| Year |
Event |
| 1825 |
The Stockton and Darlington Railway opens - the world's first public steam railway. |
| 1830 |
The Liverpool & Manchester Railway opens - the world's first public passenger steam railway.
This same railway holds the Rainhill Trials, won by George Stephenson's Rocket. |
| 1835 |
The Great Western Railway is incorporated. |
| 1837 |
The Grand Junction Railway opens - from Birmingham, through Stafford, Whitmore and Crewe, to Newton and a junction with the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. Whitmore is the rail-head for North Staffordshire, with a horse-drawn carriage connection between the station and Newcastle. This situation prevails until 1848. |
| 1840 |
The Manchester & Birmingham Railway opens - from Manchester, through Cheadle Hulme and Holmes Chapel, initially only as far as Sandbach, because of a dispute with the Grand Junction, but eventually into Crewe. The M&BR handed over all of its traffic to the GJR at Crewe. It's name was somewhat grander than its reality. |
| 1845 |
The North Staffordshire Railway - an amalgamation of the Churnet Valley and Staffordshire Potteries Railways - is incorporated. The Chairman is John Lewis Ricardo, M.P. for Stoke-on-Trent, George Parker Bidder is Consulting Engineer and Samuel Parker Bidder is General Manager and resident Engineer.
The Manchester & Birmingham Railway opens its branch from Cheadle Hulme to Macclesfield. |
| 1846 |
The main lines of the North Staffordshire Railway are authorised.
The London & North Western Railway is incorporated, principally by amalgamation of the London & Birmingham, Grand Junction (including the Liverpool & Manchester) and Manchester & Birmingham Railways. |
| 1848 |
Initial lines opened. Congleton to Norton Bridge. Crewe to Burton.
Forty two locomotives delivered from eight different builders.
James Curphey Forsyth appointed as Resident Engineer, succeeding S.P. Bidder who remains as Manager.
Locomotives are painted bright green with a wide black lining, edged on either side with white. Coaching stock is claret (a very common colour at the time, as was the use of green for the locos).
|
| 1849 |
Stone to Colwich, Congleton to Macclesfield and Churnet Valley lines opened. |
| 1850 |
Etruria to Shelton, Knutton to Pool Dam and Knutton to Silverdale opened. |
| 1851 |
|
| 1852 |
Lawton Junction to Ettiley Heath, Stoke to Knutton via Newcastle and Rocester to Ashbourne opened. |
| 1853 |
Apedale Junction to Apedale and Whitebarn opened.
S.P. Bidder succeeded as Manager of the Line by J.C. Forsyth who retained his position as Resident Engineer. |
| 1854 |
Pool Dam to Newcastle Canal Basin opened. |
| 1855 |
Vulcan Foundry 0-6-0s delivered. |
| 1856 |
|
| 1857 |
|
| 1858 |
|
| 1859 |
Mr. Fothergill, a Consulting Engineer of Manchester, is commissioned to report on the state of every locomotive owned by the company. |
| 1860 |
Talk o'th' Hill branch and the Biddulph Valley line opened to Congleton Upper Junction and Brunswick Wharf. |
| 1861 |
Shelton to Hanley opened |
| 1862 |
John Lewis Ricardo, Chairman of the company since inception, retired. Thomas Broderick appointed as his successor.
Horse drawn trams introduced between Hanley and Burslem only two years after their introduction to Britain, in Birkenhead.
Two double-framed 0-6-0STs supplied by Robert Stephenson & Co. |
| 1863 |
Percy Morris appointed Manager succeeding Forsyth. |
| 1864 |
Hanley branch opened to passengers. |
| 1865 |
Lt-Col. Charles Pearson appointed Chairman succeeding Broderick.
James Johnson appointed Engineer succeeding Forsyth. |
| 1866 |
Ettiley Heath to Sandbach and the Chesterton branch opened. |
| 1867 |
Milton to Leekbrook Junction opened. |
| 1868 |
Stoke Works delivers its first locomotives - three 0-6-0STs. |
| 1869 |
|
| 1870 |
Silverdale to Market Drayton, the Audley Line - Alsager to Honeywall Junction - and the Bignall Hill and Jamage branches opened.
Thomas W. Dodds appointed Engineer succeeding Johnson.
VF 0-6-0s of 1855 rebuilt as STs.
Locomotive Renumbering scheme introduced. |
| 1871 |
E Class 0-6-0 and No. 19, a 2-4-0 introduced. |
| 1872 |
Grange branch opened. |
| 1873 |
Hanley to Tunstall opened.
69 Class 0-6-0 introduced. |
| 1874 |
Tunstall to Goldenhill and the Newfields branch opened.
Colin Minton Campbell appointed Chairman succeeding Pearson.
Robert Angus appointed Locomotive Superintendent succeeding Dodds.
38 Class 2-4-0 and 9 Class 2-4-0T introduced. |
| 1875 |
Goldenhill to Kidsgrove (completion of the Loop Line), Longport to Tunstall (the Pinnox branch) and the Longton, Bucknall and Adderley Green railway (Botteslow Junction to Normacot Junction) opened.
C. Clare appointed Locomotive Superintendent succeeding Angus.
All except branch carriages are brown - not Victoria Lake (brown) but an undiagnosed shade. It appears that waist panels may also have been painted brown. Top panels were 'cream' (varnished white). For at least some time after this 'branch trains' (probably Loop Line stock) continued to be claret.
|
| 1876 |
Martin Smith appointed Manager succeeding Morris.
Introduction of 29'3", (28'6" without tumblehome), carriages with the standard 32'8½" six-wheeled underframe. |
| 1877 |
Last E Class 0-6-0 delivered. |
| 1878 |
A Class 2-4-0T introduced. |
| 1879 |
Two A Class 2-4-0Ts delivered. |
| 1880 |
0-6-0STs No. 59 introduced (no. 58 followed in 1881. |
| 1881 |
A single Uttoxeter station opened. Original stations at Dove Bank, Bridge Street and Uttoxeter Junction closed, and the west to north curve opened. East curve to the Audley line opened at Keele Junction and Honeywall west curve closed.
B Class 2-4-0T introduced. |
| 1882 |
William Douglas Phillipps appointed Manager succeeding Smith.
Luke Longbottom appointed Locomotive Superintendent succeeding Clare.
Horse drawn tram service converted to steam operation.
C Class 2-4-0 introduced - No. 54 John Bramley Moore and No. 55 Colin Minton Campbell.
A new locomotive livery is introduced. Green is replaced with a rich chocolate brown, known as Victoria Brown. Lining consists of a black band, edged on both sides with yellow, and on the inner side with an additional thin vermillion line.
|
| 1883 |
Sir Thomas Salt appointed chairman succeeding Minton Campbell.
D Class 0-6-0T introduced. |
| 1884 |
Five D Class 0-6-0Ts and two C Class 2-4-0s delivered. |
| 1885 |
Four D Class 0-6-0Tsdelivered. |
| 1886 |
Two D Class 0-6-0Ts and two B Class 2-4-0Ts delivered.
Victoria Lake (brown) is introduced for carriage ends and panels below the waist.
|
| 1887 |
Two D Class 0-6-0Ts and two B Class 2-4-0Ts delivered.
The Railway Clearing House produces the first of its standard specifications for railway wagons.
|
| 1888 |
Two D Class 0-6-0Ts delivered. |
| 1889 |
Two D Class 0-6-0Ts delivered. |
| 1890 |
One B Class 2-4-0T delivered.
The first 35'6" six-wheeled carriages running on a radial underframe introduced. |
| 1891 |
Three D Class 0-6-0Ts and one B Class 2-4-0T delivered. |
| 1892 |
Cresswell to Totmanslow (the Cheadle Railway) opened. |
| 1893 |
Four D Class 0-6-0Ts delivered. |
| 1894 |
Rebuilding of the overall roof of Stoke Station completed. |
| 1895 |
Park Hall to Adderley Green closed.
Electric carriage lighting introduced. |
| 1896 |
100 Class 0-6-0 introduced.
All over Victoria Lake is adopted as the livery for carriages.
|
| 1897 |
Two D Class 0-6-0Ts and two 100 Class 0-6-0s delivered. |
| 1898 |
Two D Class 0-6-0Ts and two 100 Class 0-6-0s delivered. |
| 1899 |
Joint station (with the L&NWR) at Ashbourne opened. Track extended from old station to new station site and end-on junction with L&NWR line from Buxton.
Electric trams commence operation - by the Potteries Electric Traction company, referred to in the local dialect as the Pay Ay Tay.
DX Class 0-6-2T introduced. The forty-ninth, and last, D Class 0-6-0T, No. 153 delivered.
The use of dumb buffers on new wagons in England and Wales is prohibited.
|
| 1900 |
159 Class 0-6-0 introduced.
The P.E.T introduced motor buses. These fully replaced trams by 1928, the system closing on July 11th of that year. The company did not however change its name to Potteries Motor Traction - the P.M.T. - until 1933. |
| 1901 |
Totmanslow to Cheadle (completion of the Cheadle railway) opened. |
| 1902 |
J.H. Adams appointed Locomotive Superintendent succeeding Longbottom. |
| 1903 |
L Class 0-6-2T introduced.
Late in the year the main colour of the locomotive livery is changed to Madder Lake. Black boiler bands are edged on either side with straw and vermilion lines. Tender and tank panels are lined out with a 1" straw coloured band, lined on each side with vermilion.
The use of dumb buffers on new wagons in Scotland is prohibited from October 1st.
|
| 1904 |
The Rt. Hon. Lord Anslow succeeds Sir Thomas Salt and becomes the last chairman of the company.
No new locomotives introduced.
From approximately this date onwards, Madder Lake is adopted for the carriage livery. (See the recent series of articles in various issues of the HMRS Journal for more detailed information on coaching stock and liveries).
|
| 1905 |
Leekbrook to Caldon Low and Waterhouses opened.
Three Railmotors, Nos. 1, 2 and 3 introduced. Built by Beyer Peacock. 19 Class 2-4-0 introduced by rebuilding No. 19 of 1871. |
| 1906 |
Nos. 15 and 54 built new for 19 Class.
Bogie carriages introduced - a 49' body on a 52'6" underframe. |
| 1907 |
M Class 0-4-4T and New 100 Class 0-6-0 introduced. |
| 1908 |
New L Class 0-6-2T introduced. |
| 1909 |
H Class 0-6-0 introduced.
Elliptical roofs introduced. All new bogie stock built with the elliptical (as opposed to an arc) roof contour from this date. Note that the NSR never had the third roof contour variant, the cove roof, which was particularly popular on the LNWR.
|
| 1910 |
Trentham Park branch opened.
G Class 4-4-0 introduced.
Steam heating on carriage stock was introduced.
|
| 1911 |
K Class 4-4-2T introduced. |
| 1912 |
KT Class 4-4-0 introduced.
Second Class was abolished. Most Second Class compartments were designated Third Class except on a small number of vehicles, which became First Class.
|
| 1913 |
The use of dumb buffers in England and Wales is banned entirely from December 31st.
|
| 1914 |
New C Class 0-6-4T introduced. |
| 1915 |
J.A. Hookham appointed Locomotive Superintendent succeeding Adams.
The use of dumb buffers in Scotland is banned entirely from the end of this year. |
| 1916 |
F Class 0-6-4T introduced. |
| 1917 |
The Battery Electric locomotive introduced. |
| 1918 |
Three F Class 0-6-4Ts delivered. |
| 1919 |
F.A.L. Barnwell appointed Manager succeeding Phillipps.
The Kerr Stuart 0-6-0Ts introduced. |
| 1920 |
New M Class 0-4-4T introduced. |
| 1921 |
Five New L Class 0-6-2Ts delivered. |
| 1922 |
4-cylinder D Class 0-6-0T introduced. |
| 1923 |
Incorporated into the London Midland & Socottish Railway. |
| 1957 |
DMUs take over Crewe - Derby services at the commencement of the Winter timetable on 16th September.
Cockshute DMU maintenance depot opens in October.
|
| 1958 |
DMUs take over Manchester - Birmingham services on 3rd March.
|