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Storiascopio · Era 10 of 12 · lower secondary year 2

The first public steam railway

1825 · Stockton and Darlington, England

Illustration: The first public steam railway

In short

On 27 September 1825, in England, the railway between Stockton and Darlington opened, the first public line to carry trains pulled by a steam locomotive. The engine, called Locomotion, had been built by George Stephenson and pulled wagons of coal and passengers. It went at about the speed of a bicycle, but it never got tired like horses. Within a few decades railway lines stretched all over the world.

Why it matters The train shrank distances: people, goods and news began to travel much faster.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Stockton and Darlington Railway”

Where we are in the era “Age of revolutions”

Your turn

Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________

  1. When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:

  2. Tell it in your own words: what happened?

  3. Draw the scene below.

storiascopio.com/en/event/the-first-public-steam-railway/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class