Railways: A History in Drawings

 

The advent of railways in Britain was a fundamental part of its economic and social revolution in the 19th century, with technical advances that were the envy of the world and chronicled from the beginning through meticulous drawings. Detailed plans were created of locomotives, carriages and wagons, as well as of stations, bridges and tunnels, to facilitate the manufacturing process and the maintenance of the rapidly expanding railway network.

Miraculously, about a million of these magnificent drawings have survived and are held in the National Railway Museum in York. Christopher Valkoinen has selected over 130 examples that tell the engineering history of great innovations and triumphs, such as the Forth Bridge, and reveal the work of famous pioneers, including Richard Trevithick, George Stephenson, and Nigel Gresley of Flying Scotsman fame. Other plans range from Queen Victoria’s royal saloon and a travelling post office to a station tea-room at York and modern experiments with a hovertrain. There are also drawings for railways around the world: the USA, Russia, Japan, India, Australia and Egypt, among others, as well as contemporary photographs and posters.

Throughout, Valkoinen provides valuable insights into the social and political impact of the railways. He also reveals how these drawings are more than a reference tool for the historian or modelmaker; they are exquisite works of art, painstakingly produced by highly skilled artists, which can be appreciated in their own right.

With 300 illustrations

'It would be difficult to find a completely original book on the railways that informs and surprises in equal measure, but this is it. . . this richly illustrated book uncovers a new way of looking at the invention that changed the world' - Christian Wolmar

'One of the most extraordinary and original new books about the railways … I cannot commend this book more highly' - Michael Wenn Williams

'Dipping in at random throws up all kinds of interesting snippets of technical and social history and is rewarding enough to make you want to return again and again and to share your new discoveries with your family and friends' - E&T Magazine

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