The Middleton Railway, founded in 1758, is the oldest continuously working railway in Britain to be established by an Act of Parliament; the first such act in England. The railway, owned by Charles Brandling, (1733–1802) was a horse drawn wooden waggonway linking the collieries at Middleton to Cassons Close near Leeds Bridge in the centre of Leeds. In 1810 John Blenkinsop, Brandling's agent at Middleton, was looking for cheaper ways of moving coal to Leeds. He designed the rack railway and Matthew Murray built the first Middleton Railway locomotive, "Salamanca", at his Round Foundry in Holbeck. The locomotive's first run, reported in The Leeds Mercury on 27 June 1812, was "witnessed by thousands of spectators and crowned a complete success...". Three more locomotives were built. The Middleton Railway locomotives had a toothed cog wheel which meshed into a rack on the side of the rail, as it was felt this would provide the engines with a better grip when hauling coal wagons.