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Atmospheric Railways
240 pages, Paperback
Published May 30, 1985
2 people want to read
About the author
Charles Hadfield
64 booksEllis Charles Raymond Hadfield was a canal historian and the author of many classic works on the British canal system. He was a cofounder with David St John Thomas of the publishing company David & Charles.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 17, 2019
There's something charming, even stirring, about ill-fated attempts to buck the technological trends of the day and to offer some kind of alternative. From the hubris of an Icarus to the comic tilting of Don Quixote, something in us responds to the story of a man on a mission.
The real stories of inventors who created something only to have their dreams crushed are of course less amusing, whether the reason for their failure was sabotage or some impracticality in their model that they overlooked in the flush of their initial enthusiasm.
"Atmospheric Railways" is an intermittently fascinating, mostly dry recounting of the history of the pneumatic trains and tubes (that's "tube" in the English sense, as in underground railway), how the projects were conceived, implemented, and finally abandoned. Some tangential projects (more interesting to me than the main subject) involved networks of pneumatic tubes (this time like the "tubes" at the bank) working beneath various cities in Europe (especially in Berlin). Some of the images and descriptions induce a kind of whimsical reaction in the reader, especially those with a bent toward Victorian Futurism who got a rush pouring over the old woodcuts or watercolors that were interleaved in those dusty first edition SF books and magazines.
Something worth considering when reading about an "outmoded" technology like that presented here, is that, as people and societies scramble for alternative forms of producing energy (or at least wasting less in carrying people from point A to point B), some of these old books might be dusted off and their ideas implemented once again. One can hope, at least, in the future to see not only windmills, but glass-skinned tubes crawling up and down buildings, reaching into the stratosphere of our super-cities (though we're just as likely to be suffering in mega-favelas, as time goes on, assuming we still exist).
A short section at the end of the book contains primarily technical details, or at least claims to. I found that, ironically, this part of the book had more details of interest to the layman than most of the preceding chapters. And as another reader pointed out, in a review of one of Mr. Hadfield's other works, it helps to have some familiarity with the areas and regions under discussion here. I didn't, and so was at a bit of a disadvantage going in. The more mechanically inclined reader might want to ignore my review. The reader who prefers general histories, with equal space given to inventors and their inventions, might want to heed it.
The real stories of inventors who created something only to have their dreams crushed are of course less amusing, whether the reason for their failure was sabotage or some impracticality in their model that they overlooked in the flush of their initial enthusiasm.
"Atmospheric Railways" is an intermittently fascinating, mostly dry recounting of the history of the pneumatic trains and tubes (that's "tube" in the English sense, as in underground railway), how the projects were conceived, implemented, and finally abandoned. Some tangential projects (more interesting to me than the main subject) involved networks of pneumatic tubes (this time like the "tubes" at the bank) working beneath various cities in Europe (especially in Berlin). Some of the images and descriptions induce a kind of whimsical reaction in the reader, especially those with a bent toward Victorian Futurism who got a rush pouring over the old woodcuts or watercolors that were interleaved in those dusty first edition SF books and magazines.
Something worth considering when reading about an "outmoded" technology like that presented here, is that, as people and societies scramble for alternative forms of producing energy (or at least wasting less in carrying people from point A to point B), some of these old books might be dusted off and their ideas implemented once again. One can hope, at least, in the future to see not only windmills, but glass-skinned tubes crawling up and down buildings, reaching into the stratosphere of our super-cities (though we're just as likely to be suffering in mega-favelas, as time goes on, assuming we still exist).
A short section at the end of the book contains primarily technical details, or at least claims to. I found that, ironically, this part of the book had more details of interest to the layman than most of the preceding chapters. And as another reader pointed out, in a review of one of Mr. Hadfield's other works, it helps to have some familiarity with the areas and regions under discussion here. I didn't, and so was at a bit of a disadvantage going in. The more mechanically inclined reader might want to ignore my review. The reader who prefers general histories, with equal space given to inventors and their inventions, might want to heed it.
March 7, 2019
I first read this when I was at school, so about 50y ago. i needed to procure and re-read it in preparation for a Stempunk talk later in the year.
It's absolutely fabulous, and I read it with much greater attention than the first time. He covers the whole shooting match from the earliest days until the time of publication - a criticism is that despite the scholarly attitude ,he leaves you struggling for original references from time to time, although the internet is a great aid in filling in those gaps today. I already knew what I felt about this technology, but it is all re-confirmed by Hadfield's account.
The personalities of the "great men" come out orthogonally from the account. Bloody unlucky to have a great idea defeated by inadequate technology. Very glad to see it's coming again!
Having said that, you wouldn't give it 5 stars if you weren't keen on trains, Victorian engineering, industrial archaeology and public transport matters.
It's absolutely fabulous, and I read it with much greater attention than the first time. He covers the whole shooting match from the earliest days until the time of publication - a criticism is that despite the scholarly attitude ,he leaves you struggling for original references from time to time, although the internet is a great aid in filling in those gaps today. I already knew what I felt about this technology, but it is all re-confirmed by Hadfield's account.
The personalities of the "great men" come out orthogonally from the account. Bloody unlucky to have a great idea defeated by inadequate technology. Very glad to see it's coming again!
Having said that, you wouldn't give it 5 stars if you weren't keen on trains, Victorian engineering, industrial archaeology and public transport matters.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews