Meet the Mumbles Train, the very first fare-based passenger train

October 7, 2014 10:48 AM

Mumbles Railway, the first public railway On 25 March 1807, the very same day that the British Parliament passed a Bill to outlaw the transatlantic trade in slaves, Swansea took its place in history with the inauguration of the world’s first passenger railway.

See also:
Meet the Mumbles Train
Historical photos
Wikipedia page
Mumbles: Local History

posted by Michele in California (6 comments total)

I'd always had it in my head that the first passenger railway was the Liverpool and Manchester Line, and it hadn't really occurred to me that there'd been a horse-drawn rail service more than twenty years before steam trains came along. Nifty!

I'll also add that The Mumbles - and the Gower Peninsula as a whole - is one of the most beautiful bits of the British Isles. Three Cliffs Bay is just gorgeous, and there's some amazing historical stuff to explore too. (Not on commission from the Welsh Tourist Board, honest!)
posted by sobarel at 11:25 AM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

I wonder what the conductors sounded like on the Mumbles Train.
"Tren lrvng on trck frve, fr Anahrm, Azrsa, mnd CRC-hm-mrnga!"
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:29 PM on October 7, 2014 [5 favorites]

Imagine if there was a stop here...
posted by sobarel at 12:37 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

GO SWANS!

Not that that has anything to do with anything, but I know that months or years from now I'll be searching MeFi for "Swansea" again and want to have left myself a little present in this thread.

I also love trains though, so I double love this post.
posted by Navelgazer at 2:14 PM on October 7, 2014

There was a Sherston Software CDROM all about the Mumbles Tram released back in the late 90s, which I can find no reference to online. I found my old copy (unfortunately scratched beyond repair) a few months back.

And if anyone should go to look for it be sure to pop into Verdi's for ice cream when you are there (not on commission for Verdi's).
posted by couch at 3:16 AM on October 8, 2014

What an adorable post about a rail with an adorable name! Hilarious that the origins of the name may have to do with boob-shaped hills.
posted by one teak forest at 10:46 PM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]