Big Question and Little Questions:
What is the power used to pull this locomotive along? How many wheels does this engine have?
How many men are tending it?
Can you describe any of the parts of the engine that are visible?
What kind of travellers are shown here?
Look at the clothes for clues. How were travellers divided into classes?

For Information:
The travelling engine shown here has four wheels, a cylindrical boiler, a chimney or funnel, a steam dome and safety valve, two buffers at the front and a tender carrying fuel and water immediately behind. In 1844, E.C.R. replaced this kind of engine with a six-wheeled design. A driver and a fireman are standing behind the engine.
An early feature is the brakesman seated on the roof of the leading coach underneath his own protective awning. His job was to spot possible dangers ahead and to apply the brakes that were not continuous, but were fitted to every fourth carriage on passenger trains. In later years a cord and a bell were used to help the guard at the rear of the train to communicate with the engine crew. The name 'communication cord' survived after the cord became a chain and its main purpose became to apply the brakes.

The 1844 Railway Passengers Act required even third-class carriages to be roofed and protected against the weather. The E.C.R.Illustrated Guide of 1851, from which this illustration comes, describes the first class carriages 'stuffed and padded, and petted, to fit every bend of the human frame; others, second class, have to be satisfied with a dose or two of paint and a lotion of varnish; and the less-favoured third classes merely get a copious application of cold water and a liberal allowance of mop'. According to the Guide, in the six months ending in January 1851, nearly 1 ¾ million people had travelled on the E.C.R., mostly second class, making a total revenue of over £201,480; various freight, including coals, contributed over £140,000, cattle nearly £20,000, parcels over £15,000 and mails over £8,500. Passengers were therefore the biggest source of income.

Significance:
Convenience of travel and better trading were to have profound and lasting effects in Essex and elsewhere. In October 1856, J.O.Parker was able to travel from Woodham Mortimer to London to 'dejeuner' on board a steamer in the Victoria Dock and to catch the 6.30 train home, [The Oxley Parker Papers,(1964),p.201]. The E.C.R. passenger timetables of 1854 carried the advertisements of London theatres as Sadlers Wells. Private and preparatory boarding schools were advertised more in Essex than hotels, [E.C.R. Guide of 1892]. The widespread practice arose of commuting, of putting homes outside the reach of the London smoke and of travelling back to work. In 1905 trains from Romford were heavy with City clerks.

Artefacts and Documents for Evidence:
E.C.R.Illustrated Guide,(1851).