The Last Journey of William Huskisson

How a day of triumph became a day of despair at the turn of a wheel

Plot

The Liverpool to Manchester Railway was the greatest engineering feat of its age. George and Robert Stephenson's Rocket was to become the most famous locomotive in history. William Huskisson was one of the greatest statesmen of his generation, and certainly the most accident prone. On 15 September 1830, the three met for the first time. Huskisson's fateful accident, in which the rocket crushed his leg and thigh, and is an unforgettable image of the Industrial Revolution. But what really happened on that day? How did the opening of the world's first passenger railway turn from a glorious morning into a tragic afternoon.