Trains that Changed the World

The Flying Scotsman was the first train to break the 100mph barrier – a remarkable steam engine built in 1923 that revolutionized travel within the UK and inspired the world to use trains for high-speed transport.

The Great Western Railway, designed and engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, opened up railways to holidaymakers. Known as the “Holiday Line”, legendary trains such as the Flying Dutchman and Cornish Riviera Express took Londoners to the seaside, ushering in an era of luxury sleeper carriages.

The Industrial Revolution was the single most important event in the development of the modern railway, and one train from that era came to symbolize the new age of steam: Stephenson’s Rocket.

The London Underground – first operating in 1863 – changed the way we get around cities forever, driving people deep underground to clear congested streets. Ingenious technology, from electrified tracks to tunnels under the River Thames, has gone on to influence railways worldwide.