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Profile Books Bradleys Railway Guide A journey through two centuries of British railway history, 1825-2025.
Profile Books Bradleys Railway Guide A journey through two centuries of British railway history, 1825-2025 ABISBOOK Profile Books.
432 pages, Hardcover
Published October 10, 2024
About the author
Simon Bradley
54 books4 followersSimon Bradley is joint editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 27, 2025
It must be difficult to find a way to tell the history of the railways and make it different, because of the number of books already covering it.
This does it by writing a short chapter for each of the 201 years. This it becomes a sort of compendium of railway titbits, some which will grab your attention, others not. Generally they were interesting and some amusing with quite a bit on social history.
Deals with the creation of British Rail and the difficulties rebuilding the system with little money available and the overworked trains and rolling stock after the war years. The two major mistakes made, retaking stream and building of the marshalling yards to try and capture the freight market again, proved costly mistakes. But it is easy to look back with hindsight Perhaps these made the Beeching cuts inevitable
This does it by writing a short chapter for each of the 201 years. This it becomes a sort of compendium of railway titbits, some which will grab your attention, others not. Generally they were interesting and some amusing with quite a bit on social history.
Deals with the creation of British Rail and the difficulties rebuilding the system with little money available and the overworked trains and rolling stock after the war years. The two major mistakes made, retaking stream and building of the marshalling yards to try and capture the freight market again, proved costly mistakes. But it is easy to look back with hindsight Perhaps these made the Beeching cuts inevitable
January 31, 2025
Although railways in some form were around earlier, the opening of the Stockton & Darlington in 1825 is generally accepted as the start of the railway age. This book marks the 200th anniversary of that event with a bite-sized chapter for every one of those years.
Whilst it records major milestones of railway development it also has some fascinating quirkier titbits – such as the ‘collecting dogs’ that roamed station platforms carrying boxes to accept contributions for railway widows and orphans. It’s a social history too looking at the changes the railways brought to travel patterns, employment – by 1901 around a twentieth of the British workforce was employed by the railways - and more.
As you progress you also can’t help but be struck by the contrasts, in particular that between the speed and enthusiasm of the Victorian railway builders and the delays and cost overruns of more recent and more modest projects.
It’s a very readable book and the short chapters, each with a carefully chosen illustration, make it easy to dip in and out of. Even if you only have a passing interest in railways you’ll find something of interest here.
Whilst it records major milestones of railway development it also has some fascinating quirkier titbits – such as the ‘collecting dogs’ that roamed station platforms carrying boxes to accept contributions for railway widows and orphans. It’s a social history too looking at the changes the railways brought to travel patterns, employment – by 1901 around a twentieth of the British workforce was employed by the railways - and more.
As you progress you also can’t help but be struck by the contrasts, in particular that between the speed and enthusiasm of the Victorian railway builders and the delays and cost overruns of more recent and more modest projects.
It’s a very readable book and the short chapters, each with a carefully chosen illustration, make it easy to dip in and out of. Even if you only have a passing interest in railways you’ll find something of interest here.
April 6, 2025
A comprehensive review of the evolution of one of the great industrial achievements of the UK and how it continues to change and fit into modern Britain.
It identifies both the major successes and the bitter failures throughout the growth of the railways and also reflects on how railways have adapted culturally and architecturally.
It identifies both the major successes and the bitter failures throughout the growth of the railways and also reflects on how railways have adapted culturally and architecturally.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews