In 1829, Rainhill, a hamlet on the turnpike road between Liverpool and Manchester was the scene of trials on the partially completed Liverpool and Manchester railway. The steam locomotive was at that time slow, crude and lumbering, and only capable of hauling freight at a jerky walking pace. It was considered by many to be totally unsuitable for a fast inter-city railway, cable haulage being the preferred alternative. The Directors however decided to offer a prize for a new locomotive capable of hauling a considerable load at a speed of at least 10 miles per hour over a distance of 70 miles.
The trials were held between 6th and 14th October, when thousands of people from across the country descended on Rainhill, near St.Helens, to see the very best of British engineering design compete to be the winner and claim the prize money of £500 – many thousands of pounds in today’s money, were Stephenson’s Rocket amazed the world by reaching speeds in excess of 30 miles per hour and fulfilling all the required conditions.
This established the steam locomotive as the prime mover for the railways which rapidly spread all over the world, and the basic features of Rocket’s design were incorporated into every steam locomotive ever built. Thus, Rainhill was the cradle of the revolution which the railways brought about in the social conditions and lifestyles of people all over the world.
Before the growth of the railways in Britain the average person was born, lived and died within a radius of 15 miles. Within 20 years of the Trials, however, a network of railways had grown and it was possible for a working man to afford to travel from the north to London.
The Rainhill Trials were the first of many such tests but they were by far the most significant and decided two important facts: the first was that the steam locomotive had sufficient possibilities to be used on railways and, secondly, the Trials showed the way in which locomotives should be developed.
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