Chapter Notes:
00:00 Start
01:59 Last episode’s trivia answer
02:45 Intro
04:20 Getting their Act together
08:42 The new railway gets a name
10:02 The Warrington & Newton Railway
12:29 Joseph Locke and George Stephenson initial friction
18:02 Buying the Warrington & Newton Railway
21:45 Solving their Engineer problem
27:21 Locke appointed Chief Engineer
29:10 Trivia question
History of the Railways is a podcast for anyone interested in railroad history. Come and join Michael Lancashire as he gets distracted, fascinated ... and yes, even sidetracked ... by stories from the railways (or railroads if you're American).
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12 episodes