The East Coast Main Line - going from London to Edinburgh - remains one
of the most important routes in this country. It was built by a number
of separate companies and by 1863, when Bradshaw published his guide,
the section from York to Berwick was operated by the North Eastern
Railway, and onwards into Scotland by the North British Railway. This
guide covers that final section of the ECML, including the important
locations and branches encountered along the way. In the 1930s the LNER
captured briefly the world record for a steam locomotive on this line,
with Gresley's streamlined A4 Pacific Mallard, as represented by David
Mach's brick sculpture at Darlington. 'Seldom has the gigantic intellect
of man been employed upon a work of greater utility.' Punch, in praise
of Bradshaw's publications. Bradshaw's guide was published in 1863, not
that long after most of Britain's railway network had been completed. It
gives the reader a unique insight into the world of the Victorian
railways and goes beyond the engineering aspects to record the sights to
be seen in the towns and cities encountered along the way. Campbell
McCutcheon and John Christopher present Bradshaw's original text
accompanied by contemporary images to bring the ECML journey to life for
the modern reader.