What was the name of the 1840s British railway speculation collapse?

The 1840s British railway speculation collapse was known as Railway Mania.

Railway Mania was a period of intense enthusiasm for railway investment in Britain, especially in the mid-1840s. Investors bought shares in proposed railway companies, often expecting rapid profits from a national transport revolution. Parliament approved hundreds of railway projects during the boom.

Many schemes were unrealistic, poorly financed, or unable to attract enough traffic after construction. When confidence weakened, railway share prices fell and investment dried up. The collapse damaged investors and contributed to wider economic difficulty, although Britain’s long-term railway network remained transformative.

Railway Mania is sometimes confused with the South Sea Bubble of 1720 or the Canal Mania of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. All involved speculative enthusiasm around new infrastructure or commercial opportunities, but Railway Mania specifically refers to Britain’s Victorian railway boom.