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Rail Facts & Feats Guinness Superlatives Book By John Marshall Dust Jacket 1971
Rail Facts & Feats Guinness Superlatives Book By John Marshall Dust Jacket 1971 THIRD Edition 1979 252 Pages Water damage / staining on the covers.
The construction and operation of railways confronted man with a challenge which resulted in many outstanding achievements. Over the years the facts concerning these achievements have formed the foundations of railway history. The feats have become incidentals of the history. This is a book concerned largely with the facts and feats of railways and, as is appropriate, the material is presented in a direct and factual manner, without emotion, nostalgia or partisanship.
As a railway historian I realise that history is not simply a collection of facts arranged in chronological order. History relates the facts to each other and to society, and their reasons for happening. In the course of his researches the railway historian will come upon numerous facts, and feats of technology which, in their day, were as remarkable as landing on the Moon in 1969. It was the skill and courage of the 19th-century engineers which made possible modern engineering technology.
In this third edition these facts of railway history and the achievements of the engineers are brought together, and because today's events are tomorrow's history, the most recent railway achievements are included. The material, which has been updated throughout is illustrated by about 200 photographs in black and white and 35 in colour. Since railway history is essentially a human story a section of the book is devoted to railways in human affairs and the arts. To give space for new material, the biography section, 'The Pioneers', has been omitted from this edition; all the information can be found in the author's Biographical Dictionary of Railway Engineers (David & Charles, 1978). For historical interest, years of birth and death are given in the index.
Although this is not a book designed to stir the emotions it is realised that, of all man's inventions, the railway perhaps most directly affects his emotions. At any time or season a busy station like Glasgow Central or King's Cross, London, can be a fascinating place; even a long wait on the platforms of Crewe in the small hours, wearying or exasperating, and chilling, as it may be at the time, comes to be looked back upon as an experience one would not have missed. The steam locomotive alone has thrilled people ever since the first decade of the 19th century and has aroused a following which in some instances can only be described as fanatical. One has only to visit a railway preservation centre to find enthusiasts from all walks of life lovingly restoring old engines and developing practical skills which once they never knew they had.
The modern railway began in Britain and North America, almost simultaneously, in 1830 and these countries became the world's biggest producers of locomotives and railway equipment. So it is natural that one finds the greatest interest in railways among English-speaking peoples; in Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the USA one can number railway enthusiasts in thousands. Elsewhere one can find them, but more as individuals or in small groups. Where there is a fairly large following, as in France, Germany or Japan, it is of comparatively recent origin. For a publication like The Railway Magazine to succeed from its start in 1897 there must have been a large number of British enthusiasts at the time. And, going back to the beginning, where could one find two greater railway enthusiasts than George and Robert Stephenson?
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