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Building Railways Scotland's Past in Action By James Wood Soft Cover
Building Railways Scotlands Past in Action By James Wood Soft Cover 1996 80 Pages
INTRODUCTION
This is a book about the creation of Scotland's railways and their operation, with the emphasis on the people involved. It is concerned mainly with nineteenth- and early twentieth-century developments but also deals briefly with how, in more recent times, they have been adapted to meet changing transport needs. In the physical sense, the creation of the railway system was the work of navvies, masons and others who actually built them but, in addition, many people were concerned with promotion, finance, design and supervision of the construction. Once built they had to be maintained and operated. Furthermore, because of the very nature of a railway system and its impact on the country, both economic and environmental, governments of all political colours became involved in the regulation of construction and operation, and this required a staff of civil servants.
When looking at colourful steam locomotives and carriages in museums or as models or even simply in old photographs it is very easy to believe that the railways existed mainly to allow these beautiful old trains to be displayed! Of course this was never the case even though railways in general, and steam railways in particular, have a very special place in the affections of many people. Railways were built because it was believed that they would meet a need for the transport of goods and people, and that in so doing they would be profitable. Sometimes they were profitable, occasionally very profitable, but many were bitter disappointments to their hopeful promoters and shareholders.
While the main concern is with Scottish railways, these cannot be totally separated from the British system. Scottish companies had substantial track mileage in the north of England, although the converse was not the case. There was significant involvement of English promoters and financiers and although Scotland has a separate legal system, generally speaking, legislation relating to the railways applied throughout the United Kingdom.
Although the railway system is not as extensive as it once was there is still a lot to see. Much of the nineteenth-century infrastructure remains in everyday use, a testament to the skills of those who built it, and there are also important surviving features on routes which have been disused for many years. Many items of historical interest can be seen in museums and original documents can be studied in record offices and libraries "the story of the creation of Scotland's railways is a fascinating one. For readers seeking more detailed information there is a brief bibliography and some suggestions for things worth looking at.
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