Liverpool - Manchester 1830 |
| The success of the Stockton to Darlington Railway aroused great interest among the Merchants
of Liverpool. They were dissatisfied with the new Bridgewater Canal which was slow and had raised its tolls sharply.
They therefore planned to join the two cities with a railway and in 1826 appointed George Stephenson as Chief Engineer,
at a salary of £1,000 per annum. The proposed railway would: a) Be 33 miles shorter than the Bridgewater Canal b) Cut the time of the journey between the two cities from 36 hours (by canal) to 5 hours by train c) Offer merchants a regular daily service for their goods - no longer would goods be delayed by canal ice and low water d) Carry goods 30% cheaper than the Canal e) A railway would benefit all town inhabitants ie. cheaper coal, cheaper and a greater variety of farm produce, cheap travel f) A railway would benefit landowners - wider market for their minerals and farm produce It was proposed to raise £400,000 by selling 4,000 shares at £100 each. However, several groups of people, especially local landowners and can owners objected to the building of the railway. They put forward several strange reasons as to why the railway could not be built. They said it would: a) Stop hens laying b) Stop cows grazing c) The air would poison the birds d) Roofs of the houses near the Railway would be burnt e) Passengers would be blinded, deafened and suffocated in the tunnels. £70,000 was spent on getting a Bill through Parliament, who finally gave approval and work began in 1826. Stephenson soon found that this was a much bigger job than the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Working with his son Robert, Stephenson faced 3 main problems: 1. High ground at Edge Hill (2 miles from Liverpool). To overcome this he built the Olive Mount Cutting. 1½ miles long - 70 feet deep - 20 feet wide. 2. The valley over the River Sankey, 14 miles from Liverpool. To overcome this he built the Sankey Viaduct. Brick and stone - 9 arches - 70 feet high. 3. The huge bog at Chat Moss, 5 miles from Manchester The bog comprised of peat, which swelled with water like a sponge in wet weather. It was with a viaduct Stephenson solved the problem by using 'Blind Jack' Metcalfe's idea. (i) Tons of moss/heather/brushwood were laid as a foundation - evenly distributed by workmen and horses with wooden boards tied to their feet. (ii) A covering of earth, sand, shingle and cinders and was laid on top and finally (iii) Sleepers and rails. Cost - £28,000 200 workmen employed, earning 15p a day each. On 1st January 1830, 'The Rocket' successfully hauled a one-carriage train across the 4 mile section. Chat Moss had been conquered. When the Railway was finished in 1830, it ran for 31 miles and included 63 bridges and a 1¼ mile tunnel under Liverpool. The Rainhill Trials In order to decide whether stationary engines (which would work a winch pulling the waggons) or locomotive engines (which would move along under their own power) should be used on the Liverpool and Manchester railway, a competition was held, with a prize of £500 for the winner. The trials held at Rainhill just outside Liverpool were an important testing ground for locomotives. The 'Rocket', a steam engine designed by George Stephenson and his son, Robert, was the winner and reached a speed of 30 miles per hour (48kph). The success of the Stephensons at the Rainhill Trials greatly helped their careers as engineers. Their locomotives, in addition to the 'Rocket', included 'Locomotion' and 'Northumbrian'. The opening of the Liverpool and Manchester railway in 1830 was a great occasion. . Rocket, built by Robert Stephenson & Co, entered for the Rainhill Trials by the Stephensons and Henry Booth, and winner for them of the £500 prize for the best locomotive. |
Styall |
||||||
|
In July 2000, a group of pupils visited
Quarry Bank Mill in Manchester as part of their GCSE studies. The links
on the left show some photographs of the visit. Click on any photograph to enlarge it Right click on the image and 'Save Picture As' to save it to disk. |
|||||
| Styal pictures_4 | July 2001 and another group of students visit the mill. | |||||
Generic Marking Scheme |
|
|
Generic Level of Response Mark Scheme: Students' version |
|
| Level 1. | Simple statements supported by some knowledge |
| This means that you are able to write some sentences to answer the question, but you are
not able to develop any of them into a paragraph. To get beyond Level 1 you need some detailed information to help
you explain your answer. If you do write paragraphs, you do not really add anything more to what you have said in the first sentence. You may make generalisations, for example you suggest that everyone were treated the same, without explaining how or why. You may also write something that could be true of other periods of history A Level 1 will often look like a series of sentences, or a paragraph in which you say the same thing over and over again. So try to think of ways of improving on that. |
|
| Level 2. | Developed statements supported by relevant knowledge |
| This means that you are able to back up your answer with knowledge and understanding in paragraph
form. You are now showing that you know and understand more about the topic. But, what you put in the paragraph
must be relevant to the topic. You cannot just write anything. For example you could back up your answer by providing
more detail about an event a person or a date. Level 2 answers will usually look like a series of paragraphs that are not linked together in any way. They are often quite long answers because you write everything that you know about the topic, rather than choosing the information that is most important. To improve, you will need to take time to plan your answer and get the paragraphs 'in the correct order. |
|
| Level 3. | Developed explanation supported by selected knowledge |
| This means that you have taken the trouble to write a sequence of paragraphs with detailed
knowledge and understanding and also to organise the paragraphs in a way that makes sense. For example, you can
do this by making links between events and putting forward an explanation of why something happened. The most important feature of a Level 3 answer is that it reads much more fluently and it is obvious that you have planned the answer, rather than just writing it straight away. Level 3 answers are no longer than Level 2 answers, in fact that are often a little shorter. This is because you have taken the trouble to plan and think about your answer before you start. |
|
| Level 4. | Sustained argument supported by precisely selected knowledge |
| This means that you have read the question very carefully and are then able to organise your
answer properly. Your answer should have an introduction, which sets the scene by explaining any names, dates and
events mentioned in the question. You should then write a series of linked paragraphs that support the argument
that you put forward. Finally, you should write a conclusion that makes the main points over again. Once again the most important feature of a Level 4 answer is that it is properly planned and organised. |
|
Agricultural Revolution |
|
Industrial Revolution |
|
Health and Medicine |
|
Suffragettes |
|
Resources |
|
Revision |
|