Early Railways: 1569-1830

by Andy Guy, Jim Rees

To many people, the history of the railway begins with the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1830. By that time, however, the concept of the railway in Britain was already over 250 years old, a fascinating but little-known period of experimentation, improvement and invention which included such remarkable features as an Elizabethan 'Scalextric', an early 'JCB' and an engine fitted with steam-powered legs. Innovations such as iron rails, inclines and the pioneering locomotives were gradually introduced, so that by 1830 the basic principles of the modern railway were already in place. Never again would the industry see such fundamental development; indeed, today both Britain and North America still use what is essentially a Georgian railway.

56 pages, Paperback

First published May 24, 2011

Reviews

[Timo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het boekje had gerust wat langer mogen zijn. De illustraties zijn schitterend!

[Sophie Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, concise, photo-heavy rundown of the earliest (pre-locomotive) railways in Britain, and the development of the steam locomotive and subsequent lines up until 1830. I am still searching for a great source on what the early railways were like for passengers, however, and this really only goes into the fact that passengers traveled on some of these railways (they were often far more popular in this aspect than was expected).