Which railway connected Liverpool and Manchester when it opened in 1830 as the world’s first inter-city railway?

The Liverpool and Manchester Railway connected Liverpool and Manchester when it opened in 1830 as the world’s first inter-city railway.

The line was built to carry goods, especially cotton and other materials, between the Port of Liverpool and the industrial factories of Manchester. It used fixed steam locomotives and included major engineering works such as the nine-arch Sankey Viaduct and the 2,250-yard Wapping Tunnel.

The railway officially opened on 15 September 1830. The ceremony was marred by the death of William Huskisson, a Member of Parliament who was struck by the locomotive Rocket. Rocket had won the Rainhill Trials the previous year and became one of the line’s most famous engines.

The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened earlier, in 1825, but primarily served a mixed freight-and-passenger route. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the first major railway designed for regular inter-city passenger and freight traffic.