Report content as inappropriate
Original Text (Annotation: EPW018623 / 400113)
'
This is the north end of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, one of a number of railways that claim to be the first public railway. From the beginning, the 1830 it was a public railway, intended for passengers as well as freight. The world's first season ticket was issued for use on the line in 1834. Unlike the Liverpool and Manchester Railway which opened four months later, it used cable haulage by stationary steam engines over much of its length, with steam locomotives restricted to the level sections. Even today aerial images show the route made up of straight sections each being a cable length. There was a small bore tunnel on the line which restricted its use in later years, with steam engines having to have cut down cabs to get through. All evidence of the railways in this picture has gone. '