Today we will be...Finding out about the invention of trains.

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Travel and Transport

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Have you ever been on a train? What was your

journey like?

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Before trains were invented, horses, donkeys and oxen pulled wagons on rails to cart heavy loads from one place to another.

The rails helped the heavy wagons to be pulled more easily. This had been done for thousands of years.

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The first ever steam engines had been invented around 2,000 years ago but they hadn’t been used to turn wheels. In 1769, an inventor called James

Watt discovered a way to use steam engines to turn wheels around. These engines were then used in factories to help machinery work.

Here is a painting of James Watt. How can

you tell from this picture that he lived a

long time ago?

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This picture shows Trevithick

showing his invention to the

public.

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Almost 50 years later in 1804, a man from Cornwall called Richard Trevithick decided to

join rails and steam engines together and the first train was invented.

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To begin with, the first trains (which were then called locomotives) were only used in coal mines to help transport wagons of coal. Rail tracks

were laid across the country to help get coal from one place to another.

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In 1825, an inventor called George Stephenson drove the first passenger locomotive in the world. George and his workers had built the tracks

between the towns of Stockton and Darlington. This was the first time people and not goods had travelled by train.

This picture shows the first passenger train, known as

Locomotive No 1. The photo was taken in

1925 at the 100-year anniversary of its

first journey.

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By the time Queen Victoria became queen in 1837, people had started using trains to travel. The time she was queen is known as the Victorian era and it was during this time that lots of changes were happening in Britain.

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Being able to travel by train had a big impact on people’s lives. For the first time, people could travel quickly and cheaply from place to place. People who had never had holidays before started visiting the seaside for day trips or for

a weekend. Seasides became very busy and popular places!

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Another big change was time. Before railways, towns and villages had different local times. Now, times needed to be synchronised so that train

timetables could run smoothly. It was the Great Western Railway that first did this in 1840 and soon everywhere in Britain was running to the same time.

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Why do you think towns grew around railway stations?

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Railway stations were built all over the country. Towns often became much bigger after a railway station was built, like Swindon and Crewe. Some towns only came into being because a railway station was put

there, such as Middlesbrough.

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How do you think trains in Victorian

times were different to the trains we

have today?

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Most trains today are fuelled by electricity or diesel. In Victorian times, trains were powered by steam. This meant that men at the front of the train had to constantly feed a fire with coal to create the steam that

was needed. It was difficult and dirty work.

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Passengers cars were also very different in Victorian times. There were usually 3 types of carriage: first class, second class and third class. First-class

carriages were for rich passengers. To begin with, second- and third-class carriages were open with no roof but that changed after a while.

Most trains had dining cars where you could be served a meal. First-class dining cars were just like

fancy restaurants!

National Railway Museum / Science & Society Picture Library

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Have a look at the picture of a busy

Victorian railway station on the next slide. What

can you see?

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