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Railways: Their Life and Times: Facts, Figures and Curiosities about Trains from Steam to High Speed

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Their Life & Times sets out to be an evocation of the world of railways over more than a century — the achievements and the failures, the impressive and the quirky, the big picture and the minutiae.

Steam in the railway age; the evolution of different gauges; the role of railways in two world wars; the battles to retain passenger business; the saga of railways in Russia; dangers on the rails; the enemies and critics of railways – these are among the subjects in this wide-ranging book. Plus profiles of 11 national rail systems, and all interspersed with railroad miscellany and fact panels from station densities to concession fares on Italian trains to the spread of electrification.

The author, Robin Bromby, has been writing and publishing railway books for 40 years and has been a founder of two rail magazines.

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 18, 2018

About the author

Robin Bromby

32 books

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Profile Image for Stefano.
25 reviews32 followers
August 31, 2022
A detailed insight about modern and contemporary railway systems around the world. Fascinating and insightful, it nonetheless keeps a light tone when it can and spends time discuss various quirky and unknown facts about trains.

The version I read contained a few typos, and the prose gets very "statistical" at times, but overall a very enjoyable historic account. Clearly recommended for people who are into train and/or their history.
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