One of the great triumphs of the 19th century was the building of the railways. They established Britain as the centre of the commercial world. The work involved was stupendous
- routes had to be surveyed, land purchased, rivers crossed, hills burrowed through or sliced in two by cuttings of great length, perhaps with roads passing overhead. This book concentrates on the people responsible for designing & actually building the railways, from the financiers, engineers & contractors to the gangers & navvies. They deserve far more attention than they have so far received. How was the money raised? How were the necessary acts driven through Parliament? How did surveyors cope with landowners up in arms? How were the armies of navvies kept off the drink & out of fights? How were tunnels excavated, especially when they ran under major rivers? What was involved in draining swamps like Chat Moss? Who made the billions of bricks, the hundreds of thousands of wooden tunnel supports, or the tens of thousands of miles of rail? & how did they do it? Against a background of enormous activity, fortunes were made & lost & men died in considerable numbers. Anthony Burton's narrative brings the scene to life.
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” The Railway Children” is the classic children`s story by E. Nesbit. When Father is taken away unexpectedly, Roberta, Peter, Phyllis & their mother have to leave their comfortable life in London to go & live in a small cottage in the country. The children seek solace in the nearby railway station, & make friends with Perks the Porter & the Station Master himself. Each day, Roberta, Peter & Phyllis run down the field to the railway track & wave at the passing London train, sending their love to Father. Little do they know that the kindly old gentleman passenger who waves back holds the key to their father`s disappearance. One of the best-loved classics of all time, with a wonderful introduction by Jacqueline Wilson. Edith Nesbit was a mischievous child who grew up into an unconventional adult. With her husb&, Hubert Bl&, she was one of the founder members of the socialist Fabian Society; their household became a centre of the socialist & literary circles of the times. E. Nesbit turned late to children`s writing. Her first children`s book, ” The Treasure Seekers”, was published in 1899 to great acclaim. Other books featuring the Bastable children followed, & a series of magical fantasy books, including ” Five Children & It” also became very popular. ” The Railway Children” was first published monthly in the London Magazine in 1905, & published as a book in 1906, which has been in print ever since. Other children`s books by E Nesbit: ” The Story of the Treasure Seekers”; ” The Wouldbegoods”; ” The New Treasure Seekers”; ” Complete History of the Bastable Family”; ” Five Children & It”; ” The Phoenix & the Carpet”; ” The Story of the Amulet”; ” The House of Arden”; ” Harding`s Luck”; ” The Railway Children”; ” The Enchanted Castle”; ” The Magic City”; ” The Wonderful Garden”; ” Wet Magic”; ” Five of Us & Madeline”. ...

The American Civil War was a turning point in the history of warfare, as Napoleonic tactics met deadly new technology. Cannons & rifles had become more accurate at longer ranges, rapid-fire pistols gave cavalry a new weapon, & the telegraph & railroad completely altered both strategic & tactical thinking. Across a Deadly Field, the new regimental-level wargame from Osprey Publishing, allows players to recreate this tumultuous period of warfare on the tabletop. Its versatile rules make it possible to refight any battle, from the early skirmishes of Ball`s Bluff & Big Bethel to the gr&, set-piece battles such as Gettysburg that decided the war. Written by John Hill, designer of the Johnny Reb series, Across a Deadly Field offers both new & experienced wargamers a fast-paced & dynamic game where even a single regiment can make the difference between victory & defeat. ...

A naive young man, a railway enthusiast & radio buff, was caught up in the fall of the British Empire at Singapore in 1942. He was put to work on the ` Railway of Death`
- the Japanese line from Thailand to Burma. Exhaustively & brutally tortured by the Japanese for making a crude radio, Lomax was emotionally ruined by his experiences. Almost 50 years after the war, however, his life was changed by the discovery that his interrogator, the Japanese interpreter, was still alive
- their reconciliation is the culmination of this extraordinary story.

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During the Second World War Eric Lomax was forced to work on the notorious Burma-Siam Railway & was tortured by the Japanese for making a crude radio. Left emotionally scarred & unable to form normal relationships, Lomax suffered for years until, with the help of his wife, Patti Lomax, & of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, he came terms with what happened. Fifty years after the terrible events, he was able to meet one of his tormentors. The Railway Man is a story of innocence betrayed, & of survival & courage in the face of horror. ...

The Railway Traveller's Handy Book, a facsimile of a guide published in 1862, offers advice about the best travelling costume, dangers involved in sitting on top of the carriages, how to approach conversation with fellow passengers, etc, &, crucially, how a gentleman might trick his wife into punctuality. A century-&-a-half may have passed but this last piece of advice might still come useful (and yes, I can write this without being sexist ...

This fascinating pocket book draws on numerous primary sources from the early days of the rail network through to the Big Four, British Railways & beyond to present a unique guide to the knowledge & skills required for locomotive drivers, engineers & firemen. Beginning with an introduction to steam from about 1890, the book outlines the rules of the rail network, locomotive management from driving to servicing, a guide to signalling & operations, & rules of the running shed along with a wealth of practical advice & conditions of service for the men on the footplate. The Railwayman`s Pocket Book offers a unique insight into the age of steam that will appeal to all railway enthusiasts. ...

In a small town on the land`s edge, in the strange space at a war`s end, a widow, a poet & a doctor each try to find their own peace, & their own new story. On the south coast of New South Wales, in 1948, people chase their dreams through the books in the railway`s library. Anikka Lachlan searches for solace after her life is destroyed by a single random act. Roy Mc Kinnon, who found poetry in the mess of war, has lost his words & his hope. Frank Draper is trapped by the guilt of those his treatment & care failed on their first day of freedom. All three struggle with the same question: how now to be alive. Written in clear, shining prose & with an eloquent understanding of the human heart, The Railwayman`s Wife explores the power of beginnings & endings, & how hard it can be sometimes to tell them apart. It`s a story of life, loss & what comes after; of connection & separation, longing & acceptance. Most of all, it celebrates love in all its forms, & the beauty of discovering that loving someone can be as extraordinary as being loved yourself. ...

At its peak in the 1920s Ireland had some 3, 500 route miles of track, today it has less than half that amount. By the beginning of the twentieth century the list of companies included the Belfast & County Down Railway, the Cork, Bandon & South Coast Railway, the County Donegal Railway Joint Committee, the Dublin & South Eastern Railway, the Great Northern Railway of Irel&, the Great Southern & Western Railway, the Midland Great Western Railway, the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway & the Northern Counties Committee. Then, in 1925, the various companies within the Irish Free State were merged to form the Great Southern Railways. Clarence Winchester`s account, originally published in the 1930s, is combined with the best archive images in this portrait of Ireland`s railways in former times. ...

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. ...