The majestic architecture of nineteenth and early twentieth-century railway buildings reflected the pride of the railway companies who commissioned them. The structures themselves, from classically designed stations to mighty viaducts, tunnels and bridges, inspired awe in a traveling public receptive to the splendor of a new kind of transport that was changing their lives. Today, helped along by the popularity of preserved steam railways, these wonderful examples of railway architecture are widely appreciated for their beauty and the role they played in our social and industrial past. In this highly illustrated book, filled with his own photographs and detailed drawings, Trevor Yorke describes the huge range of buildings associated with the golden age of steam, including waiting rooms, booking halls, stations large and small, and hotels. He explains the dynamics of their construction, the materials used and the myriad of styles employed by leading architects and engineers of the day.
Railway buildings have always had a fascinating character all of their own, despite many no longer being in operational railway service. This book tells the story of how these buildings evolved alongside the development of the railway in Great Britain and examines how architects over the years have responded to the operational, social and cultural influences that define their work. Written for those with a keen interest in architecture and the railway, as well as those new to the subject, The Architecture and Legacy of British Railway Buildings provides an unique insight into the production of railway architecture, both in the context of railway management and the significant periods of ownership, and the swings in national mood for railway-based transportation. As well as tracing its history, the authors take time to consider the legacy these buildings have left behind and the impact of heritage on a continually forward-looking industry. Topics covered include: the context of railway architecture today; the history of how it came into existence; the evolution of different railway building types; the unique aspects of railway building design, and finally, the key railway development periods and their architectural influences.
Great Britain not only invented the main-line railway but has also led the way in it's preservation - not just locomotves and carriages but also the buildings and structures that bear witness to the confidence of railway developers, architects and engineers. This book defines the nature of the railway heritage - from signalboxes, viaducts, tunnels and locomotive depots - and then discusses priorities and the best practice for it's conservation. The subject is a strongly topical one due to current concern over privatization, the effects of planned high-speed rail links and lively debates concerning the role of the enthusiast in railway preservation.
'As a distinguished railway historian [Gordon Biddle] has brought his prolific knowledge and incomparable experience to bear in offering us a railway compendium through which we can recognise, understand and value the outstanding legacy of this railway that is ours.'Sir Neil Cossons, Chairman of English HeritageWhen we think of railways we think of romance and adventure, we think of pioneers, inventors, long-distance travel, holidays, and partings. Our fascination with railways goes back to Victorian times, when rail travel, a revolutionary concept at the time, caught the imagination of a generation ofdesigners, architects, and builders. The legacy the Victorians left behind is vast and can still be seen today all over England, Scotland, and Wales, in the buildings that they built; the stations, from the city to the country; the railway hotels; the signal boxes; the engine and goods sheds; the bridges, viaducts, and tunnels; and thecrossing-keeper's cottages.Twenty years ago 400 railway buildings were either listed or scheduled, now this number is over 2,000. Some of these buildings are now no longer used by the rail industry, their individual histories in themselves interesting, but the majority are still part of the working railway, both the greats,from St Pancras to the Forth Bridge, and forgotten gems, from Elstob accommodation bridge in County Durham to Knucklas viaduct in Central Wales. With the speed of modern train travel, how often do we take the time to appreciate their rich architectural heritage? Unique especially in its illustrative detail, Britain's Historic Railway Buildings provides a comprehensive record of this legacy, from London and the South East to Northern Scotland. Eleven highly-illustrated regional chapters take a fascinating architectural journey along Britain's vast railwaynetwork stopping at over 2,300 structures and sites along the way. The pictorial archive that supplements the text, much of which has never before been published, offers the reader the chance to view the whole range of these outstanding landmarks. Each regional chapter also begins with a detailedmap of the area and a short introductory essay. Each entry within the chapters outlines designers, opening and (where applicable) closing dates and current usage, listing of scheduling information, Ordinance Survey grid reference, history, construction, significant highlights, and relativeimportance in railway history, including contributions - beneficial and adverse - to local environments. To complement the eleven regional chapters, the Gazetteer offers a wealth of additional material. At the front of the book there is a detailed survey of the evolution of structures such as stations, warehouses, and signal boxes; methods of building bridges, viaducts, and tunnels; the great railwayhotels; forgotten buildings such as engine sheds; railway towns and housing; building materials and where they came from. The statutory listing and scheduling process is also explained. At the back of the book there is a detailed record of lost buildings of importance and interest and also analphabetical collection of mini-biographical sketches of the more important railway engineers and architects. An illustrated glossary of architectural terms, a select bibliography, and an index of people are also included at the back of the book. 'The events of October 2001 when Railtrack was placed in Administration and the subsequent deluge of media coverage has almost stifled any opportunity for good news about railways in the United Kingdom. Yet good news does exist, particularly in relation to railway heritage, including buildings,bridges and other structures.'Jim Cornell, Executive Director, The Railway Heritage Trust, Annual Report, October 2002.
Discover the architectural gems that are Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations in this Sunday Times top 10 bestseller 'This is a cracker . . . a beautiful book' Chris Evans It is the scene for our hopeful beginnings and our intended ends, and the timeless experiences of coming and going, meeting, greeting and parting. It is an institution with its own rituals and priests, and a long-neglected aspect of Britain's architecture. And yet so little do we look at the railway station. Simon Jenkins has travelled the length and breadth of Great Britain, from Waterloo to Wemyss Bay, Betws-y-Coed to Beverley, to select his hundred best railway stations. Blending his usual insight and authority with his personal reflections and experiences - including his founding the Railway Heritage Trust - the foremost expert on our national heritage deftly reveals the history, geography, design and significance of each of these glories. Beautifully illustrated with colour photographs throughout, this joyous exploration of our social history shows the station's role in the national imagination; champions the engineers, architects and rival companies that made them possible; and tells the story behind the triumphs and follies of these very British creations. These are the marvellous, often undersung places that link our nation, celebrated like never before. 'However spectacular the book's photographs, it's the author's prowess as a phrase-maker that keeps you turning the pages' The Times 'An uplifting exploration of our social history' Guardian
The beautifully restored St Pancras Station is a magisterial example of Britain’s finest Victorian architecture. Like the viaducts at Belah and Crumlin, cathedral-like stations such as Nottingham Victoria and spectacular railway hotels like Glasgow St Enoch's, it stands proud as testament to Britain's architectural heritage. In this stunning book, John Minnis reveals Britain's finest railway architecture. From the most cavernous engine sheds, like Old Oak Common, through the eccentric country halts on the Tollesbury line and the gantries of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, to the soaring viaducts of Belah and Cumlin, Britain’s Lost Railways offers a sweeping celebration of our railway heritage. The selection of images and the removable facsimile memorabilia, including tickets, posters, timetables and maps, allows the reader to step into that past, serving as a testimony to an age of ingenuity and ambition when the pride we invested in our railways was reflected in the grandeur of the architecture we built for them.
An introduction to the architectural development, the social significance and, in the last century, the dramatic fall and rise of the English railway station.
A striking photographic record of how industry cuts and modernization saw Britain's grand terminal stations, soaring viaducts, and cavernous locomotive works wiped from the landscape Filled with fascinating and often rare imagse, this collection documents the remarkably rich architectural heritage of British railways, from quaint country halts to distinguished railway hotels—all of which exists now only in photographs. Who would know that the ugly, low concrete bunker of Birmingham New Street station replaced a handsome glass-roofed train shed, that until the 1960s the stupendously high Belah viaduct swept across a remote Cumbrian valley, that the outlet mall in Swindon selling cheap designer clothing used to be the great GWR locomotive works, or that on little bucolic branch lines in the West Country or Essex an old bus body was the waiting-room? The current restoration of St Pancras Station and its Midland Hotel is a glorious exception to a melancholy rule—that the finer the railway architecture, the more likely it was to be demolished in the name of progress.
