Coloured aquatint. Liverpool and Manchester Railway. View of the Railway across Chat Moss. Drawn by T T Bury. Engraved by H Pyall. Published by R Ackermann, 96 Strand, London. 9.4488 x 11.4173 in.

Thomas Talbot Bury was only about twenty when he was commissioned to illustrate the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, the world’s first intercity railroad. His drawings celebrated the lines significant engineering achievements, featuring tunnels and cuttings and, in this example the crossing of Chat Moss in Cheshire.

Constructing the line across this marsh was a major challenge and there were big disputes between the promoters and engineers before the embankment, supported by a foundation of wood, iron and spoil was built.

Bury’s drawings were engraved by Henry Pyall. The first of these aquatints, published in a series titled Six Coloured Views of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway – although there were actually seven - appeared in February 1831, a few months after the railway’s opening. In this image he exploits the dramatic perspective of the straight line of the tracks.