Science and engineering in Manchester chemist visited Manchester in the 1840s. In his research in Manchester, Smith discovered the existence of acid rain, a by product of the industrial revolution. Smith consequently pushed for greater environmental awareness and helped to found the Noxious Vapours Abatement Society in Manchester, which raised awareness of the consequences of poor air. Joseph Whitworth was an engineer and inventor who hailed from Stockport, Cheshire (now Greater Manchester). A talented mechanic amongst various other engineering roles, for long periods of his life, he worked in factories in Manchester. Whitworth would ultimately devise a standard screw thread system, the first of its
Ten and a quarter inch gauge Railway. An organisation to promote this gauge of railway has been reformed in May 2010 as The Ten and a Quarter Railway Society, which will also cover the larger and smaller gauges. Generally model trains at this scale are individually hand-made, however between 1963 and 1964, Lines Bros Ltd using their combined Tri-ang and Minic brand names produced a commercial system under the name the Tri-ang Minic Narrowgauge Railway, or T.M.N.R.. Commercial companies also build bespoke locomotives or in the case of the Exmoor Steam Railway a standard design of 2-4-2T. Rolling stock was normally supplied in the form of