Cathedrals of Steam: How London's Great Stations Were Built – And How They Transformed the City

by Christian Wolmar

London hosts a dozen major railway stations, more than any comparable city. King's Cross, St Pancras, Euston, Marylebone, Paddington, Victoria, Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Waterloo, London Bridge, Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street—these great termini are the hub of London's transport system and their complex history, of growth, decline and epic renewal has determined much of the city's character today. Christian Wolmar tells the dramatic and compelling story of how these great cathedrals of steam were built by competing private railway companies between 1836 and 1900, reveals their immediate impact on the capital and explores the evolution of the stations and the city up to the present day.

Genres: History, Transport, London, Nonfiction, Railways

352 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2022

About the author

Christian Wolmar is a journalist, focusing on the history and politics of railways.

Reviews

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christian Wolmar’s books on railway history are invariably fascinating, full of surprising facts and details that shed new light on a built infrastructure that it’s all to easy to take for granted. Cathedrals of Steam, his history of the complicated origins of London’s mainline rail termini, is a story of the achievements and disasters of untrammelled Victorian capitalism, of multiple competing companies who put their own market position above passenger convenience or the lives of the tens of thousands of poor Londoners displaced from their homes to make way for tracks, stations and goods yards, but who nevertheless managed to leave London with a heritage of incredible railway architecture and cutting-edge engineering. Wolmar takes us through the eras of dynamic growth, post-war underinvestment and decline and the more recent revitalisation of London’s railways and great stations - the phenomenal and sympathetic improvements to Liverpool Street, King’s Cross and St Pancras being the most remarkable. The best non-fiction writing opens one’s eyes to see familiar things in a new way and Cathedrals of Steam does that in spades.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a very interesting read. the history of how the stations came to be, and why there are so many, often within a stones throw of each other is interesting and enlightening, especially if you're into railways.or transport history.

The detail surrounding the initial building of the stations, their architecture and the long lost aspects of the stations is rather fascinating, especially St Pancras and its beer barrel storage. The fact each station was also built through private investment in an attempt to outdo each other in terms of services or grandure is also well covered.

My only slight criticism, which brings this to a 4 star review is that whilst the history of the original build is interesting, the redevelopment of all the stations is largely neglected. Whilst there is a final 25 page chapter on it, it rather skips through the last 150 years or so of each station. The only redevelopment that gets covered in much length is that of Euston which is mostly because the author detests it. It would have been a far better I think to have covered the entire history of each station within that station's dedicated chapter.

The final chapter is a little weak because of this and due to its imaginary tour of London with John Betjeman which is a little odd in my opinion.

But for those with an interest in railways or Victorian architecture then this is a very interesting read.

[Owen McArdle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really interesting detailed history of how London's main train stations got built and ticked all my infrastructure nerd boxes. In particular I loved the final chapter and its comparison essentially between the 19th century, 1970s and 2020s!

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Enjoyed learning a bit more on the background of something I used everyday as a Londoner.

[dantelk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, but some details were a bit extensive. What I was seeking for was more overall info as a generic rail lover, all in all ok.

[Gavin Felgate · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing that is quite recognisable is its network on railways, and their large terminus stations, originally built in the 19th Century. What is less known is that many of the original ones were abandoned.

As author Christian Wolmar notes: "This has left London with a dozen terminus stations, many of which have great architectural qualities but which are underappreciated both by Londoners and visitors because they tend to be tucked away in streets that offer no opportunity to view them with any perspective. Several, such as the three in the City - Cannon Street, Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street - are tucked away in side streets with virtually no space in the forecourt from which to contemplate their design."

Wolmar is clearly fascinated with the design of the stations themselves, and he goes into great detail about this, as well as providing a detailed history of how London became a commuter hub. Not surprisingly, when the railway was originally brought to London, there was considerable scepticism from the public, who were reluctant to travel by train.

I really enjoyed this book, which mentioned all of the quirks and oddities about how the stations were originally designed, and the unusual uses that the trains had. In Victorian times, a daily funeral train service departed from Waterloo to transport coffins and undertakers to the "necropolis". Apparently it was a system that some people abused by sneaking on board it disguised in black suits as though they were in the funeral business. The book probably could have made more comment on the effect that the COVID-19 outbreak had on stations and commuting into London.

The final chapter analyses how the stations look nowadays, following modern redevelopment works. As he notes, London Bridge - a station that Sir John Betjeman thought was the worst in London - has improved, as has King's Cross, following the removal of an ugly facade. Wolmar is more critical of how Cannon Street Station looks, now located under a modern office building.

As Wolmar concludes: "London's dozen (stations), all built in the nineteenth century, have survived and thrived for well over a century and, I predict, will all still be there at the end of this one."

[Martin Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

You don't have to be a fan of railways to enjoy this. It outlines the often tortuous history of the London termini (the author annoyingly insists on using 'terminuses'), their construction and evolution, the narrow escape some of them had from complete destruction and, of course, the immense social and economic consequences which flowed from them. Equally remarkable is the transformation a number of them have gone through in recent decades, living proof that we do occasionally get major development projects right. It's a remarkable story, and even made me nostalgic about my days of living in the capital, which is a testimony in itself.

[Peter Thew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title and subtitle tell you what to expect. Wolmar's love and knowledge of railways is extraordinary and he demonstrates both in the story of how London became the city with the most terminus railway stations in the world. With no government control of railway development, it was down to Victorian capitalists to each fight their own company's corner for a route into and terminus as close as possible to the centre of London. Very readable and highly recommended

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Perhaps a bit niche but I rather enjoyed this trip around London’s mainline train stations. I now have some understanding as to why these stations are so randomly located with quirks and anomalies that others don’t. The final chapter on recent upgrades is interesting and makes you want to look around a bit more the next time you alight at one of these cathedrals of steam.

[Iain Girling · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a lover of train travel, I have enjoyed watrching the countryside rush by but rarely looked at the architecture of stations.

This book has changed how I will in future look at railway architecture and how Victorians designed and built such iconic buildings.

I recommend the book to anyoone who loves trains and suggest they look aroiund them whilst onb the train or platform.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve given five stars to two of the author’s previous books but this one just wasn’t as successful in my view. Possibly you need to be a real train lover to appreciate this book rather than having a casual interest like me.

[Ipswichblade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christian Wolmar is our foremost writer on railways and this latest book about the building and development of London stations is up to his usual high standards.

[Phil Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting collection of facts'n'info about the twelve London railway terminuses, their gestation, development and most interestingly their effect on the growth of London and the lives of Londoners over the past almost two centuries. Nicely typographically handled, nonetheless the great swathes of unbroken text would have benefitted from the injection of the occasional map, or architectural engraving, to leaven the bread. All of the illustrations are contained within two glossy sections, and are very good, but a rethink on the visuals side would be welcome before a second edition is planned. I would certainly invest in such an upgrade.

[Paul Dickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story.

[Cosima Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for fellow London railway enthusiasts!

[Reiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great and detailed history of the development of passenger railway traffic and London‘s stations in particular. For those who are not familiar with the whereabouts in London an map would be helpful.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this one as much as most of Wolmar's others. I guess I expected a much more detailed history of each station. It was a very good read nonetheless.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine read but what makes this book special is the author's love for the topic. He shares both the history of and his passion for London's grand train stations.

[Jo Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dry

[Matt Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating. It provided a great explanation of the history of different London terminus stations. Wolmar explains the reason for the uncoordinated distribution of stations around the city emerged from the competition between different local railways who were desperate to get the most central locations for their passengers. There were various interesting stories such as their being a separate line at Waterloo to move dead bodies to a cemetry outside of London, stations initiallly designed to have a separe exit and entry platform for trains, and their being an extra station being built at Bricklayers Arms to allow royals to sneak off to Brighton for the weekend.