The First Train

sub titled: Built by Geo. Stephenson in 1825

Reference Number:- Sprake Number:- Godden Number:-
st 224 not recorded 25a
 

usual wagons woven in dark brown/red, with the additional words in the title.
 
Stephenson's first steam engine, with tender and two and a half carriages
 
same additional words in the title, but also wagons woven in green, and is the rare version mentioned by Godden.
 
Stephenson's first steam engine, with tender and two and a half carriages
 

Words:
Woven on silk:-
 

Printed at bottom of card-mount:-
WOVEN IN SILK BY THOMAS STEVENS, INVENTOR AND MANUFACTURER, COVENTRY AND LONDON (REGISTERED).

THE FIRST TRAIN.

BUILT BY GEO. STEPHENSON IN 1825.

Size:
Card-mount:
cm deep by cm wide

silk:
cm high by cm wide

Comments:
by Austin Sprake:
A "Rocket" type locomotive drawing a coal-car with two and a half open wagons. The wagons are coloured black and brown.

by Geoffrey Godden:
[The normal version is st220 on this site.] This depicts George Stephenson's "Locomotion No. 1" with coal-tender drawing open wagons, two and a half of which are shown. The title was first listed on label 18 of about 1880, but it does not occur on labels issued after 22+17+2 of 1887.
THE FIRST TRAIN is found on type B card-mounts.
On some examples the wagons are woven in green silk, not the normal red silk.

A rare early version of the card-mount has the words "Built by Geo. Stephenson in 1825" under the main title. This version, which I have designated 25a [that is, the version shown above], is illustrated as Figure 29 by Mrs LeVan Baker.

Other comments:
 

 



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This page was created on 11 March 2004
and new image of green wagons added 23 November 2014, and of brown wagons added 7 June 2015. The green wagon image was replaced 3 May 2019

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