Tag: Train

• Podcast

3rd July 1938: World speed record for steam locomotives set by Number 4468 Mallard at just under 126mph

• 3rd July 2026
• Tagged as: Britain, England, Grantham, Invention, Locomotive, Mallard, Railway, Railways, Speed, Steam, Technology, Train, Transport

Mallard set the record of 125.88mph on a stretch of slightly downhill railway track at Stoke Band, south of the town of Grantham.

• Podcast

29th May 1854: Paddington Station opens as the London terminus of the Great Western Railway

• 29th May 2026
• Tagged as: Bristol, Brunel, England, London, Paddington, Railway, Railways, Station, Train

The completed station was formally opened for use on 29 May 1854 to link London with the west of England and South Wales, reflecting the broader growth of rail transport during the mid-nineteenth century.

• Podcast

3rd May 1830: World’s first steam-powered passenger service begins operating on the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway

• 3rd May 2026
• Tagged as: Britain, England, Railway, Science, Seaside, Steam, Technology, Train, Transport

Built by George and Robert Stevenson in Newcastle, and transported to Whitstable by sea, Invicta was the first steam locomotive to haul passengers on a public railway line.

• Podcast

3rd April 1882: American outlaw Jesse James shot dead by fellow gang-member Robert Ford

• 3rd April 2025
• Tagged as: America, Cowboy, Crime, Criminal, Jesse James, Murder, Robbery, Train, USA, Wild West

As James stood on a chair and turned to clean a dirty picture frame in his house, Robert Ford shot him in the back of the head from virtually point-blank range.

• Podcast

21st February 1804: World’s first recorded locomotive-hauled railway journey takes place at the Penydarren Ironworks in South Wales

• 21st February 2025
• Tagged as: Industrial Revolution, Invention, Locomotive, Railway, Railways, Richard Trevithick, Steam, Technology, Train, Wales

On 21 February 1804, Richard Trevithick’s steam locomotive successfully pulled a load of ten tons of iron, as well as several passengers and workmen, along a 9.75 mile route from Penydarren Ironworks in South Wales in just over 4 hours.

• Podcast

4th November 1890: City and South London Railway, the world’s first deep-level underground ‘tube’ railway, officially opened

• 4th November 2023
• Tagged as: Britain, London, Railway, Thames, Train, Transport, Tube, Tunnel, Underground

The construction of the railway presented numerous engineering challenges including the need to tunnel under the River Thames, but it was achieved using the ‘Greathead Shield’ which allowed workers to dig and line the tunnel simultaneously.

• Podcast

8th August 1963: The Great Train Robbery takes place when a gang of 15 men attack a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London

• 8th August 2023
• Tagged as: Great Train Robbery, Money, Railway, Robbery, Theft, Train

The robbers succeeded in stealing over £2.6 million in cash. Worth £50million today, the vast majority of the money was never recovered.

• Podcast

5th June 1883: First Orient Express train departs Paris

• 5th June 2023
• Tagged as: Belgium, Constantinople, Europe, France, Paris, Railway, Train, Transport, Transportation, Travel

The first Orient Express train, known at the time as Express d’Orient, departed Paris.

• Podcast

18th November 1987: 31 people killed in the Kings Cross fire on the London Underground

• 18th November 2022
• Tagged as: Britain, England, Fire, London, Train, Transport

The worst fire in the history of the London Underground killed 31 people at Kings Cross St Pancras station.

• Podcast

2nd November 1868: New Zealand becomes the first country to use standardised time

• 2nd November 2022
• Tagged as: Britain, Date, Law, New Zealand, Railways, Telegraph, Time, Train

Prior to the adoption of universally accepted time zones, the vast majority of settlements around the world observed local mean solar time.