British Steam Railways

Bath, United Kingdom: Parragon Book Service Ltd. Very Good/Very Good. 2005. Hard Cover. 4to 1405454881 Dust jacket complete, unclipped. Illudtrated boards. Previous owner's details on ffep. 160 pp. clean and tight. Nothing that came out of Britain's Industrial Revolution matches the power and spectacle of the great steam trains. When Britain pioneered railway transport in the nineteenth century there was speculative talk of passengers having the wind sucked from their lungs at an earth-scorching 30mph, but by 1845 twice that speed was achieved. By the late 1920s express steam locomotives could maintain a speed of 100mph, and in 1936 the celebrated Mallard captured the still unbroken record for a steam engine of 126mph. British Steam Railways is a fascinating history of the technology, enterprise and people behind these magnificent machines, from Richard Trevithick's first cumbersome engine in 1804 to Stephenson's 'Rocket' and on to the golden age of steam in the early twentieth century. Even now, on such lines as the Severn Valley, the Ffestiniog Railway and the Bluebell Line, steam railway heritage continues to fascinate young and old alike. Many preservation societies and private lines continue to run beautifully maintained engines and rolling stock as a testament to the pioneering technology of this bygone age. Superbly and lavishly illustrated with over 200 colour and blackand-white photographs, maps and artworks, and including the specification details of landmark engines, British Steam Railways is the essential reference book for today's steam enthusiast. .