The Midland Railway Society and Lancaster University are hosting a conference at Lancaster University on 21st Nov. This event is both ‘in-person’ at LUMS Lecture Theatre 1, Lancaster, LA1 4YX or online. Click HERE to book and take advantage of the special rate for MRS Members.
Please support this new initiative.
To mark the bicentenary of the birth of the railway in 1825, and the 150th anniversary of the Midland Railway’s new main line from London to Scotland via the Settle and Carlisle, the Regional Heritage Centre at Lancaster University and the Midland Railway Society are co-hosting a public conference on Saturday, 21 November 2026 at Lancaster University, 9:30-16.45.
Bringing together leading historians, scholars and researchers, the conference explores the transformative impact of the railway on 19th and 20th century Britain. Moving beyond industrial and transport history, the programme examines how the railway reshaped population, society, culture, law and everyday experience. In addition to four key speakers, the conference will showcase innovative new research by Lancaster postgraduates in a poster session, and a series of follow-up online talks on the history of the Midland Railway is in preparation for the coming winter.
The main speakers and topics are:
Ian Gregory: ‘Railways and Population Change in England & Wales, 1851-1911: A Digital Analysis’
The Liverpool to Manchester railway opening in 1830 began the development of the railway network in Britain and throughout the world, which grew and grew to reach its peak before the First World War. This paper uses digital analysis of census data to look in detail at the link between economic growth brought by the opening of new railway lines and stations, and population growth or decline depending on how individual places were affected.
Professor Ian Gregory is Professor of Digital Humanities at Lancaster University and co-founder and co-director of the University’s Digital Humanities Centre, an internationally recognised pioneer in Historical Geographical Information Systems (GIS) who has led major research projects and has published extensively on use of digital methods to better understand the past.
Michael Greaney: ‘Nobody’s Fault’: Railway Accidents in Victorian Fiction
As the railways spread across the landscapes of nineteenth-century Britain, they also began to extend across the pages of Victorian novels. Writers such as Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Elizabeth Gaskell and Anthony Trollope were fascinated by the speed and power of railways, but also by what happens when things go wrong. From Charles Dickens to Emile Zola, the story of railways in 19th century literature is one of accidents, failures and runaway trains. This talk surveys railway accidents in Victorian fiction, investigates causes and consequences, and reflects on what they tell us of 19th century anxieties about progress, technology and modernity.
Professor Michael Greaney is Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University. His research focuses on British fiction from 1800 to the present, with particular interests in Victorian literature. He is the author of several acclaimed books about Joseph Conrad and Jane Austen.
James Taylor: ‘The Railway King on Trial: George Hudson and the Limits of Criminal Law in Victorian Britain’
George Hudson, Chairman of the York & North Midland, York, Newcastle & Berwick, Eastern Counties and Midland Counties during the 1840s boom, was courted by investors for his seeming ability to generate vast profits from railway schemes. He bought his way into the social and political elite, being elected Conservative MP for Sunderland in 1846, but fell dramatically from grace when falsified accounts and misappropriations of funds were uncovered. Despite calls for criminal prosecution, no trial ensued. This talk asks why, investigating notions of directorial responsibility, the regulatory power of public shaming, and perceived complicity of shareholders, highlighting the limits of criminal law in Victorian Britain.
Professor James Taylor is Professor of Modern British History at Lancaster University. His research explores cultural, political and legal dimensions of economic change in Britain since the 18th century, particular in relation to corporate governance, commercial fraud, financial markets and consumer culture.
Michael Brown & Joanne Begiato: Railway hands: moving through modernity in Britain 1850-1960
Railways were a means through which the public encountered the unprecedented transformations of the industrial revolution. Reshaping the landscape, they created new ways to move through space and time, and gave rise to entirely novel forms of social interaction between genders and classes. The hands of railway workers are shown to be the main interface between the elements of this ‘assemblage’. We explore the station, the network, and the locomotives that traversed them, through their key workers: station master and porter; signalman; and locomotive driver and fireman, providing reassurance in the face of the disorientating experiences of modern life, bringing a human touch to the railway system.
Dr Michael Brown and Professor Joanne Begiato lead the research project ‘The Victorian Hand: Emotions, Embodiment, and Identity, Past and Present’, a collaboration between Lancaster and the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. Dr Brown is Lecturer in Modern British History at Lancaster, Professor Begiato is Professor of History at the London College of Fashion. Details of poster sessions and follow-up talks will be provided to participants during the conference, as well as on the University Regional Heritage Centre and Society websites closer to the time.
