Chromolithograph 'Travelling on the Liverpool and Manchester, 1831', Plates I and II, 1894

Chromolithograph. 'Travelling on the Liverpool and Manchester, 1831'. Plates I and II. A Train of the First Class of Carriages with the Mail; A Train of the Second Class for outside Passengers with three Third Class Carriages behind. Printed and published by Raphael Tuck and Sons, London, Paris and New York, Publishers to Her Majesty. 1894. (Reproduction of original aquatint drawn by I Shaw, engraved by S G Hughes and published by R Ackermann, 96 Strand, London. November 1831).

This 1894 lithograph depicts two trains of carriages on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1831. The upper train is pulled by the steam locomotive Jupiter (built 1831), while the lower train is pulled by North Star (built 1830). When the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened in 1830 it was the first steam-powered inter-city railway in the world, running for 50km between the two cities. The railway’s chief engineer was George Stephenson (1781-1848).

The lower train shows second- and third-class carriages without roofs. While this was true in the early days of the railway, in August 1831 roofs were fitted to second-class carriages after passengers complained that falling cinders burned their clothing.

The publication of this print 64 years after the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway demonstrates the continued cultural interest in the early railway. The print continues a tradition which began in 1830 of illustrating the railway in commemorative objects such as prints, mugs, bowls, and medals.