This is a joint meeting with the Stephenson Locomotive Society

The remarkable growth of the railway network in the nineteenth century was made possible by the rapid development of locomotive manufacturing firms in several towns and cities in Britain. Overseas railways soon followed, widening the market for the locomotive industry in Europe, the British Empire and the rest of the world. The talk will highlight how the industry got underway and developed to meet the ever-changing market for locomotives in the 75 year period from 1825 to 1900. It will focus on marketing and sales, both for British and overseas markets, technical design progress with thermodynamic, material and manufacturing developments, organisational arrangements and employment/ industrial relations through the century.

About the Lecturer

Dr. Michael Bailey is the President of the Stephenson Locomotive Society and a Past-President of the Newcomen Society. He has undertaken considerable work on the archaeology of early steam locomotives and has written extensively about early locomotive design and manufacturing progress during the 19th century.