Although a great deal has been published on the economic, social and engineering history of nineteenth-century railways, the work of historical geographers has been much less conspicuous. This overview by David Turnock goes a long way towards restoring the balance. It details every important aspect of the railway’s influence on spatial distribution of economic and social change, providing a full account of the nineteenth-century geography of the British Isles seen in the context of the railway. The book reviews and explains the shape of the developing railway network, beginning with the pre-steam railways and connections between existing road and water communications and the new rail lines. The author also discusses the impact of the railways on the patterns of industrial, urban and rural change throughout the century. Throughout, the historical geography of Ireland is treated in equal detail to that of Great Britain.

• The first detailed study of this huge mainline through its operational history • Features extended commentaries from the authors, rich in detail • Superbly illustrated with black and white photographs, many never seen before In this second and final volume, the whole of the East Coast Main Line between King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley stations is examined closely, with a particular emphasis on the ways and structures: the line, stations, connections, yards, and other physical features. Interposed are accounts of the traffic at the principal stations – including connecting and branch line services – with observations on changes over the period 1939 to 1959. Some emphasis is placed on freight traffic on account of its importance and, perhaps, its relative unfamiliarity to the reader. The lines, stations and many other elements are described as they were in August 1939, but as some plans on which they are based are dated before the late 1930s, there may be marginal differences from the precise layout in 1939.