British Railway Tickets

British Railway Tickets
Author: Jan Dobrzynski
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 151
Release: 2013-01-20
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 0747813140

In 1838 Thomas Edmondson, an employee of the fledgling Newcastle & Carlisle Railway, revolutionised the ticket issuing process in Britain and left an enduring legacy: the Edmondson ticket. Purchased as proof of the contract between passenger and railway company, the ticket was a receipt, travel pass and an ephemeral record of almost every train journey ever taken in the British Isles, reflecting the nostalgia of the railways and a period of history when the movement of millions of people brought together England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The railways printed millions of tickets for every conceivable journey and category of passenger. Most were destroyed after use, but remarkably many survive, in the care of libraries, museums and collectors, and form the basis of a fascinating hobby.

British Railway Stinks

British Railway Stinks
Author: David Smith
Publisher: Mortons Books
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2019-11-22
Genre: Transportation
ISBN:

The first railway chemical laboratory was opened in 1864 by the London & North Western Railway at Crewe, and the last ones lost their direct link to the rail industry on their privatisation in 1996. Whatever their expertise, every railway chemist or 'stink' has been asked the same question: "What do you actually do"? That is precisely the question this book attempts to answer. It covers many aspects of the work, from a BR chemist going to San Francisco to blow up a water melon to declaring an empty coal wagon a confined space; from whitewashing a passenger train, in service, in a couple of seconds to questioning, on chemical grounds, the mental state of the chairman of British Rail; from gassing weevils to setting fire to a canal in Derby. British Railway Stinks tells the unusual, astonishing and sometimes downright hilarious story of the railway 'nuts' who decided what exactly the 'wrong kind of leaves' were.

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys
Author: Charlie Bunce
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2011-04-04
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 0007413211

The Sunday Times Bestseller A glorious insight into Britain over the last 150 years - its history, landscape and people - from the window of Britain’s many and magnificent railway journeys.

Great British Railways

Great British Railways
Author: Vicki Pipe
Publisher: September Publishing
Total Pages: 133
Release: 2020-02-06
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1912836297

Take a journey of discovery and explore the top 50 things to see and do on Great British railways. Find the rarest train routes, learn about the railways' people and animal friends, marvel at iconic stations, whizz over amazing bridges, steam through tremendous tunnels and visit the most spectacular railway sights. You can: - Ride across dramatic viaducts. - Visit Britain's busiest railway hub and its least-used station. - Stop at Britain's highest station. - Meet the railway cats and dogs.This lively, interactive book will inspire children – and adults – to seize the moment and explore the wonderful world of Great Britain's railways. Written by Vicki Pipe with additional fun facts from Geoff Marshall, the dynamic duo behind the YouTube channel's All the Stations and authors of The Railway Adventures.

British Railways in the 1970s and ’80s

British Railways in the 1970s and ’80s
Author: Greg Morse
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 65
Release: 2013-08-10
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 0747814104

For British Rail, the 1970s was a time of contrasts, when bad jokes about sandwiches and pork pies often belied real achievements, like increasing computerisation and the arrival of the high-speed Inter-City 125s. But while television advertisements told of an 'Age of the Train', Monday morning misery continued for many, the commuter experience steadily worsening as rolling stock aged and grew ever more uncomfortable. Even when BR launched new electrification schemes and new suburban trains in the 1980s, focus still fell on the problems that beset the Advanced Passenger Train, whose ignominious end came under full media glare. In British Railways in the 1970s and '80s, Greg Morse guides us through a world of Traveller's Fare, concrete concourses and peak-capped porters, a difficult period that began with the aftershock of Beeching but ended with BR becoming the first nationalised passenger network in the world to make a profit.

Fire and Steam

Fire and Steam
Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2008-05-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1848872615

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.

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

Railways in the British Landscape

Railways in the British Landscape
Author: Robin Coombes
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 131
Release: 2018-08-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 144568232X

A breathtaking selection of photographs showcasing railway journeys as a part of the British landscape.

British Rail

British Rail
Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 261
Release: 2022-06-09
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 0241456215

The authoritative and fascinating history of the rise and fall of the state-owned British Rail 'Wolmar's book is impeccably organised and makes a fast, enjoyable read' THE TIMES Literary Supplement________ British Rail wasn't how we're asked to remember it . . . From ancient rolling stock to patchy service, stale sandwiches to the wrong kind of snow, British Rail - our last great state-owned organisation to be privatised - has received a terrible press. But after its controversial 1948 creation, British Rail was actually an innovative powerhouse that over five decades transformed the UK, creating one of the fastest regular rail services in the world. Award-winning journalist Christian Wolmar takes us from promise to punchline, exploring British Rail's birth into post-war austerity, the many battles and struggles to evolve what many considered to be a dinosaur, and how, at the height of its success, the service was misunderstood and unfairly maligned, ruthlessly broken up and privatised._______ Praise for Christian Wolmar 'Wolmar is the high priest of railway studies' Literary Review 'The greatest expert on British trains' Guardian 'Our most eminent transport journalist' Spectator 'If the world's railways have a laureate, it is surely Christian Wolmar' Boston Globe 'Christian Wolmar is in love with the railways. He writes constantly and passionately about them. He is their wisest, most detailed historian and a constant prophet of their rebirth . . . if you love the hum of the wheels and of history, then Christian Wolmar is your man' Observer