A great pageant depicting the evolution of transport is to be the principal event in connection with the celebration, this month, of the centenary of the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. In his current Letter our Special London Correspondent gives some interesting particulars of the construction of this historic line, and reviews recent railway developments in Britain and on the Continent.

Railway Centenary Celebration in the Homeland.

A red-letter year in railway history is 1930, marking as it does the centenary of two of the most famous of pioneer railways — the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. Next to the Stockton and Darlington system, these two ancient transportation undertakings rank as the most noteworthy of pioneer railway routes, and their opening one hundred years ago gave an impetus to railway construction the world over, while definitely demonstrating the superiority of steam traction over other existing forms of haulage.

By way of celebrating the centenary of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, an immense spectacular pageant is this month being staged in Liverpool, drawing railway folks from all parts. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway received a certain amount of notice in these pages last year on the occasion of the centenary of the Rainhill Locomotive Trials of 1829, but it may be well at the present juncture to tell briefly the story of this historic line upon which Stephenson's famous engine, the “Rocket,” made history.

It was while George Stephenson was enjoying fame in his connection with the Stockton and Darlington Railway that construction of the Liverpool and Manchester line was begun. The railway was planned as a double-track route between the two cities, to carry both passengers and merchandise. The first general meeting of the company was held on May 29th, 1826, and the same year construction work was put in hand, with George Stephenson as Chief Engineer of the undertaking. The cost of the complete work approached £820,000, and the task of the engineers proved most trying. Between Liverpool and Manchester the treacherous marshland of Chat Moss had to be crossed, and this crossing was only accomplished after the bog had been drained and an immense embankment formed of moss and vegetable deposits, upon which was placed a roadbed of broken stone to carry the rails of the new system. In all, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was 32 miles in length, and the rails employed were of wrought iron two inches in breadth and one inch thick, weighing 35lb. per yard. The victory of Stephenson's “Rocket” has previously been described in these letters, and it was this famous machine that drew the first passenger train over the Liverpool and Manchester page 21 Railway, on September 15th, 1830. In this year's centenary pageant in Liverpool there are being displayed accurate models of many pieces of equipment employed on the original Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and the event is undoubtedly the most important of its kind since the great centenary pageant held in connection with the Stockton and Darlington centennial in 1925.

Another Pioneer Railway.

Although not quite so important a system as the Liverpool and Manchester

Preparing for the Efficient and Safe Operation of Trains.
In the Relay Assembly Shop of the Railway Signalling Works, Wembley, England.

Railway, the Canterbury and Whitstable line played a vital part in railway pioneering. Six and a half miles in length, the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway gave to the world its very first railway tunnel. As planned by George Stephenson, the line did not include any tunnels, but its promoters, wanting something outstanding for their money, are said to have insisted upon a tunnel, and so Stephenson obligingly carried the railway under the North Downs, and the first railway tunnel became an accomplished fact. No official ceremony marks the centenary of this unique railway, which was single-tracked throughout, but from a contemporary there is drawn the following intriguing description of the inaugural trip over the Canterbury and Whitstable line in 1830: —“The motion of the carriages was particularly easy and agreeable. At first starting, the quiet power with which the vast mass was set in motion dispelled every fear in the passengers. The entrance into the tunnel was very impressive—the total darkness—the accelerated speed—the rumbling of the cars—the loud cheering of the whole party echoing through the vault, combined to form a situation almost terrific — certainly novel and striking.” Then, in conclusion; “Perfect confidence in the safety of the whole apparatus seemed to prevail, and the company (including George Stephenson) emerged from the dismal tunnel into the warm precincts of the cheerful day in high spirits,” After operating for some twelve years as an independent concern, the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway was linked with the South Eastern Railway, which in its turn eventually became a part of the present Southern Railway.

Famous Long-distance Expresses.

This summer there are operating for the benefit of the traveller through Europe some exceptionally fast and comfortable page 22 long-distance expresses, and, this year, Continental travel has attained prodigious proportions. The Great War had one good effect, at any rate. This was to increase the desire of the European for international travel, a desire for which the railways of every land have not been slow to cater.

Between London and Continental points the Southern and London and North Eastern Railways provide many alternative routes. By the Southern Railway there are operated

On The Paris-Berlin Trunk Route.
The Hohenzollern railway and road bridge across the Rhine, at Cologne, Germany.

no fewer than eight express services a day from London to Paris, and it is this Home railway that is concerned in the famous “Golden Arrow” express service between the two capitals. The “Golden Arrow” Pullman Limited leaves Victoria Station, London, daily at 11 a.m., and Paris (Nord) is reached at 5.35 p.m., this being the quickest service available between the two cities. Connecting with the Southern Railway services to Paris, are numerous long-distance expresses operating from the French capital to every corner of southern and eastern Europe. There is the “Blue Train” between Paris and the Riviera, the “Simplon-Orient Express” between Paris and Constantinople, the “Orient Express” to Vienna, Budapest and Bucarest, and the “Sud Express” between Paris and Madrid. The “Simplon-Orient Express” makes a run of 2,178½ miles, the longest through service in Europe. It brings London within 73½ hours of Constantinople, and the through first-class fare between the two points named is about £18.

The Harwich-Hook of Holland services of the London and North Eastern Railway, which have just been supplemented by the addition of three fine new twinscrew turbine steamers with equipment on the lines of that provided in crack ocean liners, are rightly popular among knowing travellers. There is a daily service in each direction by these railway steamers between Harwich and Hook of Holland, Antwerp, and Esjberg (Denmark), with a nightly service (summer only) in each direction between Harwich and Zeebrugge.

The “Hook of Holland Continental Express” leaves Liverpool Street Station, London, daily, at 8.15 p.m. It is composed of Pullman and restaurant cars, and across the water forward trains operate between Hook of Holland and every European centre of importance. At 10 page 23 a.m. daily, the “Flushing Continental Express” leaves Liverpool Street Station for Harwich, and here again through services are operated forward from Flushing to the principal European cities. Yet another trans-continental departure from Liverpool Street is the “Antwerp Continental Express,” at 8.30 p.m. The Continental services of the L. and N.E. Railway from Liverpool Street Station, London, connect on the Continent with such famous long-distance trains as the “Rheingold Limited,” between Hook of Holland and Switzerland; the “Edelweiss Express,” between Brussels and Switzerland; and the “Balkan Express” to Constantinople. With such a wide range of fast through trains available at comparatively low fares, there is little wonder Continental travel shows such marked popularity at the present time.

The British Pavilion at the Antwerp Exhibition.

Many visitors to Europe this year have made a special point to include the Belgian seaport of Antwerp in their itinerary. At Antwerp there is being held a great International Maritime and Colonial Exhibition, somewhat on the lines of the Wembley Exhibition in London. For the railwayman, the Antwerp Exhibition is full of interest, for transport in all its

“Man Power” On the Home Railways.
Track relaying with steel sleepers on the Great Western Railway, near Reading, England.

many branches is a feature very fully covered in the exhibits of the different countries represented. In the British section there are most attractive and instructive exhibits staged by the L. and N.E., L.M. and S., and Southern Railways, and by other travel agencies, such as the Cunard and White Star Lines, the Port of London Authority, and the shipping authorities at Liverpool, Hull and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Twenty countries in all are taking part in the Antwerp Exhibition, and the British Pavilion dominates the whole of the Exhibition grounds. In the centre court there is an electric working model showing British shipping routes throughout the world, with real water for oceans. This map, with the geographical features in relief, is about half the size of a lawn tennis court, and took six months to construct, at a cost of about £2,000. There is a procession of scale model ships from the Roman galley to the modern battleship, and on the aerial side there are displayed scale model air-planes from the earliest times to the present date, each model being shown as in flight. Apart from the interest afforded by the Exhibition itself, Antwerp is one of the finest of Belgian cities, and its transportation services by rail, road and sea are second to none in Europe.

“A glorious harvest fill'd my eager sight …” —Robert Bloomfield.
(Govt. Publicity Photo.)
The golden harvest fields of Canterbury, that delight train travellers in the South Island of New Zealand.