Plaque on Rainhill's railway history to be unveiled at station

The plaque has been temporarily in place at Rainhill library since last September and will be moved to its new permanent home this month.

READ MORE > Replica of Stephenson's Rocket is coming home for 190th anniversary of Rainhill Trials

It has been sponsored by the British Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and their companion organisations from the USA, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Permission has been granted to Rainhill Parish Council for the plaque to be installed. 

It is expected the plaque will be unveiled as part of a celebration weekend planned for the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May, possibly on Saturday 25.

The plaque to be unveiled

About the Liverpool Manchester line and Rainhill's key role in railway history:

The success of the Rocket at the Rainhill Trials in 1829 set the pattern for the development of the steam locomotive and the world-wide railway network for the next 150 years.

When the Rocket reached 30mph, it became the fastest means of travel – until then a galloping horse was all that was available to man.

The success of the Rocket at Rainhill is often described as a quantum leap in the history of travel, transport and speed, as well as in industry. In scientific terms, a quantum step is a change from one defined state to another, without any intermediate stages. The transition from a pre-Rainhill to post Rainhill is indeed a quantum jump. A true transport and social revolution.

The Liverpool and Manchester Railway set the standard for the rest of the country and for the world. By successfully applying steam and iron rails to locomotion, a new form of transport had been created.

As a result of the improvements in transportation, prices of fuel and food fell in cities connected to railways. Less than 20 years after the Liverpool and Manchester line opened, it was possible to travel from London to Scotland by train, in a small fraction of the former time by road.

The economic impact of the railways allowed new industries to develop and existing ones to expand.

The railway industry itself, became one of the country’s biggest employers - by 1850 the total was 60,000, and by 1875, over 250,000, accounting for around three per cent of the national workforce.

The social impact was such that, amongst other things it lead to the establishment of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) for standardising timetables, and hence the gradual demise of regional or local time. The need to work to scheduled times, particularly in terms of departures, led to the origin of the phrase “waiting for time”, something still heard on today’s transport networks.

It allowed the population of the urban areas to ‘spread out’. Suburbs were built, allowing some families the chance to move out of the overcrowded and unhealthy town and city centres and to travel in to work each day by train. Rainhill was one of the first suburban commuter villages. It is interesting to note that on the line between Liverpool and Rainhill, the main station buildings were built on the side of the line travelling towards Liverpool, for that was where the affluent travellers would wish to wait before their journey into Liverpool. Returning travellers required minimal facilities, and those going to Manchester were of little concern.

The impact of the railway on society and the world as a whole was of a magnitude that is difficult to comprehend today.

The Liverpool Manchester Railway, substantially unaltered, survives into the 21st century as an important part of the UK rail network. It is interesting, that as the fastest means of transport in the nineteenth century, it is still alive and part of our present day transport system.

The success of the Liverpool and Manchester was due to the vision and determination of a group of men and women who possessed supreme confidence in the technology of their age.

Their legacy is available for everyone to travel on and to enjoy.

The significance of these developments can be traced back to one event – the Rainhill Locomotive Trials.

The success of the Rocket at Rainhill can be seen as the quantum leap in the history of travel, transport and speed. Indeed, a true transport and social revolution.