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.
