Common Roots - Separate Branches: Railway History and Preservation

by Rob Shorland-Ball, Neil Cossons

Fascinating collection of papers by leading British scholars in a wide range of disciplines to examine and critically evaluate the significance of railways. This symposium includes work by Simmons, White, and Latschar that had a significant impact on the development of railway studies as an academic discipline. The papers cover railway infrastructure, mechanical engineering, historical context and research, preservation and interpretation, and curatorial practice. All the authors are acutely aware of the need to focus on the social and economic context in which British railways developed and then branched out elsewhere. 236 pages with index.

236 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

Rob Shorland-Ball remembers childhood holidays in Southwold when much of the derelict Southwold Railway, which closed in 1929, could still be discovered and explored. Rob, a one-time teacher and good story teller, worked for BR and from 1987 to 1994 was Deputy Head of the National Railway Museum in York so has a good working knowledge of railways and railway history. His co-author, David Lee now in his mid-90s, has researched the history of Southwold Railway for many years and welcomed Rob's knowledge and expertise in bringing together this substantive book on the Railway. Another important contributor is the late Alan Taylor whose opening chapter and several pictures are a tribute to his interest.

Rob has woven together the scholarship of David Lee and Alan Taylor to create a story of a railway which fascinated passengers while it worked, has lived on in memory, and is now being re-created by a Charitable Trust along much of its original track-bed.