Another fascinating miscellany that will delight railway buffs everywhere. The branch lines of transport history are fully explored and all who love trains will delight in stories of the old railway companies, famous engines, discontinued lines, and all sorts of other railway trivia.

Sunday Times History Book of the Year 2015 Currently filming for BBC programme Full Steam Ahead Britain's railways have been a vital part of national life for nearly 200 years. Transforming lives and landscapes, they have left their mark on everything from timekeeping to tourism. As a self-contained world governed by distinctive rules and traditions, the network also exerts a fascination all its own. From the classical grandeur of Newcastle station to the ceaseless traffic of Clapham Junction, from the mysteries of Brunel's atmospheric railway to the lost routines of the great marshalling yards, Simon Bradley explores the world of Britain's railways, the evolution of the trains, and the changing experiences of passengers and workers. The Victorians' private compartments, railway rugs and footwarmers have made way for air-conditioned carriages with airline-type seating, but the railways remain a giant and diverse anthology of structures from every period, and parts of the system are the oldest in the world. Using fresh research, keen observation and a wealth of cultural references, Bradley weaves from this network a remarkable story of technological achievement, of architecture and engineering, of shifting social classes and gender relations, of safety and crime, of tourism and the changing world of work. The Railways shows us that to travel through Britain by train is to journey through time as well as space.

David Goodyear's approach to railway photography has always been to capture the context of the railway within the landscape in which it finds itself. The railway train itself embraces each scene, providing the soul and atmosphere where it may dominate or be dominated by the landscape in which it is portrayed, alongside the special manner through which it expresses its very character. The landscape expresses the train as much as the train expresses the landscape. The magnificence and splendour of a railway viaduct such as that at St. Germans or Brunel's engineering masterpiece of the Royal Albert Bridge makes a statement of the railway within the location it is placed. The train crossing the viaduct finds itself enveloped by the architecture of the viaduct and yet characterises the very function for which the viaduct was built. Steam locomotives always bring a very special sense of mood and movement to a railway landscape, but a modern train can equally also contribute its own soul to the landscape in which the railway participates. Diesel and electric trains contribute their own appeal and character, such as through an eye-catching livery which conveys a sense of stage-appearance on a scene where the aesthetic of the passing train is expressed alongside the location or architecture embracing it. Inspirational scenery, big skies and brooding hills or a patchwork of color in springtime fields can help instil a sense of admiration for beauty in nature through which the train passes. Equally expressive are sunlight and shadows, as also the quality of light through the different seasons, each contributing to the essence of each location. The author lives in an area with access to many such awe-inspiring vistas to explore within Devon and Cornwall. Join him as he explore a series of journeys setting out from the south west towards the north and east, each reflecting his own journey directions.

'A trip back in time' DAILY TELEGRAPH A love of railways, a love of history, a love of nostalgia. ______________________________ Get ready to board the slow train to another era, to a time when travel meant more than hurrying from one place to the next. On the Slow Train will reconnect you with that long-missed need for escape, and reminds us to lift our heads from the daily grind and remember that there are still places in Britain where we can take the time to stop and stare. This book is a paean to another age: before milk churns, train porters and cats on seats were replaced by security announcements and Burger King wrappers. These 12 spectacular journeys will help free us from what Baudelaire denounced as 'the horrible burden of time.' ___________________________________ 'Captivating' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Deep in our soul, the railways represent an idyll that we love' INDEPENDENT 'A magical world, barely changed since the golden age of rail' DAILY MAIL 'Superb' RAILYWAY MAGAZINE 'Memory lane . . . An intriguing social snapshot' HERITAGE RAILWAY

Running a railway is a complex business, constantly throwing up drama, misadventure and the unexpected. Geoff Body and Bill Parker have collated a rich selection of railwaymen's memories and anecdotes to create an enjoyable book of escapades and mishaps, illustrating the daily obstacles faced on the railways, from handling the new Eurostar to train catering, nights on the Tay Bridge to rail 'traffic cops', and from mystery derailments to track subsidence. However interesting the infrastructure of the large and varied railway business may be, the real heart of this great industry lies in its people, the complex jobs they occupy and the dedicated way in which they carry them out.

The fascinating story behind a Victorian law with a welcome and unexpected side effect - it allowed today's heritage railways to come into being.

"Including the nation's best-kept-secret railways"--Cover.

A collection of over 300 photographs of railway subjects from around the British Isles, ranging from Southern England to Scotland and from the mighty Pacific locomotives to the dirty unloved goods trains, by photographer Bishop Eric Treacy.