David Gentleman: Passenger Carriage, Liverpool and Manchester Railway 1830

Artist: David Gentleman
1930 -
Nationality: British
Artwork Year: 1980
Image Size: 14 by 12 inches
Overall Size: 20 by 18 inches
Medium: Water Color on Water Color Paper

Since the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the first railroad line to consider passenger traffic as important as goods transport, the design of comfortable cars for people became an important consideration. There were no railroad precedents to follow in carriage design, so early rail cars were patterned after the elegant horse-drawn stage coaches that preceded them. From 1828 to 1834, Nathaniel Worsdell and his father, Thomas Clarke Worsdell, both L&M employees, worked continuously on a design which eventually evolved into the traditional British compartment carriage used for many years. The carriage provided passengers a comfortable ride by streamlining three stage coach bodies into one. Each body was a separate compartment outfitted with six well padded seats. At first, luggage was loaded on the roof. But people soon realized that sparks from the engine could lodge among the baggage, causing serious fires, so the practice was declared unsafe. Fires were not the only danger of the rails. Passengers had to board from ground level with only the help of primitive steps. Given the ladies' fashions of the day, this boarding procedure presented some safety hazards of its own. But the novelty and excitement of the railroad helped keep the public enthusiastic while engineers worked to overcome the problems. Improvements and changes came at an ever-increasing pace.

This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover for the Great Britain Westminster Collector's Society 12p Railways stamp issued March 12, 1980.

Artwork Copyright © 1980 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): XB05932

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