Commemorative snuff box showing the 'Rocket' locomotive.

This snuffbox was made to celebrate the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It was an exciting occasion because most people had never travelled by train or even seen one before.

Manufacturers cashed in on the excitement by creating objects to help people remember the event.

The snuffbox shows Robert Stephenson's Rocket locomotive, which he entered into the Rainhill Trials. This was a competition held at Rainhill by the directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to decide whether steam locomotives were reliable and strong enough to pull the train services. Rocket won the trials and demonstrated that locomotives were capable of pulling mainline services. This created a blueprint both for how railways were run and the design of future steam locomotives.