1-158-630 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Berkhamsted Station, Hertfordshire, on the London and Birmingham Railway, c1860. On top of the building on the left is a water tank for supplying locomotives while, on the right, cattle are being driven to the station over a bridge crossing the Grand Junction Canal. The London and Birmingham railway was completed by the autumn of 1838. Robert Stephenson (1803-1859) was the Chief Engineer. Many people opposed the route and forced Stephenson to move the line some distance from their towns. The 112 mile line took 20,000 men 5 years to build. From The Land We Live In. (London, c1860).