(Early Railroading) Journal of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, published by the Franklin, 1830. Vol 6, 430, 8pp. Half calf, marbled boards. Some amount of scuffing on the spine, though the gilt impressions are very legible. Ex-library copy, with stamps on the title page, and a remnant of a paper label on spine bottom. Near-VG copy. $200

“Account of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway”, December 1830, pp 409-419. Also: a map of the railway is misbound (I suspect) in the November issue, 1830, appering opposite pg 305. Longish report on the “first locomotive-hauled railway to connect two major cities, and the first to provide a scheduled passenger service”. Part of the paper is a description of a run on he L+M, which had made its inaugural run on 15 September, just months earlier. (The first run was an enormous event, the PM there for great festivities. 10 years later there would be 1775 miles of track, and then by 1850 a total of 6200 miles in Britain.)

“(T)he world is a branch line of the pioneering Liverpool–Manchester run.”– former British Rail chairman Peter Parker.

And:

S.H. Long. “On the Principles which should govern the location and construction of Rail-roads”, pp 178-193.
Also in this volume these two fascinating reports:

“On the Construction of a vessel moved by the force of wind, and propelled directly against it”, July, page 40, with an inset woodcut.

“A self-loading cart propelled by wind”, p 40-1, with small woodcut illustration.

Howard, William. “New method of communicating circular motion in a lateral direction”, pp 37-38, with small woodcut;

McDowell, John. “Economical mode of transmitting motion”, pp 38-9, with small woodcut.  

There are many dozens of other papers plus a hundred or so patent reports (with sort comments by the editor).