Extract from Bradshaw's Railway Map of "1852"; Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham & Liverpool
An extract from the Bradshaw's Railway Map of 1852 with the four enlargements of three of the country's new industrial powerhouses along with their then railways. Bradshaw was a Mancunian whose name became synonimous with the 'new' railways as he produced timetables, information and maps on the Victorians new mode of transport. To the side we can see the railway map of the east of Scotland that shows the basis of the current mainlines along with interesting sections such as the Slammanan Railway. Of the English cities Liverpool and Manchester were, of course, the first to be linked by railway in 1829. The approaches to Liverpool, involving steep gradients and tunnels can be seen in the tripartite split at Edge Hill station leading to the city centre at Lime St and the Docks that fostered so much trade. Likewise in Manchester the basis of todays railways are already in place. It is amazing to think that the north - south link at Ordsall Lane, discussed for over a century, has not long been finally constructed! The Lancashire & Yorkshire can already been serving Victoria Station, with the original Oldham Rd station demoted to the goods status it had for so long.
The maps of Birmingham and Leeds have one thing in common; both lack the through city railway lines they were to have. This link would be opened in 1869 when the effective link between the 1839 Selby station and the London & North Western's lines was constructed. In Birmingham the lack of central area penetration can be most clearly seen, even allowing for the cartographer's simplifications. It also shows the difficulty of dating such maps as the lines into and through New Street station had actually opned in 1851 although the 'official opening' was three years later in 1854. Equally the GWR line into Birmingham and to its station on Snow Hill came into use in 1852 and this isn't shown either! That said, given the name of the London & North Western railway being shown all over the place the map has to be post-1846 when this comapny came into being follwoing an amalgamation of various early railways.
Extract from Bradshaw's Railway Map of "1852"; Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham & Liverpool
An extract from the Bradshaw's Railway Map of 1852 with the four enlargements of three of the country's new industrial powerhouses along with their then railways. Bradshaw was a Mancunian whose name became synonimous with the 'new' railways as he produced timetables, information and maps on the Victorians new mode of transport. To the side we can see the railway map of the east of Scotland that shows the basis of the current mainlines along with interesting sections such as the Slammanan Railway. Of the English cities Liverpool and Manchester were, of course, the first to be linked by railway in 1829. The approaches to Liverpool, involving steep gradients and tunnels can be seen in the tripartite split at Edge Hill station leading to the city centre at Lime St and the Docks that fostered so much trade. Likewise in Manchester the basis of todays railways are already in place. It is amazing to think that the north - south link at Ordsall Lane, discussed for over a century, has not long been finally constructed! The Lancashire & Yorkshire can already been serving Victoria Station, with the original Oldham Rd station demoted to the goods status it had for so long.
The maps of Birmingham and Leeds have one thing in common; both lack the through city railway lines they were to have. This link would be opened in 1869 when the effective link between the 1839 Selby station and the London & North Western's lines was constructed. In Birmingham the lack of central area penetration can be most clearly seen, even allowing for the cartographer's simplifications. It also shows the difficulty of dating such maps as the lines into and through New Street station had actually opned in 1851 although the 'official opening' was three years later in 1854. Equally the GWR line into Birmingham and to its station on Snow Hill came into use in 1852 and this isn't shown either! That said, given the name of the London & North Western railway being shown all over the place the map has to be post-1846 when this comapny came into being follwoing an amalgamation of various early railways.