Rainhill Village

After the warning in my previous post, I've decided to show something today which was not destroyed by disaster, war or terrorism but simple human error.

I doubt many of you will have heard of Rainhill. If you have I can almost guarantee you are either a) a resident or ex resident of the town, b) a train buff, c ) a Ripperologist/Victorian murder aficionada d) a Mel C fan.
I'm in  group a though I do lurk on Casebook from time to time.

I was brought up in Rainhill and lived there until I was 18 and the above image is one of my enduring memories of the town. Those of you in group b will know that Rainhill was the site of the Locomotive Trials in 1829 where Stephenson's Rocket was declared the winner and Britain was changed forever.

In 1979 there was an exhibition celebrating 150 years since the trials took place and the above mural was erected in a prominent place in the village (now occupied by the Co-Op Supermarket). I used to see it everyday when I went I to playschool and reception class and I loved it. It had pride of place in the town until 1981 when it was dismantled. Sadly it was stored away whilst wet and rotted away to nothing. Ironically the Rocket itself can still be seen in the Science Museum.