This equine treadmill was built by Thomas Shaw Brandreth who was also one of the railway’s directors. Steam wasn’t for everyone though, and Cycloped was a horse-powered ‘locomotive’. The names encapsulated the hopes of their builders and the early Industrial Revolution era this new endeavour represented. Much like the horses they were destined to replace and the ships travelling the world, each engine had its own name. In the foreground is Rocket and in the background are Sans Pareil (right) and Noveltyįive locomotives entered the Rainhill Trials in an effort to prove rail travel was the future of transport, and for the chance that their engines could run on the new Liverpool and Manchester Railway. What’s in a name? Would a Rocket by any other name smell as sweet? These days, locomotives are often named after famous people or fictional characters (have you spotted Doctor Who on one of Virgin’s Voyager trains?) but what about the early locomotives? Rainhill Trials from the Illustrated London News, c.1829. To find out what exhibitions and activities are open today, visit our What’s On section.
Please note: Stephenson’s Rocket is no longer on display at the Science and Industry Museum. To celebrate the Rainhill Trials, let’s take a look at how the names of the engines captured the spirit of the era, and how what you call something continues to shape how we think of the past and the future.
0 kommentar(er)
