I have started looking into a property I didn't even know was a thing until this week. No. 2 Lionel Street in St. Helens. It sits across from St Helens Junction station and is dated to circa 1830, and was a public house/hotel. Grade II listed with a possible link to the railway. tinyurl.com/56mfekwu

At the Manchester end of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. A sketch giving the context for the Liverpool Road terminus. Mid 1830s.

It pains to post uncited quotes. One interesting fact that has always been used is that it could take longer to transport cotton from Liverpool to Manchester than it took to get it from the Americas to Liverpool. Turns out the quote is from a Liverpool corn broker called Sir Joshua Walmsley.

Today is the 195th anniversary of modern railways. The first inter-city railway opened on this day when eight trains left Crown Street in Liverpool for Liverpool Road in Manchester. It didn't do a lot of "firsts", it just got the combination right becoming the template for everything that followed.

Currently researching the guests present on opening day of the L&MR in 1830. One of the hard ones to find information on is Count Potocki the Russian Ambassador. The problem is there are several simultaneous Counts and most contemporary press reports don't distinguish which is which...

I don't know if @rwldproject.bsky.social can help, but I was wondering when the first-ever railway-based suicide happened? I looked into it, and the date 1852 pops up, but no further details. #MorbidCuriosity

Not saying crime was rife in Liverpool in 1978, but apparently, even if it was bolted down, it was not safe. Page 15 of the Liverpool Echo for the 9th June 1978 has two separate railway thefts relating to the Liverpool & Manchester Railway.

Looking at how much Google Earth has improved in recent times. The 1st image is from 2023, which was made to show the location of the cutting in relation to Edge Hill station. The 2nd image is a 2025 version showing a vast improvement in both image quality and 3D modelling of buildings.

A nice old photo of Liverpool Road Station from the Sunday Times. Year unknown.

Guess where we are now?

It's a hard life, on the banks of the Bridgewater canal in Astley. We have been to Chat Moss to see the tracks sink under trains, but modern trains are not heavy enough to see the effect properly... 😕

Gah! Forgot to bid on this today. Went for £140 + fees. I meant to bid on it, but was having an eye test 😒 Sepia watercolour by unknown artist in the style of Isaac Shaw. Shows Ducal coaches crossing Water Street Bridge on opening day.

Network Rail has uncovered the original 1849 rope winding vault for the Victoria Tunnel at Edge Hill. As with the Wapping and Lime Street tunnels, the Victoria used a steam-powered rope haulage system to pull rolling stock up from the North docks.

Continuing on about our visit into the 1829 Passenger Tunnel. The Crown Street portal has two distinct cut-outs to allow the coal wagons to make a sharp turn without clipping the portal stonework. So when we visited, the portal and the two cut-outs are visible from the inside.

While the stalactites in the 1829 passenger tunnel are quite impressive, if a bit delicate and crumbly, the stalagmites are not at all impressive, this four inch example was the biggest one we found.

On Monday, we guided a charity visit into the Edge Hill Cutting. Organised by Network Rail for the Branch Line Society, raising funds for the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. We explored and explained the operation of the Engine Station and investigated the 1829 passenger tunnel that ran to Crown Street

Yes, a little "Jinty" That ended its working life at Edge Hill before going to Barry for scrap. Saved and restored and now at the GCR, but minus the unofficial painted signs on either side. www.gcrailway.co.uk/the-railway/...

This is carved into the south wall of the Olive Mount Cutting in Liverpool. It shows how much further it is to go to Manchester. Not sure if the markings are every quarter mile. That would need a visit to try to find another one.

A bit of then and now for the front of Lime Street Station. Not sure of the date of "then", but I am guessing at a hundred year interval between shots.

Far too many Rocket 150 Photoshop jobs are queued up here at Trust Towers. This was the first frame of a recently purchased set of 36 negatives. The subject is the NBR loco "Maude" (named after a general, not a woman) preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/65243-maude-...

Having a little rummage through the archives here at Trust Towers... Two different staff ID badges from Rocket 150 from 1980.

Before wooden sleepers, rails were held in place by large stone sleeper blocks. These examples remain in Crown Street Park in Liverpool, but you will be hard pressed to find them these days, since nature has reclaimed them.

This 212 foot tunnel under Tunnel Road at Edge Hill is the only original length of the 1836 Lime Street tunnel. In the latter half of the 1870s, the rest of it was opened up into the open cutting, you see through the Grade II listed portal.

The latest addition to our archives, the eBay listing claims it is an NRM pin badge. It has a low quality homemade look to it, but interesting enough either way.

Wracked with guilt over the previous failed attempt to share a spherical photo of the first railway viaduct in the world, is is a boring old 2D image of the landmark from 2019. We need to go back and see the results of Network Rail's 2024 renovation.

Posting as a test. These 360 degree spherical photos work on Facebook, so trying this of the the Sankey Viaduct on bluesky to see if they offer the same immersive experience here (Which doesn't seem likely)

For auction at Bonhams in a few weeks. A bit rich for my blood, but something I have always wanted to see in person. www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auctio...

I think that was the largest, and certainly youngest and most diverse audience I've ever spoke to last night for the ICE hosted by Liverpool John Moore's University. Brilliant stuff. Some horribly technical questions I couldn't answer (Not a civil engineer).

On a day of firsts, we finally got to get up close to the White Street air vent of the Wapping tunnel. For years it was fenced off in wasteland, but now it is at the heart of a new apartment block. It appears to have night time illumination! We shall have to come back after dark [POD]

We finally did it! We managed to get all the stake holders for the Edge Hill cutting estate to come visit the cutting. In this photo we have Network Rail, Liverpool City Council, Railway Heritage Trust, Rocket 200 Steering Group, Manchester Histories, Liverpool University and ourselves. #Rocket200

We are currently prepping for another visit into the Edgehill cutting, the birthplace of modern railways.

On the 2nd July 1827, George Stephenson reported to the Directors that he expected the excavation of the Wapping Tunnel to be completed in 12 months time. It was reported complete on the 9th June 1828. Not bad George...not bad...

Just seen a rerun of an episode of Digging for Britain involving out very own archaeologist and Trustee Anthony Dawson @railwayhobbit.bsky.social who lent his skills & knowledge to the 1722 Waggonway project in Prestonpans up in Scotland. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis... (queued to the actual section)

Today the Echo ran a segment on the Wapping tunnel. It contains comments from myself in 2017, but after more research, we now know the Myrtle St. vent was never built. We have seen plans for it, but for some reason it was never actually constructed.[POD] www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpo...

A while back, David Giddins donated a collection of Rocket 150 slides and as is often the case at this age, they can start to deteriorate. This was the worst slide in the collection and I battled with it for several months. It is never going to be perfect, but it is as good as it is going to get.

If you are fond of a bit of ceramics, there is a large quantity of L&MR contemporary jugs going under the hammer on the 23rd of April down in that there London. There are 14 relevant lots. Check them out on The Salesroom website www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/search...

Hate to be shallow and superficial, but more than happy to give someone a plug if they make something nice and shiny and LMR related, much like this evocative artwork by Dennis Markus called "Planet Crossing the Moss." egoistegallery.com/collections/...

May be of (eventual) interest. aboutmanchester.co.uk/manchesters-...

Often overlooked in favour of celebrity status of the Stephensons, Liverpudlian Henry Booth is far more important to the history of the railways. An interesting man to explore, which is why this talk appears interesting. cultureliverpool.co.uk/events/most-...

Best wishes to all our friends around the world.

Yup, vital to our work.

Wapping Cutting, Wapping Tunnel & the original 1829 Crown St Tunnel #Hidden #Railway #Heritage A site of great World Wide importance as #RailwaysBeganHere Now has the protection of Scheduled Monument Listing thanks to @lmrailway.bsky.social #EdgeHill #Liverpool chrisiles.co.uk/2018/08/25/w...

Lion seen here heading across the electrified Dinting Viaduct in preparation for the L&M Railway's 150th anniversary celebrations in 1980. Photo copyright Derek Phillips

A sketch of the Edge Hill cutting contemporary to opening day in 1830. The Moorish Arch is missing its two towers and one of the "Pillars of Hercules" chimneys looks less complete than the other. White's Mill is visible on the left. The details of the buildings on the right are previously unseen.

Looking at our digital archives, this badly touched-up image called out to be posted. It shows the 1925 Centenary Celebrations of the S&DR at Faverdale Works in Darlington. The main point of interest to us is the Rocket replica we call the "grey" Rocket, because of its monotone paint job.

Also on the Heritage at Risk Register is the Church of St Mary's in Eccles, which also has a William Huskisson connection, in that he died at the Vicarage of that church. historicengland.org.uk/advice/herit...

Just noticed that this year's "Heritage at Risk" register includes St James' Gardens Behind the Liverpool Cathedral, listing features by John Foster (Jr), which includes the mausoleum of William Huskison. historicengland.org.uk/advice/herit...

The latest addition to the Archives is this Kodak slide showing Novelty at Liverpool Road Station in May 1980.

Now that @thehistoryguy.bsky.social, @katewilliamsme.bsky.social, @helencarr.bsky.social & so many other great historians have joined #BlueSky today, I'm re-upping my #starterpacks on Historians in Britain! There's still room on the 2nd list. Part 1: go.bsky.app/Fpw6Tvr Part 2: go.bsky.app/8aaAtPg

I have just come across a novel based on the Rainhill Trials, which is due for release in January. Aimed at 8-12 year olds, this work of fiction comes a little late for a Christmas stocking filler. More details on the author's webpage susanbrownrigg.com