在这部The Rainhill Story: Stephenson's Rocket片中,First transmitted in 1979, this programme looks at the Rainhill Locomotive Trials in Rainhill, Lancashire (now Merseyside) in 1829, a competition to find the best passenger steam locomotive in Britain.On the 150th anniversary of the trials, replicas of its famous winner - Stephenson's 'Rocket' - and two of its competitors are rebuilt by modern day designers, and the trials are reconstructed in Hyde Park.
In 1829, the Rainhill Locomotive Trials were held near Liverpool to test various designs of passenger railway locomotive for pulling trains on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway that was being constructed. George and Robert Stephenson's "Rocket" won the contest. Anthony Burton tells the story of the contest. To commemorate the 150-year anniversary of the trials, engineers build replicas of three of the designs from the competition and stage their own trials in Hyde Park, London.
