Railways of Britain, The

The railway era began in Britain when steam was king. In the age of petrol and diesel, these once confident, rumbustious railways fell into decline, yet as their fortunes waned, the fascination for trains and all their works grew — and has if anything become more intense as congested roads and high-speed trains have sparked a revival in railway travel. In The Railways of Britain, Jack Simmons sympathetically tells the history of the railways and describes every major aspect of their equipment and operations: permanent way, buildings, locomotives, rolling stock, signalling and labour relations. He also makes journeys through the Pennines, Scotland, Essex and Southern England on which he acts as observer and guide. This third edition of one of the outstanding works of British railway literature has been substantially rewritten, revised and brought up to date. For the first time it has been fully illustrated in colour and black and white with more than 200 photographs, maps and engravings, many of them previously unpublished. Jack Simmons, late doyen of British railways historians, was Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Leicester. The Railways of Britain was first published in 1961 and is his best-known work. His other books include St Pancras Station, The Railway in England and Wales, 1830-1914, Transport Museums in Britain and Western Europe and The Railway in Town and Country as well as two volumes in the 11-volume Visual History of Modern Britain, of which he was General Editor.