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Fire & Steam: How the Railways Transformed Britain
Now in paperback, Fire and Steam tells the dramatic story of the people and events that shaped the world’s first railway network, one of the most impressive engineering achievements in history. The opening of the pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 marked the beginning of the railways’ vital role in changing the face of Britain. Fire and Steam celebrates the vision and determination of the ambitious Victorian pioneers who developed this revolutionary transport system and the navvies who cut through the land to enable a country-wide network to emerge. The rise of the steam train allowed goods and people to circulate around Britain as never before, stimulating the growth of towns and industry, as well many of the facets of modern life, from fish and chips to professional football. From the early days of steam to electrification, via the railways’ magnificent contribution in two world wars, the checkered history of British Rail, and the buoyant future of the train, Fire and Steam examines the social and economical importance of the railway and how it helped to form the Britain of today.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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448 people want to read
About the author
Christian Wolmar
48 books83 followersChristian Wolmar is a journalist, focusing on the history and politics of railways.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
August 7, 2024
"Expenditure on roads has always been deemed to be investment, while rail spending has been classified as subsidy."
I found Fire & Steam very readable and a great introduction to the history of railways in the UK. The author strikes the right balance between detail and accessibility, and between informed opinion and sanctimoniousness. His sections on failed experiments were really interesting and provided a lot of insight into what could have been.
We're very lucky to have such a prolific writer on public transportation - and one who's still so active. If the HS2 line ever gets finished, I'll be looking forward to his book on that...
I found Fire & Steam very readable and a great introduction to the history of railways in the UK. The author strikes the right balance between detail and accessibility, and between informed opinion and sanctimoniousness. His sections on failed experiments were really interesting and provided a lot of insight into what could have been.
We're very lucky to have such a prolific writer on public transportation - and one who's still so active. If the HS2 line ever gets finished, I'll be looking forward to his book on that...
March 28, 2018
Few inventions did more to change life in Britain than the railways. Since the establishment of the first steam-powered lines in the early 19th century, they demolished locality, lowered the cost of goods, and made cheap travel a reality for millions of Britons. Yet as Christian Wolmar shows, this transformation was hardly a smooth one, shaped first by numerous growing pains and then the vagaries of government policy. This history, and its role in shaping Britain’s railway system today, is the subject of his book, which describes both how the railways changed Britain and how Britons, in turn changed the railways.
Wolmar’s scope is a broad one, ranging back to the early gravity- and horse-drawn routes of the 17th century. Yet it is not until steam engines are introduced that the railways emerge as a prominent mode of transportation. While initially envisioned primarily as a means of moving freight, Wolmar notes that railways soon found transporting passengers to be their most lucrative source of revenue. Soon railways sprang up throughout Britain, and by the start of the twentieth century lines reached nearly every corner of the island. Yet dominance bred complacency, and the railways were slow to respond to the challenge posed by the emergence of road haulage in the early twentieth century. Hobbled by under-investment during the two world wars and handicapped by successive (and sometimes conflicting) government mandates, Britain’s railway network was in decline by the second half of the twentieth century. Yet for all of these problems Wolmar is optimistic about the future of railways, arguing that despite continued dithering over investment in its infrastructure, technological innovation promises to deliver improvements in performance that can ensure the survival of railways for another century.
A journalist and self-styled "transport commentator", Wolmar’s passion for his subject shines through on every page. He writes in a light and readable style that conveys well his extensive knowledge of Britain’s railways without burdening his readers with minutiae. This combination makes his book a superb starting point for anyone seeking to learn more about Britain’s railways and the country’s long, oftentimes troubled, yet always fascinating relationship with them.
Wolmar’s scope is a broad one, ranging back to the early gravity- and horse-drawn routes of the 17th century. Yet it is not until steam engines are introduced that the railways emerge as a prominent mode of transportation. While initially envisioned primarily as a means of moving freight, Wolmar notes that railways soon found transporting passengers to be their most lucrative source of revenue. Soon railways sprang up throughout Britain, and by the start of the twentieth century lines reached nearly every corner of the island. Yet dominance bred complacency, and the railways were slow to respond to the challenge posed by the emergence of road haulage in the early twentieth century. Hobbled by under-investment during the two world wars and handicapped by successive (and sometimes conflicting) government mandates, Britain’s railway network was in decline by the second half of the twentieth century. Yet for all of these problems Wolmar is optimistic about the future of railways, arguing that despite continued dithering over investment in its infrastructure, technological innovation promises to deliver improvements in performance that can ensure the survival of railways for another century.
A journalist and self-styled "transport commentator", Wolmar’s passion for his subject shines through on every page. He writes in a light and readable style that conveys well his extensive knowledge of Britain’s railways without burdening his readers with minutiae. This combination makes his book a superb starting point for anyone seeking to learn more about Britain’s railways and the country’s long, oftentimes troubled, yet always fascinating relationship with them.
May 25, 2014
Christian Wolmar has branched out from journalism with a transport specialisation into producing topical books about the British railway system. His excellent and well received Subterranean Railway about the history of London's underground opened up a new genre. It emerged that there was a steady market for good general histories of things rail. This book was the first in a series of follow-ups that have covered the United States, the role of rail at war and the latest on the trans-Siberian Railway.
Fire and Steam takes a birds eye view of the development of railways in Britain. This is a fascinating history not only for those with a romantic (or obsessive!) history of railways but also for anyone interested in how this vital technology has changed the world. It is a narrative history, so probably doesn't include the level of specialist empirical content desired by those trying to understand this key component of the so-called Industrial Revolution in Britain. That said the story is well told, and it reveals the importance of individuals and politics in driving this innovation forward. Its also an early opportunity to see the growing conflict between the new industrial wealth and the growth of a working class, and the old privileged aristocracy. This is evidenced both in the challenges obtaining permission to run over landed estates, and in the surprisingly slow process of making rail travel affordable for the masses.
The book is only 318 not very dense pages and 125,000 words long and there is certainly a lot more detail that could be told. Wolmar reminds us in the introduction that over 25,000 books have been published on Britain's railways. I think he strikes the right level of detail for most and provides references a-plenty for those who wish to dig deeper.
Fire and Steam takes a birds eye view of the development of railways in Britain. This is a fascinating history not only for those with a romantic (or obsessive!) history of railways but also for anyone interested in how this vital technology has changed the world. It is a narrative history, so probably doesn't include the level of specialist empirical content desired by those trying to understand this key component of the so-called Industrial Revolution in Britain. That said the story is well told, and it reveals the importance of individuals and politics in driving this innovation forward. Its also an early opportunity to see the growing conflict between the new industrial wealth and the growth of a working class, and the old privileged aristocracy. This is evidenced both in the challenges obtaining permission to run over landed estates, and in the surprisingly slow process of making rail travel affordable for the masses.
The book is only 318 not very dense pages and 125,000 words long and there is certainly a lot more detail that could be told. Wolmar reminds us in the introduction that over 25,000 books have been published on Britain's railways. I think he strikes the right level of detail for most and provides references a-plenty for those who wish to dig deeper.
February 15, 2021
Fantastic innovation history of the British railways and a trip down memory lane. Some great stories about railway openings and tragedies, rallying around the railways during the world wars, and explanation for why privatization doesn’t work for railways & actually costs more for taxpayers. We need a railway renaissance. Building roads is seen as an investment and railways are seen as subsidies. And we need to change that! The social good that trains provide far outstrips their costs.
April 14, 2025
Super fascinating tale that really does demonstrate both the ingenuity of the Victorians and the unfortunately narrow-minded views of those who wished to curtail the industry.
Certainly, this great ingenuity is a theme throughout Wolmar's description but which is cautious in understanding that this has its drawbacks. The ability of the rails to innovate so massively in its early years was in part because of its failure to adhere to what we would understand as necessary health and safety standards. It could be argued meaningfully from this book that the current culture of incessant bureaucracy has hampered society's ability to push forward. This is not to say that health and safety and other protocols are not needed - the amount of death and anguish described in this book makes that clear. It is especially sad to read about the number of 'navvies' (railway labourers) who died on these early projects. But I assume that Wolmar would agree that current planning policy in the U.K. is not fit for purpose and needs to reinvigorate that Victorian spirit. Last year I read about how a railway extension from Bristol to Portishead - 3.1 miles - had 79,197 pages just for its planning application. Ludicrous. Safety is important, but so is innovation.
Indeed, this Bristol-Portishead railway is not really a proposed extension, but a re-extension. Something that looms over this entire book are the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, which slashed thousands of miles of railway track from service, including Bristol to Portishead. This is what drew me to this book initially, as a policy that always seems to lurk when reading about the U.K. railway system. I really wanted to understand the true calamity of these cuts, and Wolmar certainly delivered in this regard. To add insult to injury, the idea of the newly-elected Labour government under Harold Wilson continuing the project, even axing lines that Beeching had not suggested (such as Oxford-Cambridge) was so sad to read, but so well explained by Wolmar.
A key aspect that this book also allows you to understand are the ideological rationales behind the railway industry. From the for-profit motivations of Beeching and the competitive nature of the industry under the Big Four, to the public service approach of the nationalisation and the return to competition under Major's privatisation, Wolmar does an excellent job of charting this ideological history, and demonstrating pretty clearly the successes and failures of each. I did also take away some technical aspects of the railway, which although not my intention going into this book, I definitely appreciate and I feel like understanding how the rail works on a fundamental level is key in many ways to understanding its wider societal implications.
My only major criticism is that I wish there was more time spent on the Beeching cuts, perhaps going into more depth about how this proceeded. But I cannot complain as it did provide an excellent overview, which is what the book was presented as.
Certainly, this great ingenuity is a theme throughout Wolmar's description but which is cautious in understanding that this has its drawbacks. The ability of the rails to innovate so massively in its early years was in part because of its failure to adhere to what we would understand as necessary health and safety standards. It could be argued meaningfully from this book that the current culture of incessant bureaucracy has hampered society's ability to push forward. This is not to say that health and safety and other protocols are not needed - the amount of death and anguish described in this book makes that clear. It is especially sad to read about the number of 'navvies' (railway labourers) who died on these early projects. But I assume that Wolmar would agree that current planning policy in the U.K. is not fit for purpose and needs to reinvigorate that Victorian spirit. Last year I read about how a railway extension from Bristol to Portishead - 3.1 miles - had 79,197 pages just for its planning application. Ludicrous. Safety is important, but so is innovation.
Indeed, this Bristol-Portishead railway is not really a proposed extension, but a re-extension. Something that looms over this entire book are the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, which slashed thousands of miles of railway track from service, including Bristol to Portishead. This is what drew me to this book initially, as a policy that always seems to lurk when reading about the U.K. railway system. I really wanted to understand the true calamity of these cuts, and Wolmar certainly delivered in this regard. To add insult to injury, the idea of the newly-elected Labour government under Harold Wilson continuing the project, even axing lines that Beeching had not suggested (such as Oxford-Cambridge) was so sad to read, but so well explained by Wolmar.
A key aspect that this book also allows you to understand are the ideological rationales behind the railway industry. From the for-profit motivations of Beeching and the competitive nature of the industry under the Big Four, to the public service approach of the nationalisation and the return to competition under Major's privatisation, Wolmar does an excellent job of charting this ideological history, and demonstrating pretty clearly the successes and failures of each. I did also take away some technical aspects of the railway, which although not my intention going into this book, I definitely appreciate and I feel like understanding how the rail works on a fundamental level is key in many ways to understanding its wider societal implications.
My only major criticism is that I wish there was more time spent on the Beeching cuts, perhaps going into more depth about how this proceeded. But I cannot complain as it did provide an excellent overview, which is what the book was presented as.
January 30, 2018
I wanted an account of the business, political, and social impact of railways in the UK. I knew the UK had a complex relationship with transport companies and the boom and bust cycle they went through. And of course I've been a customer of the UK railways. I'm not a trainspotter and I really don't care at all about the technical details of engines, tracks, etc as much as the impact they had.
This book delivers on that and it's not so long that you will gouge your eyes out. I haven't read any other books on any specific periods and this was an excellent primer. The business details and the varying degrees of government involvement are fascinating. Given I work in technology it's very useful to think about how the tech investment bubble of its day was dealt with and how the government and industry shaped society and the national transport policy (though they apparently did not really consider themselves to be doing anything of the sort) through the 19th century.
I didn't expect to be so interested in what happened post-WWI, including the "big four", "British Rail", and privatization. But actually those chapters were as interesting and lively as any of the early stuff. Particularly because as it gets closer to the present, Wolmar is more willing to critique. His critiques of British Rail and privatization were not perspectives I'd heard before and were pretty interesting. He's very much against privatization as it was carried out and he makes a strong case for why it was wrong. But he also does not hold British Rail in particularly high regard and overall I wish he were in charge of the transport ministry rather than some MP.
This book delivers on that and it's not so long that you will gouge your eyes out. I haven't read any other books on any specific periods and this was an excellent primer. The business details and the varying degrees of government involvement are fascinating. Given I work in technology it's very useful to think about how the tech investment bubble of its day was dealt with and how the government and industry shaped society and the national transport policy (though they apparently did not really consider themselves to be doing anything of the sort) through the 19th century.
I didn't expect to be so interested in what happened post-WWI, including the "big four", "British Rail", and privatization. But actually those chapters were as interesting and lively as any of the early stuff. Particularly because as it gets closer to the present, Wolmar is more willing to critique. His critiques of British Rail and privatization were not perspectives I'd heard before and were pretty interesting. He's very much against privatization as it was carried out and he makes a strong case for why it was wrong. But he also does not hold British Rail in particularly high regard and overall I wish he were in charge of the transport ministry rather than some MP.
August 3, 2025
A well written and interesting book that should appeal to a broad audience whether you're interested in railways, Victorian and 20th century social history, or the progression of an industry.
The book starts from the precursors and early innovations, through rapid expansion, to maturity and the fight to stay relevant against newer technologies and industries. It excels at providing the broader context and impact of developments and events in a relatively unbiased way with plenty of interesting details and stories along the way.
The chapters stay interesting by focusing on the most pertinent topics of each era rather than trying to cover everything through the ages. Other than sections of chapters 6 & 7, that deal with the frenetic period of railway building by a few hundred companies (that is inherently difficult to weave a common thread from simply due to the intensity of activity), the book largely pulls you along.
Despite ending around 2007 this book is ever more relevant to understand the history and organisational structure of the railways with another major era starting in the form of Great British Railways. Maybe the government and this new organisation could take these lessons onboard and begin a new golden age of the railways.
The book starts from the precursors and early innovations, through rapid expansion, to maturity and the fight to stay relevant against newer technologies and industries. It excels at providing the broader context and impact of developments and events in a relatively unbiased way with plenty of interesting details and stories along the way.
The chapters stay interesting by focusing on the most pertinent topics of each era rather than trying to cover everything through the ages. Other than sections of chapters 6 & 7, that deal with the frenetic period of railway building by a few hundred companies (that is inherently difficult to weave a common thread from simply due to the intensity of activity), the book largely pulls you along.
Despite ending around 2007 this book is ever more relevant to understand the history and organisational structure of the railways with another major era starting in the form of Great British Railways. Maybe the government and this new organisation could take these lessons onboard and begin a new golden age of the railways.
July 22, 2020
Generally interesting history which goes a bit into the weeds towards the last two chapters which deal with the last few decades (which is not to say that it isn't interesting, but it is very complex). In earlier chapters, Wolmar looks at the different railways, aspects and characters of which all are individually noteworthy, but sometimes get lost in the overall density. Chapter sub-headings or even page breaks wouldn't be a bad idea, as the chapters were quite long.
Sometimes a bit jingoistically British for my liking, being Irish any reference to Ireland raises my hackles, but specifically when he uses the colonialist "British Isles" or how he casually conflates Home Rule and civil war and makes no mention of the actual occurrences (p.225) - this is just another tributary to the knowledge gap between the islands.
Personal ideology apart, Wolmar's book remains surprisingly neutral from a political standpoint, not championing or damning the moderate reforms of Gladstone, but neither damning the actions of the Tory party in the 1980s.
So overall, I'm not sorry I read it, but I would like it to have been about 30 pages shorter - streamlined like the 'Mallard'
Sometimes a bit jingoistically British for my liking, being Irish any reference to Ireland raises my hackles, but specifically when he uses the colonialist "British Isles" or how he casually conflates Home Rule and civil war and makes no mention of the actual occurrences (p.225) - this is just another tributary to the knowledge gap between the islands.
Personal ideology apart, Wolmar's book remains surprisingly neutral from a political standpoint, not championing or damning the moderate reforms of Gladstone, but neither damning the actions of the Tory party in the 1980s.
So overall, I'm not sorry I read it, but I would like it to have been about 30 pages shorter - streamlined like the 'Mallard'
January 23, 2022
Reading Industry and Empire (as well as being in Arup) prompted me to find out more about the history of the railways in Britain and their economic and business context; this was very much the right book. Of course, it is already a little out of date. Crossrail is well on the way to realisation and HS2 looks likely to happen. British Rail was a dire carry on in the early days as part of the British Transport Board but then improved and the 80s he reckons were pretty good and the railways improved hugely until political dogma forced privatisation. The level of public subsidy is far greater now, ironically, and Network Rail is driven by caution and a disconnection from the operating companies to spend heavily on the network following Hatfield, which, ironically was the crash of recent times with the lowest loss of life. The culture of the early railways to 1914 was quite strange. The staff we poorly paid and worked ludicrous hours but were fiercely loyal and there were 600,000 of them.
October 27, 2017
A great book on the development of the British railway system and its impact on Britain. Wolmar looks at the drivers of development, the impact on the countryside with towns being made and broken by the choice of rail routes, and the social impact of affordable travel for a significant proportion of the population. He also details the love/hate relationship between governments and railways and the inability of politicians to decide whether the railways were infrastructure (like the roads) or not.
My GGG-grandfather was born in Great Yarmouth and moved to Bethnal Green, but c. 1850 he and his wife were hopping back and forth with one short lived child baptised in Bethnal Green but buried in Great Yarmouth. Definitely a family of the railway age.
My GGG-grandfather was born in Great Yarmouth and moved to Bethnal Green, but c. 1850 he and his wife were hopping back and forth with one short lived child baptised in Bethnal Green but buried in Great Yarmouth. Definitely a family of the railway age.
June 7, 2025
I'm a weird Trainspotter in that I couldn't care less about the trains, but I'm absolutely fascinated by the tracks - the social changes they brought and how they were carved out 200 years ago with basically nothing more than brawn. I could follow the old lines on maps for literally hours.
This book was great because it described lots about the railways changed society, rather than just about the technical details of the engines.
I really liked the observation that the old viaducts and stations were designed to be almost like artworks because the railways were such an imposition onto the landscape (in a way that we can't really imagine, because they were ALWAYS there, even for our great grandparents) so they had to look quite nice!
This book was great because it described lots about the railways changed society, rather than just about the technical details of the engines.
I really liked the observation that the old viaducts and stations were designed to be almost like artworks because the railways were such an imposition onto the landscape (in a way that we can't really imagine, because they were ALWAYS there, even for our great grandparents) so they had to look quite nice!
June 23, 2020
A highly interesting history of the railway in Britain from it's origins on the Manchester and Liverpool line to the present day. I found this book fascinating, especially the chapter s about the early years of the railway. I also found the chapters about the impact of both World Wars on the railway infrastructure.
The book is slightly let down by the final chapter which personally strikes me as one long rant on the failings of the privisation of the railway. In my opinion this could have been more objective than it was. However this is a small criticism, and on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
The book is slightly let down by the final chapter which personally strikes me as one long rant on the failings of the privisation of the railway. In my opinion this could have been more objective than it was. However this is a small criticism, and on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
January 13, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book but then as someone who has always liked the railways (except for the commuting into London on the tube phase) that's not a surprise.
Wolmar does a superb job in telling you lots of things while at the same time making it interesting and fun and even non railway people would learn a lot from it - especially in the political games where you will find Wolmar is very balanced though in favour of nationalisation (however not as executed by the Atlee government).
Recommended for anyone who wants to know more about British railways and why they are as they today.
Wolmar does a superb job in telling you lots of things while at the same time making it interesting and fun and even non railway people would learn a lot from it - especially in the political games where you will find Wolmar is very balanced though in favour of nationalisation (however not as executed by the Atlee government).
Recommended for anyone who wants to know more about British railways and why they are as they today.
January 12, 2025
Interesting book, went into the expansion of the railways in the Victorian era more thoroughly than afterwards, but the final chapters of the groupings, nationalisation and privatisation were good summing ups.
The book also showed how the “Industrial Revolution” took a while to build up a head of steam, sorry.
I felt that it highlighting the effects the Railways had on the country that it missed the opportunity to show the effects it had on the other major heavy industries, particularly steel.
I have read a number of books on the railways, which probably concentrated on the later years, this book filled in some gaps.
The book also showed how the “Industrial Revolution” took a while to build up a head of steam, sorry.
I felt that it highlighting the effects the Railways had on the country that it missed the opportunity to show the effects it had on the other major heavy industries, particularly steel.
I have read a number of books on the railways, which probably concentrated on the later years, this book filled in some gaps.
October 18, 2022
I’m a railway enthusiast, fan, anorak or whatever you want to call it, so perhaps my view on this book is slightly tainted? But, why would you read a book that is clearly about rail history if you’re not already interested in the subject?
So, from that position, yes this is a marvellous book. Going from the earliest days of the colliery lines, Trevithick, Stephenson and forward through the 20th century. It’s thorough, perhaps overly in places, but it rewards perseverance. If you were to read only one book on rail history generally, then make it this.
So, from that position, yes this is a marvellous book. Going from the earliest days of the colliery lines, Trevithick, Stephenson and forward through the 20th century. It’s thorough, perhaps overly in places, but it rewards perseverance. If you were to read only one book on rail history generally, then make it this.
January 26, 2020
Very interesting. A readable account of the growth and demise - and potential regrowth - of the UK rail system. Interestingly, the fact that it was written in 2007 means that that last chapter is already outdated in many respects. One thing that does stand out is how necessary the railways are to the integrated transport needs of this island, and how they’ve been hampered by ego, greed, and political ideology.
April 29, 2020
A brilliant overview of the history of railways in Britain from start to finish (well if the finish is 2006ish) and a entertaining listen. Proved very good for picking up and listening to in bite size chunks.
The author who also narrates does a great job and you can really tell how passionate he is regarding the subject.
Would recommend for anyone interested in UK railways and wanting to learn about the complete history of the network.
The author who also narrates does a great job and you can really tell how passionate he is regarding the subject.
Would recommend for anyone interested in UK railways and wanting to learn about the complete history of the network.
January 13, 2024
This was a very interesting book which, through summarising the history of railways in Britain from the pre-Victorian era to the modern day, explains a lot of things that the average person riding on a train has likely never considered, such as why the lines are laid out as they are and the competitive and economic forces that influenced much of the system's evolution. After reading this, you're likely never to think of trains in quite the same way again.
July 29, 2018
As Rail history books go this isn't bad and there are some things I learnt from this BUT there are better books out there (Simon Bradley - The Railways). Sadly the last chapter was less history but rather a diatribe against rail privitisation. Wolmer is left wing and that shows in his assesment of the last 15 years or so.
September 25, 2025
An excellent, enthusiastically written overview of the railways in Britain, from the first train on the Stockton & Darlington line to the egregious British Rail sell off under the Major administration and beyond. Not as exhaustive as Simon Bradley’s magisterial ‘The Railways: Nation, Network and People’, but an essential addition to any train buff’s bookshelf.
December 20, 2025
I read the 2025 paperback edition not listed on Goodreads.
This was a brilliant account of the railways from their inception to the present day.
Reading the book made me appreciate the many different ways in which the railways have affected society, also the complexity of creating and operating a countrywide railway network.
This was a brilliant account of the railways from their inception to the present day.
Reading the book made me appreciate the many different ways in which the railways have affected society, also the complexity of creating and operating a countrywide railway network.
April 1, 2021
I loved this book. It was a fascinating history of the British railway network and filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge. In particular, the opportunities that were missed over the years can be looked on with sadness.
November 6, 2024
A very readable book that explains in great detail the growth of the railways and its affect on the British landscape, population and industry. The level of detail shows the amount of research the author has done .
February 15, 2020
A brief history of Railways in the United Kingdom. Not quite as insightful as Wolmar's other books but still a good read.
February 27, 2020
Fascinating account of railways in Britain that even someone not interested in the engineering would enjoy from the socio-economic aspects
June 2, 2021
The history behind the construction of railroads in general was riveting, in England the history was informative. Could have been more interestingly written but was mind expanding all in all.
March 26, 2022
Quite dry and full of (sometimes) interesting facts. A book for the fanatic!
May 24, 2024
It's an interesting book, heavy on statistics (almost overload even for me). A detailed description of the railways' profound effect on today's society. Lots of successes and cock-ups along the way.
August 22, 2024
Surprisingly fascinating 👌
September 20, 2025
An appropriate read as the railway celebrates 200 years in 2025.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews