EARLY RAILWAY development in the first half of the 19th century is a fascinating period. Great strides were being made in the design of locomotive boilers and the power they could deliver with the famous 1829-built Stephenson’s Rocket setting the foundations for the future of railway steam locomotives.
However, Rocket was still a small locomotive and the growth of railway traffic soon outstripped the power of this and other early locomotives and it was less than a decade later that the Liverpool and Manchester Railway saw fit to place an order with Todd, Kitson and Laird of Leeds for a new breed of railway locomotive. Two were built – Lion and Tiger – for haulage of freight on the growing railway network, but this time an 0-4-2 chassis was used to provide space for a larger boiler and firebox.
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