Uploaded March 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continually running railway. But the story of how it was at the forefront of British locomotive history rarely gets told. Its two pioneers, Matthew Murray and John Blenkinsop, were responsible for kick-starting the British railway boom.
Many thanks to the Middleton Railway for commissioning this video and aiding me in my filming and research.
Further reading:
A History of the Middleton Railway in Leeds, Eighth Edition.
Gibson, WIlliam (2010). Britain 1660-1851: The Making of the Nation, Robinson: London.
Scott, K. E. (1928). Matthew Murray, Pioneer Engineer: Records from 1765 to 1826, Edwin Jowett: Leeds.
Rolt, L. T. C. (1960). George and Robert Stephenson: The Railway Revolution, Penguin.
Thompson, P. M. (2015). Matthew Murray 1765-1826 and the Firm of Fenton Murray and Co 1795-1844.
Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continually running railway. But the story of how it was at the forefront of British locomotive history rarely gets told. Its two pioneers, Matthew Murray and John Blenkinsop, were responsible for kick-starting the British railway boom.
Many thanks to the Middleton Railway for commissioning this video and aiding me in my filming and research.
Further reading:
A History of the Middleton Railway in Leeds, Eighth Edition.
Gibson, WIlliam (2010). Britain 1660-1851: The Making of the Nation, Robinson: London.
Scott, K. E. (1928). Matthew Murray, Pioneer Engineer: Records from 1765 to 1826, Edwin Jowett: Leeds.
Rolt, L. T. C. (1960). George and Robert Stephenson: The Railway Revolution, Penguin.
Thompson, P. M. (2015). Matthew Murray 1765-1826 and the Firm of Fenton Murray and Co 1795-1844.
