Event Gallery

Construction of the Kilsby Tunnel on the London & Birmingham Railway, 8 July 1839. Artist: John Cooke Bourne

Construction of the Kilsby Tunnel on the London & Birmingham Railway, 8 July 1837 (1839). Robert Stephenson (1803-1859) was appointed chief engineer of the London & Birmingham Railway (LBR), the first railway into London. Running between Curzon Street Station, Birmingham, and Euston Station, London, the 112 mile long line took 20, 000 men nearly five years to build, at a cost of five and a half million pounds. The excavation of the tunnel at Kilsby, Northamptonshire was one of the greatest engineering challenges on the LBR, due to problems with quicksand. The LBR opened on 17 September 1838. From Drawings of the London and Birmingham Railway by J Bourne, 1839

© Oxford Science Archive / Heritage-Images

Queen consorts crowned in Westminster Abbey, 1937

Queen consorts crowned in Westminster Abbey, 1937. The central portrait is Elizabeth, Queen Consort of George VI. The others, clockwise from top are: Alexandra, Consort of Edward VII; Isabel, Consort of Edward II; Catherine, Consort of Henry VIII; Mary, Consort of James II; Caroline, Consort of George II; Adelaide, Consort of William IV; Mary, Consort of George V; Sophia-Charlotte, Consort of George III; Mary II, Joint Sovereign with William III; Anne, Consort of James I; Anne, Consort of Richard III; Eleanor, Consort of Edward I. An illustration from the Illustrated London News: Coronation Record Number, (London, 1937)

© The Print Collector / Heritage-Images

Sectional view of a Newcomen steam engine, 1737

Sectional view of a Newcomen steam engine, 1737. Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729) designed his atmospheric or steam engine in 1712. Water was heated in the boiler and the resulting steam was let into the cylinder, pushing up the piston. The steam was then condensed, bringing down the piston. The piston rocked a beam which worked the pump. It was safer and more effective than the earlier Savery engine and was widely used to drain water out of mines. From Architecture Hydraulique by Bernard Forest de Belidor. (Paris, 1737)

© Ann Ronan Picture Library / Heritage-Images