18th century to the pivotal technology for modern Britain. From their beginnings as a primitive system of track-ways for coal carts in the early 18th century, railways quickly developed into the driving force behind the industrial revolution. In the late 1830s the railways arrived in London and linked the capital to Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. This was the start of a truly national network. Over just 50 years the railways grew from transporting coal to a vital part of the economy.