Description

‘A lifetime of railway love distilled into a most beautiful volume’ Lucy Worsley

‘Our railway history could not have been told more palatably or more nourishingly’ David Kynaston

‘The most attractive, comprehensive and easily digestible history of the oldest railway system in the world’ Michael Palin

In 1825 the Stockton & Darlington company strode into history with the opening of the world’s first public steam railway. What the S&DR had pioneered soon picked up speed, transforming lives and landscapes, connecting far-flung corners of the nation and creating its own distinctive environments and working worlds.

This ambitious and lavishly illustrated volume brings the story of Britain’s railways to life, spanning two centuries of achievement and change. Full of colour and incident, it is an exhilarating journey through time and space, revisiting favourite themes and introducing unfamiliar stories and places.

With original and engaging entries on everything from dining saloons to collecting dogs, wartime salvage efforts and the iconic Rail Alphabet, Simon Bradley gives George Bradshaw’s famous 19th century guide a run for its money in this fresh and distinctive chronicle of the making of Britain’s railways.

Publisher Review

Authoritative and beautifully laid out, this is the most attractive, comprehensive and easily digestible history of the oldest railway system in the world — Michael Palin Completely masterful. A lifetime of railway love distilled into a most beautiful volume. This is the book that Bradley was born to write — Lucy Worsley A superb history of what is the oldest railway system in the world. * Independent, October 2024 Books of the Month * An intriguing and innovative approach to railway history, bringing to life many forgotten aspects of how the railways changed the world. From rails to racism, stamps to stations, even the most erudite rail enthusiast will find something new in this comprehensive history — Christian Wolmar * British Rail: A New History * Praise for The Railways: ‘Magisterial … both authoritative and absorbing. A first class journey — Michael Palin Bradley’s loving tribute to the golden age of the railway is a magnificent achievement … A gorgeous Christmas pudding of a book … So colourful, so rich and engaging, that even if you don’t like railways you should love it — Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times * A magnificent, all-encompassing history … Both jaunty and scholarly – a rare combination – and packed with fascinating details right up to the present day — Craig Brown * Daily Mail * Combining authority with intimacy, and technical grasp with humour and humanity, The Railways is by some distance the most ambitious and enriching book I have ever read on this subject … A classic of British social history — David Kynaston