1829 - Train of events

In 1829 the early train
Stephenson's 'Rocket' won the Rainhill Trials
Between four engines on the flat terrain
His company won the contract, the miles
From Liverpool to Manchester uncoil
Rapidly now, without horse power, just steam
Meanwhile Greece was at last free, its struggles
Freeing it from the Ottomans, the dream
Of Byron coming true, though he'd not seen
The great day, but his death was not in vain
To this day the Greeks and Turks both revile
Each other and Cyprus is now the scene
Of a fierce dispute, while others remain
Unlike mosques in Greece, long since smoking piles