Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates/Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway/archive1

The opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&M) took place on 15 September 1830, inaugurating the first locomotive-hauled railway to connect two major cities, and the first to provide a scheduled passenger service. The Duke of Wellington, then Prime Minister, rode on one of eight inaugural trains. Huge crowds gathered at Liverpool to watch the trains depart. One train derailed but was lifted back onto the track and the journey continued. At Parkside, halfway to Manchester, the trains stopped for water, and around 50 of the dignitaries on board alighted. William Huskisson MP was fatally injured there, struck by a locomotive. Wellington wished to cancel further events, but was persuaded to carry on. Hostile crowds met the trains in Manchester; Wellington refused to alight, and ordered a return to Liverpool. The opening of the L&M was widely-reported and people around the world became aware that cheap and rapid long-distance transport was now possible. (Full article...)