Arthur Peppercorn, a vicar's son from Herefordshire, was the last L N E R Chief Mechanical Engineer. He managed his department for a very short time before it was swept away in the wholesale changes that followed Nationalisation of British Railways in 1948.Although a disciple and follower of Sir Nigel Gresley, he was his own man and developed his talent for production engineering that fully complimented the design skills of his greatly respected leader. He then became a worthy deputy to Edward Thompson during a war that demanded great personal sacrifices from both men. When he finally became C M E in 1946 he used his wide talents and experience to lead in developing two successful pacific classes of locomotives, that many rate as being among the best locomotives of this type ever to appear in Britain. This book, which is the first detailed biography of Peppercorn, tells his fascinating story and describes the influences on his life and career, illustrating his many achievements along the way.

A challenge to the long-held notion of close ties between the railroad and telegraph industries of the nineteenth century. To many people in the nineteenth century, the railroad and the telegraph were powerful, transformative forces, ones that seemed to work closely together to shape the economy, society, and politics of the United States. However, the perception—both popular and scholarly—of the intrinsic connections between these two institutions has largely obscured a far more complex and contested relationship, one that created profound divisions between entrepreneurial telegraph promoters and warier railroad managers. In The Train and the Telegraph, Benjamin Sidney Michael Schwantes argues that uncertainty, mutual suspicion, and cautious experimentation more aptly describe how railroad officials and telegraph entrepreneurs hesitantly established a business and technical relationship. The two industries, Schwantes reveals, were drawn together gradually through external factors such as war, state and federal safety regulations, and financial necessity, rather than because of any perception that the two industries were naturally related or beneficial to each other. Complicating the existing scholarship by demonstrating that the railroad and telegraph in the United States were uneasy partners at best—and more often outright antagonists—throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, The Train and the Telegraph will appeal to scholars of communication, transportation, and American business history and political economy, as well as to enthusiasts of the nineteenth-century American railroad industry.

"An Atlantic senior editor presents an investigation into the lucrative quality of popularity in the 21st century to share economic insights into what makes ideas, productions and products successful, "--NoveList.

Herbert Nigel Gresley’s first Pacifics, though notable in their day, were made universally famous by one of their number – 4722 Flying Scotsman. Throughout her life she has been feted and glamorised far more than any of her sisters and yet when appearing from the LNER Works at Doncaster in 1923 she was just another member of the class, but at some stage, early in her career, she acquired star status and to this day has not lost it. But why is this so and why do people care so deeply about this locomotive even though her deeds were easily exceeded by Gresley’s A4 Pacifics? Was it her styling, her name, her performance or simply the work of very talented purveyors of slick PR? Or was it an amalgam of all these issues? As Flying Scotsman reaches 100 ‘not out’ it is fascinating to reflect on these questions. But to do so we must consider how the Class came about, how they were developed, the impact they made on society as it was then, how they were sold to a waiting public and much more. From all this we may be able to understand why 4472 rose above the others and became an icon that still graces our lives today. It is, the author believes, a story without parallel in railway history.

The great and the good rarely, if ever, accomplish all they wish to achieve without the able assistance of many skilled men and women. To have a very capable person beside you acting as guide, confidant and adviser is essential. Even better when it is someone with a depth of knowledge equal to, or even better than your own. If all these skills can be combined in one trusted, assistant so much the better. To a leader such a person may be valued ‘beyond rubies’, because they have the ability to take ideas, add something and help make them a reality. For Herbert Nigel Gresley, CME of the LNER, Bert Spencer was just such a man. As Gresley triumphed his faithful, introverted and highly talented assistant remained resolutely in the background playing an unsung yet key role in the development of Gresley’s outstanding Pacifics and his many other memorable locomotives. For sixteen vibrant years Spencer sat beside his greatly admired leader witnessing and participating in all that happened adding much to an emerging legend that still resounds with us today. Here, for the first time, is Spencer’s fascinating story, much of it in his own words. This was made possible by the thoughts and memories he recorded in letters to friends, papers he wrote for the Institution of Locomotive Engineers, official documents and much more. All this has been edited together to produce a unique and important personal narrative of his life and work.