Railway History Book

[mrcheek]

OK, so heres a challenge for you all.

Surely, somewhere out there, there must be a decent book I can find to read that simply tells the full history of railways in Britain. From the start, right up to something close to the present day.

BUT! To make it more difficult for you, I want a lightweight book I can carry about, not some great big A4 size thing with thousands of photos.

Also, Christian Wolmar's "Fire and Steam" does not count, since he spends way to little time on recent history.

And also,m it must be affordable. Please dont tell me about some book that went out of print 20 years ago and is now £50 on Amazon.

Any suggestions?

 

[Greenback]

NO. I doubt you will find a lightweight and affordable book that tells the full history of the railways from the earliest tramroads right up to the rpesent day!

There are volumes that, for instance, cover the GWR from 1923-1939 that are very detailed and correspondingly heavy!

 

[John Webb]

The most comprehensive summary of railway history in the UK is probably "The Oxford Companion to British Railway History" by Simmons and Biddle, published by Oxford University Press, 1997, ISBN 0 19 211697 5. It covers right up to privatisation in 1994.

It's not, however, a pocket-sized book at nearly 600 pages. Neither is it the cheapest; my copy cost £25 in 1997, although I have seen it occasionally on special offer for somewhat less.

You may find the best bet is to see what your local libraries have; look under 'History of Transport' as well as railways. It's possible Shire Books may have something available as well.

 

[mrcheek]

This is disappointing.

And maybe suggests there is a gap in the market. If Wolmar can write a book, then surely someone else can!

After all, any history book is simply as long as the writer wants it. You could write a history of football in one book, or you could write a book solely on one cup final. So the same must apply to rail.

 

[Greenback]

That depends on how much history you want! You said you wanted a book with the full history, right from the start! This might include events starting with the Surrey Iron Railway (1802 IIRC) and the other early industrial horse drawn lines. There is a huge amount to cover form the Railway Mania period, then you move on to the second half of the 19th Century, the railways work in WWI, the Grouping, the National Strike of 1926, the Godlen Age of logn distance rail travel in the 1930's, WW2, Nationalisation, the Modernisation Plan...I could go on and on!

All of these topics can, and have, been the subject of their own books. I doubt there is any way that any writer can produce a full history of the entire UK railway system (plus railway owned ferries, hotels, buses and lorries?) in a handy sized and reasonably prioced single volume! If it could, it would, by necessity be skimpy on detail and run the risk of accusations of dumbing down!

 

[mrcheek]

Another 150 pages on recent developments, and Wolmar would have cracked it.

Then, cut out all his ranting against privatisation, and you could probably reduce the whole thing by at least 100 pages.....

Easy.

 

[Greenback]

So are you actually reviewing Wolmar's book, and saying how it could have been better? I have no axe to grind either way, I haven't read any of his books!

 

[EM2]

You surely can't get a detailed, lightweight history? It's an oxymoron!
The book I have on the history of the London, Chatham and Dover is longer than 'Fire and Steam', and that's one railway company that didn't even last until the 1923 Grouping!

 

[mrcheek]

You surely can't get a detailed, lightweight history? It's an oxymoron!
The book I have on the history of the London, Chatham and Dover is longer than 'Fire and Steam', and that's one railway company that didn't even last until the 1923 Grouping!

So, basically Woolmar's is the only one.

What if we took one of OS Nock's books and removed all the pictures?

Or maybe there's a junior version out there somewhere. But there MUST be a book someone has written at some point that tries to cover the whole deal!

Or is there one of those "quirky" histories, that concentrates on the amusing and interesting bits, while atill covering the basics, kind of like the middle few chapters of Matthew Engel's "11 MInutes Late"?

 

[At_traction]

Or is there one of those "quirky" histories, that concentrates on the amusing and interesting bits, while atill covering the basics, kind of like the middle few chapters of Matthew Engel's "11 MInutes Late"?

I myself would recommend just that book, in fact. Not least because a lightweight, non-barely-luggable but comprehensive history of the full history of the world's first railway companies and their myriad followers and all related sagas in ownership, expansion, equipment - and being UK, politics - is an all but impossible equation. So, I'd just forget about the numbers on the sides of the engines and tenders as well as gradient signs and go directly to the historically-and-contemporarily-informative-but-entertaining.

"11 Minutes" gives a good section slice of the development of railways and rail travel in the UK as well as one personal take on the issue in the present day.

And it's definitely compact and light.

 

[mrcheek]

I myself would recommend just that book, in fact. Not least because a lightweight, non-barely-luggable but comprehensive history of the full history of the world's first railway companies and their myriad followers and all related sagas in ownership, expansion, equipment - and being UK, politics - is an all but impossible equation. So, I'd just forget about the numbers on the sides of the engines and tenders as well as gradient signs and go directly to the historically-and-contemporarily-informative-but-entertaining.

"11 Minutes" gives a good section slice of the development of railways and rail travel in the UK as well as one personal take on the issue in the present day.

And it's definitely compact and light.

But Ive already read it!
I want something new!

 

[krus_aragon]

How about:

The History of Railways in Britain, Frank Ferneyhough. (1975) Published by Osprey, ISBN 0850450608

288 pages, 7"x9". I find it gives a good overview of the whole state of play up until the mid 70s (the APT is still a going concern), and gave me an introduction to railway history in parts of Britain I've never even been to. It's written in a generally positive mood, and discusses controversy such as Beeching's era in a level-headed way. Chapter headings are as follows:

• A chronology of railways in Britain
• The pioneers
• The railway mania
• Great Victorian railway builders
• The champagne years
• Railways in the 20th century
• State ownership: a new phase
• The last ten years
• Classic locomotives
• Great British railway personalities
• Appendix A: Some railway accidents
• Appendix B: London underground railways
• Appendix C: Railway enthusiasts' and preservation societies

I paid £12 pounds for mine a few years ago: second-hand, with dust jacket. I've seen it priced similarly (and cheaper) in second-hand bookshops since.

 

[mrcheek]

How about:

The History of Railways in Britain, Frank Ferneyhough. (1975) Published by Osprey, ISBN 0850450608

288 pages, 7"x9". I find it gives a good overview of the whole state of play up until the mid 70s (the APT is still a going concern), and gave me an introduction to railway history in parts of Britain I've never even been to. It's written in a generally positive mood, and discusses controversy such as Beeching's era in a level-headed way. Chapter headings are as follows:

• A chronology of railways in Britain
• The pioneers
• The railway mania
• Great Victorian railway builders
• The champagne years
• Railways in the 20th century
• State ownership: a new phase
• The last ten years
• Classic locomotives
• Great British railway personalities
• Appendix A: Some railway accidents
• Appendix B: London underground railways
• Appendix C: Railway enthusiasts' and preservation societies

I paid £12 pounds for mine a few years ago: second-hand, with dust jacket. I've seen it priced similarly (and cheaper) in second-hand bookshops since.

a penny on amazon. may as well give it a try! thanks!