Cathedrals of Steam: How London's Great Stations Were Built - And How They Transformed the City PDF Download

Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: Atlantic Books (UK)
ISBN: 9781786499226
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
London hosts a dozen major railway stations, more than any comparable city. King's Cross, St Pancras, Euston, Marylebone, Paddington, Victoria, Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Waterloo, London Bridge, Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street--these great termini are the hub of London's transport system and their complex history, of growth, decline and epic renewal has determined much of the city's character today. Christian Wolmar tells the dramatic and compelling story of how these great cathedrals of steam were built by competing private railway companies between 1836 and 1900, reveals their immediate impact on the capital and explores the evolution of the stations and the city up to the present day.

Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 1848872534
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Since the Victorian era, London's Underground has had played a vital role in the daily life of generations of Londoners. Christian Wolmar celebrates the vision and determination of the 19th-century pioneers who made the world's first, and still the largest, underground passenger railway: one of the most impressive engineering achievements in history. From the early days of steam to electrification, via the Underground's contribution to 20th-century industrial design and its role during two world wars, the story comes right up to the present with its sleek, driverless trains, and the wrangles over the future of the system. This book reveals London's hidden wonder in all its glory, and shows how the railway beneath the streets helped create the city we know today.

Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 1848872615
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Now in paperback, Fire and Steam tells the dramatic story of the people and events that shaped the world's first railway network, one of the most impressive engineering achievements in history. The opening of the pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 marked the beginning of the railways' vital role in changing the face of Britain. Fire and Steam celebrates the vision and determination of the ambitious Victorian pioneers who developed this revolutionary transport system and the navvies who cut through the land to enable a country-wide network to emerge. The rise of the steam train allowed goods and people to circulate around Britain as never before, stimulating the growth of towns and industry, as well many of the facets of modern life, from fish and chips to professional football. From the early days of steam to electrification, via the railways' magnificent contribution in two world wars, the checkered history of British Rail, and the buoyant future of the train, Fire and Steam examines the social and economical importance of the railway and how it helped to form the Britain of today.

Author: Simon Bradley
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 1847653529
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 607

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Book Description
Sunday Times History Book of the Year 2015 Currently filming for BBC programme Full Steam Ahead Britain's railways have been a vital part of national life for nearly 200 years. Transforming lives and landscapes, they have left their mark on everything from timekeeping to tourism. As a self-contained world governed by distinctive rules and traditions, the network also exerts a fascination all its own. From the classical grandeur of Newcastle station to the ceaseless traffic of Clapham Junction, from the mysteries of Brunel's atmospheric railway to the lost routines of the great marshalling yards, Simon Bradley explores the world of Britain's railways, the evolution of the trains, and the changing experiences of passengers and workers. The Victorians' private compartments, railway rugs and footwarmers have made way for air-conditioned carriages with airline-type seating, but the railways remain a giant and diverse anthology of structures from every period, and parts of the system are the oldest in the world. Using fresh research, keen observation and a wealth of cultural references, Bradley weaves from this network a remarkable story of technological achievement, of architecture and engineering, of shifting social classes and gender relations, of safety and crime, of tourism and the changing world of work. The Railways shows us that to travel through Britain by train is to journey through time as well as space.

Author: Oliver Green
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books
ISBN: 0711266611
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
A lavish photographic history of all the key railway stations of London for transport buffs and anyone interested in the rich history of London.

Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 1782397663
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 407

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Book Description
The epic story of the British construction of the railways in India, as told by Britain's bestselling transport historian. 'Christian Wolmar is Britain's foremost railway historian.' The Times 'Our leading writer on the railways' Guardian 'Christian Wolmar is in love with railways... He is their wisest, most detailed historian' Observer India joined the railway age late: the first line was not completed until 1853 but, by 1929, 41,000 miles of track served the country. However, the creation of this vast network was not intended to modernize India for the sake of its people but rather was a means for the colonial power to govern the huge country under its control, serving its British economic and military interests. Despite the dubious intentions behind the construction of the network, the Indian people quickly took to the railways, as the trains allowed them to travel easily for the first time. The Indian Railways network remains one of the largest in the world, serving over 25 million passengers each day. In this expertly told history, Christian Wolmar reveals the full story of India's railways, from its very beginnings to the present day, and examines the chequered role they have played in Indian history and the creation of today's modern state.

Author: Carroll L. V. Meeks
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781258210540
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
Profusely illustrated book chronicles evolution of station architecture in Europe and America, 1830s to 1950s. 231 views -- photographs, illustrations, floor plans and cutaways.

Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1586489720
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 739

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Book Description
The birth of the railway in the early 1830's revolutionized the way the world waged war. From armored engines with swiveling guns, to the practice of track sabotage, to the construction of tracks that crossed frozen Siberian lakes, the "iron road" facilitated conflict on a scale that was previously unimaginable. It not only made armies more mobile, but widened fighting fronts and increased the power and scale of available weaponry; a deadly combination. In Engines of War, Christian Wolmar examines all the engagements in which the railway played a part: the Crimean War; the American Civil War; both world wars; the Korean War; and the Cold War, with its mysterious missile trains; and illustrates how the railway became a deadly weapon exploited by governments across the world.

Author: Mike Sullivan
Publisher: Libri Publishing Limited
ISBN: 9781912969005
Category : Postal service
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Post Office Railway, when it started running in 1927, was the first fully automated driverless railway in the world, a full forty years before the Victoria Line started service in London in 1967. The railway below London became the main means of moving mail, with Mount Pleasant being the hub of the distribution system. Linking with London's main line stations, most of the country's long-distance mail travelled via the Post Office Railway. The fascinating story of how it began, how it was built, and why it closed is told here in an accessible way that tries to cover a highly technical and innovative system in a way that is easy to understand. The railway closed in 2003, but that was not the end of the story. The Postal Museum took over part of the Mount Pleasant sorting office to tell the story of 500 years of postal history and to open Mail Rail again with specially built trains as a visitor attraction and the start of a whole new adventure. If you are a railway enthusiast, postal enthusiast, urban explorer, or just interested in finding out more about one of London's best-kept secrets, this book is a must read for you.

Author: Lucy Inglis
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0670920150
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
In Georgian London: Into the Streets, Lucy Inglis takes readers on a tour of London's most formative age - the age of love, sex, intellect, art, great ambition and fantastic ruin. Travel back to the Georgian years, a time that changed expectations of what life could be. Peek into the gilded drawing rooms of the aristocracy, walk down the quiet avenues of the new middle class, and crouch in the damp doorways of the poor. But watch your wallet - tourists make perfect prey for the thriving community of hawkers, prostitutes and scavengers. Visit the madhouses of Hackney, the workshops of Soho and the mean streets of Cheapside. Have a coffee in the city, check the stock exchange, and pop into St Paul's to see progress on the new dome. This book is about the Georgians who called London their home, from dukes and artists to rent boys and hot air balloonists meeting dog-nappers and life-models along the way. It investigates the legacies they left us in architecture and art, science and society, and shows the making of the capital millions know and love today. 'Read and be amazed by a city you thought you knew' Jonathan Foyle, World Monuments Fund 'Jam-packed with unusual insights and facts. A great read from a talented new historian' Independent 'Pacy, superbly researched. The real sparkle lies in its relentless cavalcade of insightful anecdotes . . . There's much to treasure here' Londonist 'Inglis has a good ear for the outlandish, the farcical, the bizarre and the macabre. A wonderful popular history of Hanoverian London' London Historians In 2009 Lucy Inglis began blogging on the lesser-known aspects of London during the Eighteenth Century - including food, immigration and sex- at GeorgianLondon.com. She lives in London with her husband. Georgian London is her first book.