Fifty Railroads that Changed the Course of History, is a handsome, illustrated survey of the most important historical and contemporary railway lines around the world.

The fascinating stories of the plants that changed civilizations.

Sunday Times History Book of the Year 2015 Currently filming for BBC programme Full Steam Ahead Britain's railways have been a vital part of national life for nearly 200 years. Transforming lives and landscapes, they have left their mark on everything from timekeeping to tourism. As a self-contained world governed by distinctive rules and traditions, the network also exerts a fascination all its own. From the classical grandeur of Newcastle station to the ceaseless traffic of Clapham Junction, from the mysteries of Brunel's atmospheric railway to the lost routines of the great marshalling yards, Simon Bradley explores the world of Britain's railways, the evolution of the trains, and the changing experiences of passengers and workers. The Victorians' private compartments, railway rugs and footwarmers have made way for air-conditioned carriages with airline-type seating, but the railways remain a giant and diverse anthology of structures from every period, and parts of the system are the oldest in the world. Using fresh research, keen observation and a wealth of cultural references, Bradley weaves from this network a remarkable story of technological achievement, of architecture and engineering, of shifting social classes and gender relations, of safety and crime, of tourism and the changing world of work. The Railways shows us that to travel through Britain by train is to journey through time as well as space.

Praise for a previous title in the series: Fifty Minerals that Changed the Course of History Interesting, affordable and readable.... Offers the reader an opportunity to delve further into each mineral's historical significance in an accessible way. -- Booklist Fifty Railroads that Changed the Course of History is a handsome, illustrated survey of the most important historical and contemporary railway lines around the world. Filled with unusual and unexpected stories and facts, it will captivate a wide audience, from the curious browser to researching students. The book organizes the railroads chronologically, considering each according to its greatest impact on Social, Commercial, Political, Engineering and Military history. Maps plus more than 200 elegant drawings, photographs and paintings as well as dozens of sidebars highlight the concise, engaging text. The 50 railroads span history, from the first in public passenger travel (Wales, 1807), to Japan's speed-record breaking Bullet. Railroads in some locales reflect the map of colonialism (Guyana to transport sugar, India to carry cotton and arms). They moved troops (the Crimea, the American Civil War, the Boer War) and united vast lands (Canadian Pacific Railway, Trans-Siberian). They transported people to horrible places (Auschwitz Ker), saved the Railway Children, and went underground to cross the English Channel. Fifty Railroads that Changed the Course of History features rail barons, politicians, disasters, crime, weather, geology, great artists, fraudsters and animals -- a dynamic cast of characters and a mind-spinning whirlwind of facts, trivia and conversation starters.

Now in paperback, Fire and Steam tells the dramatic story of the people and events that shaped the world's first railway network, one of the most impressive engineering achievements in history. The opening of the pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 marked the beginning of the railways' vital role in changing the face of Britain. Fire and Steam celebrates the vision and determination of the ambitious Victorian pioneers who developed this revolutionary transport system and the navvies who cut through the land to enable a country-wide network to emerge. The rise of the steam train allowed goods and people to circulate around Britain as never before, stimulating the growth of towns and industry, as well many of the facets of modern life, from fish and chips to professional football. From the early days of steam to electrification, via the railways' magnificent contribution in two world wars, the checkered history of British Rail, and the buoyant future of the train, Fire and Steam examines the social and economical importance of the railway and how it helped to form the Britain of today.

The story of the men who build the transcontinental railroad in the 1860's.

This fascinating book explores the development of locomotives over the course of fifty years. From Richard Trevithick's first experimental road engine of 1801 up to the Great Exhibition some fifty years later, locomotives have come far in reimagining and reinventing themselves to serve the people and British industry.The early years showed slow development amongst locomotives: Trevithick's first railway locomotives failed significantly as the engine broke the brittle cast-iron rails. The story is continued through the years when locomotives were developed to serve collieries, a period that lasted for a quarter of a century, and saw many different engineers trying out their ideas; from the rack and pinion railway developed by Blenkinsop and Murray, to George Stephensons engines for the Stockton & Darlington Railway. The most significant change came with Robert Stephensons innovative Rocket, the locomotive that set the formula for future developments.British engineers dominated the early years, although in France Marc Seguin developed a multi-tubular boiler at the same time as Stephenson. The next period was marked by the steady spread of railways in Europe and across the Atlantic. Timothy Hackworth of the Stockton & Darlington railway supplied locomotives to Russia, and his men had an exciting ride to deliver parts by sleigh across the snowy steppes, pursued by wolves. In America, the first locomotives were delivered from England, but the Americans soon developed their own methods and styles, culminating in the Baldwin engines, a type that has become familiar to us from hundreds of Western films.This is more than just a book about the development of a vital technology, it is also the story of the men who made it possible, from the steadily reliable team of William Buddicom and Alexander Allan, who developed their locomotives at Crewe, to the flamboyant Isambard Kingdom Brunel, whose broad gauge was served by the magnificent engines of Daniel Gooch.