Blenkinsop & Murray and the Railway Revolution of 1812
Anthony Dawson
On 24 June 1812 the first commercially successful steam locomotive operated between coal pits at Middleton and coal staithes on the River Aire in Leeds. It was an event which was reported regionally, nationally and internationally, and set a train of events in motion which would change the world.
Designed by John Blenkinsop and Matthew Murray, this Leeds locomotive marked the start of the use of steam power as a commercial entity. By 1815 four locomotives were in use in Leeds; two were in use near Newcastle-upon-Tyne; three (made under licence) were operating near Wigan and one was working in South Wales. In mainline Europe, two Blenkinsop & Murray type locomotives had been built in Berlin and one was built near Liege. A working model was sent to Russia.
In this talk, Anthony Dawson will describe how Blenkinsop pioneered not just locomotives but a railway system. He recognised that a railway is a transport machine of two parts: one part fixed (the track) and the other mobile. Blenkinsop did more than simply replace the horse whilst retaining the existing infrastructure; instead the entire system of operation at Middleton was mechanised, necessitating new methods of working and new infrastructure to meet demands of the locomotive. By 1825 the whole system of carrying coal from the pit to the point of sale – other than the actual mining – was done mechanically. It can be argued that the railway revolution began in Leeds in 1812.
Anthony Dawson is a graduate of the University of Bradford (BSc (Hons) Archaeology), University of Leeds (MRes History), and Leeds College of Music. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 2025. He is a railway historian and archaeologist specialising in railway history from around 1700 to the 1850s. He has written over 20 books on early railway history, as well as two monographs on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. He has also written several books and presented conference papers on the Crimean War. He is a member of the Newcomen Society, the Railway & Canal Historical Society and sits on the organising committee for the International Early Railways Conferences. He is also a member of a 1722 Waggonway Heritage Group which is researching and excavating the first railway in Scotland.
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