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 & landscapes they have left their mark on everything from timekeeping to tourism As a self-contained world governed by distinctive rules & 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 & the changing experiences of passengers & workers The Victorians' private compartments railway rugs & footwarmers have made way for air-conditioned carriages with airline-type seating but the railways remain a giant & diverse anthology of structures from every period & parts of the system are the oldest in the world Using fresh research keen observation & a wealth of cultural references Bradley weaves from this network a remarkable story of technological achievement of architecture & engineering of shifting social classes & gender relations of safety & crime of tourism & 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