The development and heyday of the working steam road locomotive and takes a look at the many derivatives designed to economise industrial and agricultural processes, previously performed with archaic and outdated methods. Using contemporary colour photographs and rarely seen black and white archive images, it looks at the sheer power of the heavy haulage engine and the extraordinary loads and tonnage they were capable of pulling over British roads. This new eBook celebrates the giants of t...

Britains favourite steeplejack and industrial enthusiastic, the late Fred Dibnah, takes us back to the 18th century when the invention of the steam engine gave an enormous impetus to the development of machinery of all types. He reveals how the steam engine provided the first practical means of generating power from heat to augment the old sources of power (from muscle, wind and water) and provided the main source of power for the Industrial Revolution. In Fred Dibnahs Age of Steam Fred sh...

Join engineer, steeplejack and beloved storyteller Fred Dibnah, as he takes you on a personal tour through industrial Britain.Bringing to life landmark events from the eighteenth to the early twentieth century in his typically engaging and anecdotal style, Fred introduces the great inventors from the age of steam, describes the day-to-day operation of railways, mills, forges and factories, and paints a vivid picture of what life was like for the mill-hands, colliers and engineers w...

The nineteenth century was a time of innovation and expansion across the industrial landscape, and nowhere more so than on the railways, as the new age of iron, steel and steam, literally, gathered pace. At the head of the race up was the iconic Great Western Railway. As this mighty corporation grew, it absorbed an astonishing 353 railway companies. Many of them had their own workshops, depots and manufacturing, often assembling locomotives to the designs of other companie...

A fascinating account of how the railways came to Surrey and the impact they had on the people who lived in the countyThe book the great days of the steam railways in the county. It shows how and why the lines were built, giving an account of the people who laid the lines and built the stations.

The Age of Railways was an era of extraordinary change which utterly transformed every aspect of British life – from trade and transportation to health and recreation.Full Steam Ahead reveals how the world we live in today is entirely shaped by the rail network, charting the glorious evolution of rail transportation and how it left its mark on every aspect of life, landscape and culture. Peter Ginn and Ruth Goodman brilliantly bring this revolution to life...

The nineteenth century was an era of scientific advance like no other in history. And no nation gained more from its forward momentum than Britain and her Empire. Railways were built, bridges constructed, rivers tamed and electricity harnessed, to the great benefit of all But progress was only achieved at high cost. Impatience for achievement too often resulted in catastrophe and disaster. In 1879, the Tay Bridge was the longest in the world and a wonder of its age. But on a stormy night i...

The story of the most iconic railway company of the great age of steam.The initials ‘GWR’ conjure an evocative picture of a Brunswick green locomotive hauling tea-and-cream-coloured coaches through a verdant West Country landscape. But the GWR was not just engines and trains.In this comprehensive history, Colin Maggs, one of the country’s foremost railway historians, tells of other, perhaps less well-known aspects of the company’s history. Its construction and expansion; th...

ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL is famous for the engineering wonders he left behind - from the SS Great Britain to the delights of Paddington and Temple Meads stations, but much of what he designed has been lost. From the ships Great Western and Great Eastern to the majestic water towers of Crystal Palace, the Hungerford Bridge and the South Devon atmospheric railway, many of Brunel's achievements have been lost to rebuilding, fire, neglect and scrapping. What survives of some of these structures...

The branch lines of Dorset, shared almost equally between the GWR and LSWR, varied from lightly built, rural railways carrying a low volume of traffic, to the Swanage branch, which at times carried main line express locomotives. Fortunately this line has been preserved and can still be enjoyed today. Many Dorset branches served seaside resorts, while other lines were principally, or solely, for industrial or military use. The county had an unusual number of lines running to quays, two pass...

Steam railways have always captured the public’s imagination. Even from the first stirrings of the mineral lines in the early 1800s through to the heyday of the Railway Age, steam engines kept and continue to keep their fascination. The delight is that around the British Isles is a wide range of working, restored steam railways. Every size and type is represented and it is these railways that primarily feature in this book, providing a real, solid picture of life and transport as it was. T...

What are the wrong kinds of leaves on the track? At which station could you buy your ticket from a booth in a tree? How do smooth wheels grip smooth rails? Why don’t locomotive boilers explode? What is a slip coach? How can a railway wagon be moved without a locomotive? Colin Maggs is one of Britain’s leading railway historians and in 1993 was awarded the MBE for services to railway history. The author of over one hundred books on the subject, he has assembled a truly fascinating collectio...