Britain's Lost Railways

Britain's Lost Railways
Author: John Minnis
Publisher: Aurum
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2018-08-07
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1781317739

The beautifully restored St Pancras Station is a magisterial example of Britain’s finest Victorian architecture. Like the viaducts at Belah and Crumlin, cathedral-like stations such as Nottingham Victoria and spectacular railway hotels like Glasgow St Enoch's, it stands proud as testament to Britain's architectural heritage. In this stunning book, John Minnis reveals Britain's finest railway architecture. From the most cavernous engine sheds, like Old Oak Common, through the eccentric country halts on the Tollesbury line and the gantries of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, to the soaring viaducts of Belah and Cumlin, Britain’s Lost Railways offers a sweeping celebration of our railway heritage. The selection of images and the removable facsimile memorabilia, including tickets, posters, timetables and maps, allows the reader to step into that past, serving as a testimony to an age of ingenuity and ambition when the pride we invested in our railways was reflected in the grandeur of the architecture we built for them.

Lost Railways of the World

Lost Railways of the World
Author: Nigel Welbourn
Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport
Total Pages: 628
Release: 2023-02-16
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1399096184

Many readers will be familiar with Nigel Welbourn’s long running series of books, covering lost railways in Britain and Ireland. This new book Lost Railways of the World is the latest by this author on the subject of disused railways. The material for this volume has been collected and researched over a period of almost fifty years of world travel by the author. Informative text records the fortunes of the world’s lost railways and every country with significant disused railways is included. Lost railways are a unifying theme, being found throughout the world, from the hottest African desert to the coldest steppes of Russia. The book has a surprisingly British flavor as historically many railways throughout the world used British equipment and operating practices. On his first trip in the 1970s the author discovered British signaling equipment in Europe. In 2020 he discovered the same firms’ equipment in South America. The world’s top ten lost lines are listed, from the seven-mile-long sea bridge on a line that ran through the Florida Keys, to the rugged mountain splendor of the Khyber Pass Railway. Some of the oldest, largest, longest, most northerly, southerly, expensive, crookedest, steepest, highest, lowest and most notorious lost railways are included. Quirky and other unique tales from lost railways are included, such as the disappearing phantom bridge, a line destroyed by molten lava, to one that sank under the sea, another that conveyed giant turtles, to a memorial to a brave railway elephant. The author also visited remote areas of Argentina and provides more information on the mysterious disappearance of the ex-Lynton & Barnstaple Railway locomotive Lew. A large number of the 300 color illustrations have not been published before, maps and stories from around the world will delight not only the railway enthusiast, but appeal to a wider cadre of readers with an interest in nostalgia, history, geography and travel. To some the book will be an informative source of information, to others it is written in a way that highlights the most amazing lost railways in the world, but either way it is a fascinating and unique book.

Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations

Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations
Author: Simon Jenkins
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2017-09-28
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 0241978998

Discover the architectural gems that are Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations in this Sunday Times top 10 bestseller 'This is a cracker . . . a beautiful book' Chris Evans It is the scene for our hopeful beginnings and our intended ends, and the timeless experiences of coming and going, meeting, greeting and parting. It is an institution with its own rituals and priests, and a long-neglected aspect of Britain's architecture. And yet so little do we look at the railway station. Simon Jenkins has travelled the length and breadth of Great Britain, from Waterloo to Wemyss Bay, Betws-y-Coed to Beverley, to select his hundred best railway stations. Blending his usual insight and authority with his personal reflections and experiences - including his founding the Railway Heritage Trust - the foremost expert on our national heritage deftly reveals the history, geography, design and significance of each of these glories. Beautifully illustrated with colour photographs throughout, this joyous exploration of our social history shows the station's role in the national imagination; champions the engineers, architects and rival companies that made them possible; and tells the story behind the triumphs and follies of these very British creations. These are the marvellous, often undersung places that link our nation, celebrated like never before. 'However spectacular the book's photographs, it's the author's prowess as a phrase-maker that keeps you turning the pages' The Times 'An uplifting exploration of our social history' Guardian

The Architecture and Legacy of British Railway Buildings

The Architecture and Legacy of British Railway Buildings
Author: Robert Thornton
Publisher: The Crowood Press
Total Pages: 510
Release: 2020-09-01
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1785007122

Railway buildings have always had a fascinating character all of their own, despite many no longer being in operational railway service. This book tells the story of how these buildings evolved alongside the development of the railway in Great Britain and examines how architects over the years have responded to the operational, social and cultural influences that define their work. Written for those with a keen interest in architecture and the railway, as well as those new to the subject, The Architecture and Legacy of British Railway Buildings provides an unique insight into the production of railway architecture, both in the context of railway management and the significant periods of ownership, and the swings in national mood for railway-based transportation. As well as tracing its history, the authors take time to consider the legacy these buildings have left behind and the impact of heritage on a continually forward-looking industry. Topics covered include: the context of railway architecture today; the history of how it came into existence; the evolution of different railway building types; the unique aspects of railway building design, and finally, the key railway development periods and their architectural influences.

For the Love of Trains

For the Love of Trains
Author: Ray Hamilton
Publisher: Summersdale
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2018-05-10
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1786856905

More than just a means of transport, trains connect communities, evoke memories and promise adventures galore. This fact-packed miscellany tracks their development from the earliest locomotives to today’s superfast trains, stopping off along the way to explore great railway journeys, iconic stations and memorable depictions in the arts.

Bradley's Railway Guide

Bradley's Railway Guide
Author: Simon Bradley
Publisher: Profile Books
Total Pages: 533
Release: 2024-10-10
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1782834141

'A lifetime of railway love distilled into a most beautiful volume' Lucy Worsley 'The most attractive, comprehensive and easily digestible history of the oldest railway system in the world' Michael Palin In 1825 the Stockton & Darlington company strode into history with the opening of the world's first public steam railway. What the S&DR had pioneered soon picked up speed, transforming lives and landscapes, connecting far-flung corners of the nation and creating its own distinctive environments and working worlds. This ambitious and lavishly illustrated volume brings the story of Britain's railways to life, spanning two centuries of achievement and change. Full of colour and incident, it is an exhilarating journey through time and space, revisiting favourite themes and introducing unfamiliar stories and places. With original and engaging entries on everything from dining saloons to collecting dogs, wartime salvage efforts and the iconic Rail Alphabet, Simon Bradley gives George Bradshaw's famous 19th century guide a run for its money in this fresh and distinctive chronicle of the making of Britain's railways.

London's Great Railway Stations

London's Great Railway Stations
Author: Oliver Green
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2021-11-02
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 071126662X

This lavish photographic history of the most beautiful and historic railway stations in London tells a story of power, progress and innovation, from the beginning of steam age to the teeming commuter hubs of today. London has more mainline railway stations than any other city in the world and many of them are amongst its grandest architectural monuments. Its earliest terminals opened in the late 1830s when lines between the capital and the regions were built in the first railway boom. The original station at London Bridge, the capital’s first passenger terminus, was opened in December 1836, six months before Queen Victoria came to the throne. The last main line to London, the Great Central Railway to Marylebone, was opened in March 1899, two years before Victoria died. Ever since they originally opened, these stations have been at heart of London life and activity and have dominated the architectural landscape. Many are now in the midst of major reconstructions and are the centrepieces for the transformation of whole swathes of London, from Paddington to King's Cross. This comprehensive story combines a historical overview, archive illustrations and specially commissioned photography, covering the origins of the earliest stations up to the latest reconstructions and renovations. Written by the expert author Oliver Green, this is an essential gift for anyone interested in the history of London and its transport.

Industrial Britain

Industrial Britain
Author: Hubert J. Pragnell
Publisher: Batsford Books
Total Pages: 576
Release: 2021-07-08
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1849947333

A fascinating insight into Britain's industrial past as evidenced by its buildings, richly illustrated with intricate line drawings. Industrial Britain goes far beyond the mills and machine houses of the Industrial Revolution to give an engaging insight into Britain's industrial heritage. It looks at the power stations and monumental bridges of Britain, including the buildings and engineering projects associated with the distribution of manufactured goods – docks, canals, railways and warehouses. The gasworks Temples of mass production The mill Warehouse and manufactory Dock and harbour buildings Water power and water storage Waterways: canals and rivers The railway age Breweries and oast houses Markets and exchanges The twentieth century: industry on greenfield sites It's a story of industrial development, but also a story of its ultimate decline. As manufacturing has been increasingly replaced by services, new uses have been found for at least some of the country's great industrial buildings. Not least as containers for art and heritage, such as the Bankside Power Station (Tate Modern) and Salts Mill. Other buildings featured are still used as originally intended today, such as Smithfield Market in London and the Shepherd Neame brewery in Faversham. Illustrated throughout with over 200 original line drawings, Industrial Britain is a celebration of industrial architecture and its enduring legacy.

The Railways

The Railways
Author: Simon Bradley
Publisher: Profile Books
Total Pages: 607
Release: 2015-09-24
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1847653529

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.

The Trains Now Departed

The Trains Now Departed
Author: Michael Williams
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2015-05-07
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1409052346

SOMETIMES you come across a lofty railway viaduct, marooned in the middle of a remote country landscape. Or a crumbling platform from some once-bustling junction buried under the buddleia. If you are lucky you might be able to follow some rusting tracks, or explore an old tunnel leading to...well, who knows where? Listen hard. Is that the wind in the undergrowth? Or the spectre of a train from a golden era of the past panting up the embankment? These are the ghosts of The Trains Now Departed. They are the railway lines, and services that ran on them that have disappeared and gone forever. Our lost legacy includes lines prematurely axed, often with a gripping and colourful tale of their own, as well as marvels of locomotive engineering sent to the scrapyard, and grand termini felled by the wrecker's ball. Then there are the lost delights of train travel, such as haute cuisine in the dining car, the grand expresses with their evocative names, and continental boat trains to romantic far-off places. The Trains Now Departed tells the stories of some of the most fascinating lost trains of Britain, vividly evoking the glories of a bygone age. In his personal odyssey around Britain Michael Williams tells the tales of the pioneers who built the tracks, the yarns of the men and women who operated them and the colourful trains that ran on them. It is a journey into the soul of our railways, summoning up a magic which, although mired in time, is fortunately not lost for ever. THIS EDITION REVISED AND UPDATED TO INCLUDE MAPS.