The Railways
The Railways

Author: Simon Bradley

Publisher: Profile Books

Published: 2015-09-24

Total Pages: 607

ISBN-13: 1847653529

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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.

Train Time
Train Time

Author: John R. Stilgoe

Publisher: University of Virginia Press

Published: 2009-02-05

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 0813930502

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Unlike many United States industries, railroads are intrinsically linked to American soil and particular regions. Yet few Americans pay attention to rail lines, even though millions of them live in an economy and culture "waiting for the train." In Train Time: Railroads and the Imminent Reshaping of the United States Landscape, John R. Stilgoe picks up where his acclaimed work Metropolitan Corridor left off, carrying his ideas about the spatial consequences of railways up to the present moment. Arguing that the train is returning, "an economic and cultural tsunami about to transform the United States," Stilgoe posits a future for railways as powerful shapers of American life. Divided into sections that focus on particular aspects of the impending impact of railroads on the landscape, Train Time moves seamlessly between historical and contemporary analysis. From his reading of what prompted investors to reorient their thinking about the railroad industry in the late 1970s, to his exploration of creative solutions to transportation problems and land use planning and development in the present, Stilgoe expands our perspective of an industry normally associated with bad news. Urging us that "the magic moment is now," he observes, "Now a train is often only a whistle heard far off on a sleepless night. But romantic or foreboding or empowering, the whistle announces return and change to those who listen." For scholars with an interest in American history in general and railroad and transit history in particular, as well as general readers concerned about the future of transportation in the United States, Train Time is an engaging look at the future of our railroads.

Train Dreams
Train Dreams

Author: Denis Johnson

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2011-08-30

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 1429995203

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A New York Times Notable Book for 2011 One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the Year One of NPR's 10 Best Novels of 2011 From the National Book Award-winning author Denis Johnson (Tree of Smoke) comes Train Dreams, an epic in miniature, and one of Johnson's most evocative works of fiction. Suffused with the history and landscapes of the American West—its otherworldly flora and fauna, its rugged loggers and bridge builders—this extraordinary novella poignantly captures the disappearance of a distinctly American way of life. It tells the story of Robert Grainer, a day laborer in the American West at the start of the twentieth century—an ordinary man in extraordinary times. Buffeted by the loss of his family, Grainer struggles to make sense of this strange new world. As his story unfolds, we witness both his shocking personal defeats and the radical changes that transform America in his lifetime.

The Last Train Robber
The Last Train Robber

Author: W.C. Jameson

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2020-03-24

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1493046098

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One of the most colorful parts of American History is the time of train robberies and the daring outlaws who undertook them in the period covering from just after the Civil War to 1924. For decades, the railroads were the principal transporters of payrolls, gold and silver, bonds, and passengers who often carried large sums of money as well as valuable jewelry. For the creative outlaw, trains became an obvious target for robbery. Willis Newton has never enjoyed the recognition and fame of the better known train robbing outlaws such as Frank and Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, the Daltons, and the Doolins, but he was the most prolific and successful train robber in the history of North America. Newton stole more money from the railroads than all of the others put together. During his lifetime, Newton robbed six trains and an estimated eighty banks, pulled off the greatest train robbery ever, netting $3,000,000, yet remains virtually unknown. So unknown was he that, despite all of his success as a robber, he was rarely identified as a suspect. Following his greatest heist, Newton and his gang member, composed of his brothers, were arrested, tried, convicted, and sent to serve long terms at Leavenworth Prison. When they were granted early release for good behavior, they lost no time in returning to robbing banks. Willis Newton’s life and times as America’s greatest, and last, train robber has been gleaned and developed from extensive interviews he granted during the 1970s when he was in his eighties. In addition, newspaper reports of his numerous train and bank robberies have been obtained and researched for precise details of robberies and pursuit.

The Times History of Britain's Railways
The Times History of Britain's Railways

Author: Julian Holland

Publisher: Times Books

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780008135348

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Follow the development, decline and later revival of Britain s iconic railways with bestselling railway author Julian Holland. Discover the fascinating history of our remarkable railway heritage through expert commentary, stunning photographs and archive material from a lifetime of railway research."

Train
Train

Author: Tom Zoellner

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2014-01-30

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 0698151399

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An epic and revelatory narrative of the most important transportation technology of the modern world In his wide-ranging and entertaining new book, Tom Zoellner—coauthor of the New York Times–bestselling An Ordinary Man—travels the globe to tell the story of the sociological and economic impact of the railway technology that transformed the world—and could very well change it again. From the frigid trans-Siberian railroad to the antiquated Indian Railways to the Japanese-style bullet trains, Zoellner offers a stirring story of this most indispensable form of travel. A masterful narrative history, Train also explores the sleek elegance of railroads and their hypnotizing rhythms, and explains how locomotives became living symbols of sex, death, power, and romance.

Railways: Their Life and Times
Railways: Their Life and Times

Author: Robin Bromby

Publisher:

Published: 2017-10-06

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 9780992595661

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A rail miscellany that evokes memories of the railway age. Complete with country profiles, this book recalls the many facets of railroading, from railways at war to steam engine technologies to challenges and triumphs is rail history.

New Zealand Railways
New Zealand Railways

Author: Robin Bromby

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 9780992595609

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New Zealand railway builders surmounted many obstacles: the terrain, a sparse and scattered population, two islands separated by an often stormy stretch of water, demands from every small settlement for their own railway line. But build a railway system - and a comprehensive one at that - New Zealand did. This is the story of that railway, from its heyday to the day of reckoning as losses had to be confronted. By 1953 the pattern was clear. The era of railways as the mainstay of land transport throughout New Zealand was ending. One by one, most of the rural branches would disappear over the next forty years; passenger train travel - other than commuter services in Auckland and Wellington - would almost disappear to a stage where there are just a handful of tourist services on the most scenic lines; all but the largest towns would lose their railway station. But, until then, the railways of New Zealand were part of almost everyone's life: you caught the train to visit friends and relatives in other parts of New Zealand, you depended on the trains to carry the bulk of the freight that moved to and from the ports. This is their story. Profusely illustrated with photographs and maps.