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Mapping the Railways: The journey of Britain’s railways through Maps from 1819 to the present day
Follow the development, decline and revival of Britain’s railways through a unique collection of old and new maps, commentaries and photographs. The story is traced from early ‘waggonways� through the steam era to today’s diesel and electric railways.
Railways appear in almost every type of topographical map available throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Detailed parliamentary plans were drawn up for many hundreds of proposed railway schemes (plenty of which never got past the drawing board).
Once built, the Ordnance Survey then plotted the lines onto their map sheets and cartographers, such as John Barthomolew Son, Cruchley and Bradshaw, were commissioned to draw vast numbers of railway maps during the boom years.
Maps were produced as an aid to the management of the railways, to promote the railway companies� networks, and to enable passengers to plan their journeys and understand the passing scene as they gazed from the carriage window.
Twenty-four ‘mileposts� describe the history of the railways. Alongside the maps are a series of ‘milepost� features which give a detailed description of key events, eras and personalities in the history of Britain’s railways.
The nineteenth century saw the foundations laid for our modern railway network, with huge building projects constructing thousands of miles of track, bridges, and tunnels.
This expansion slowed in the early twentieth century as competition from the car and the lorry began to bite.
The railways made an enormous contribution to the World Wars, then underwent massive re-equipment after nationalization, before changing drastically following the infamous ‘Beeching Report� of 1963.
The modern era has seen an expansion of the network again, with the building of the Channel Tunnel and the re-opening of a significant number of lines closed under the 'Beeching axe', many as heritage railways.
Railways appear in almost every type of topographical map available throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Detailed parliamentary plans were drawn up for many hundreds of proposed railway schemes (plenty of which never got past the drawing board).
Once built, the Ordnance Survey then plotted the lines onto their map sheets and cartographers, such as John Barthomolew Son, Cruchley and Bradshaw, were commissioned to draw vast numbers of railway maps during the boom years.
Maps were produced as an aid to the management of the railways, to promote the railway companies� networks, and to enable passengers to plan their journeys and understand the passing scene as they gazed from the carriage window.
Twenty-four ‘mileposts� describe the history of the railways. Alongside the maps are a series of ‘milepost� features which give a detailed description of key events, eras and personalities in the history of Britain’s railways.
The nineteenth century saw the foundations laid for our modern railway network, with huge building projects constructing thousands of miles of track, bridges, and tunnels.
This expansion slowed in the early twentieth century as competition from the car and the lorry began to bite.
The railways made an enormous contribution to the World Wars, then underwent massive re-equipment after nationalization, before changing drastically following the infamous ‘Beeching Report� of 1963.
The modern era has seen an expansion of the network again, with the building of the Channel Tunnel and the re-opening of a significant number of lines closed under the 'Beeching axe', many as heritage railways.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 29, 2011
33 people want to read
About the author
Julian Holland
79Ìýbooks1ÌýfollowerAs a young lad I was surrounded by railways. Across the road from where we lived in Gloucester was the ex-Midland Railway line to Bristol and Birmingham, behind us was the branch line down to Gloucester Docks and the Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company’s Works and in the attic was an ‘Oâ€� gauge clockwork railway built by my father. Boy’s books and magazines were awash with railway subjects and the weekly ‘Eagleâ€� comic with its centrefold cutaway, often a railway subject, was always eagerly awaited. Unlike today, railways then were still an important part of everyday life and the long and complicated journey to our holiday destination each year was pure joy.
I distinctly remember the first time I went trainspotting. Having just passed my 11-plus exam I went on to attend secondary school where many of my classmates, aided by a plethora of Ian Allan books and magazines, had already been bitten by the craze. I was determined that the next Saturday I would catch the bus down to Gloucester Central and Eastgate stations to investigate this phenomenon. I have still got my Sterling No. 3 notebook and a pencil from that portentous day in 1957 when I hung around the stations, taking in the smell of smoke, steam and oil � I was hooked! Penzance, Paddington, Newcastle, Wolverhampton Low Level, Birmingham Snow Hill, Manchester and Sheffield were among the distant and seemingly romantic destinations of the trains that I saw on that day. There was no stopping me and over the next ten years I travelled far and wide, usually in the company of likeminded friends, to nearly every far-flung corner of British Railways in search of that elusive locomotive number or to travel on a soon-to-be-closed line. Even the introduction of those dastardly diesels failed to dampen my enthusiasm!
On leaving school I trained as a graphic designer at the infamous Hornsey College of Art in the late 1960s and went on to work as a designer and art director at several well known London publishing companies. In more recent years I have contributed to many bestselling books on railways and have more recently written Amazing & Extraordinary Railway Facts (David & Charles, 2008), Discovering Britain’s Little Trains (AA Publishing, 2008), Great Railways of the World (AA Publishing, 2008), The Lost Joy of Railways (David & Charles, 2009), Discovering Scotland’s Lost Railways (Waverley Books, 2009), More Amazing & Extraordinary Railway Facts (David & Charles, 2010), Discovering Scotland’s Lost Local Lines (Waverley Books, 2010), The Lost Lines of Britain (AA Publishing, 2010), Steaming Across Britain (AA Publishing, 2011), Amazing & Extraordinary Facts: Trains & Railways (David & Charles, 2011), The Times: Mapping the Railways (co-written with David Spaven - Times Books, 2011), Railway Days Out (AA Publishing, 2012), Amazing & Extraordinary Facts: Steam Age (David & Charles, 2012), Britain's Scenic Railways (Times Books, 2012), Dr Beeching: 50 Years On (David & Charles, 2013), An A-Z of Famous Express Trains (David & Charles, 2013), Exploring Britain's Lost Railways (Times Books, 2013), Railway Day Trips (Collins, 2014), Great Railway Journeys of the World (Times Books, 2014), History of Britain's Railways (Times Books, 2015), Lost Railway Walks (Collins, 2016).
I distinctly remember the first time I went trainspotting. Having just passed my 11-plus exam I went on to attend secondary school where many of my classmates, aided by a plethora of Ian Allan books and magazines, had already been bitten by the craze. I was determined that the next Saturday I would catch the bus down to Gloucester Central and Eastgate stations to investigate this phenomenon. I have still got my Sterling No. 3 notebook and a pencil from that portentous day in 1957 when I hung around the stations, taking in the smell of smoke, steam and oil � I was hooked! Penzance, Paddington, Newcastle, Wolverhampton Low Level, Birmingham Snow Hill, Manchester and Sheffield were among the distant and seemingly romantic destinations of the trains that I saw on that day. There was no stopping me and over the next ten years I travelled far and wide, usually in the company of likeminded friends, to nearly every far-flung corner of British Railways in search of that elusive locomotive number or to travel on a soon-to-be-closed line. Even the introduction of those dastardly diesels failed to dampen my enthusiasm!
On leaving school I trained as a graphic designer at the infamous Hornsey College of Art in the late 1960s and went on to work as a designer and art director at several well known London publishing companies. In more recent years I have contributed to many bestselling books on railways and have more recently written Amazing & Extraordinary Railway Facts (David & Charles, 2008), Discovering Britain’s Little Trains (AA Publishing, 2008), Great Railways of the World (AA Publishing, 2008), The Lost Joy of Railways (David & Charles, 2009), Discovering Scotland’s Lost Railways (Waverley Books, 2009), More Amazing & Extraordinary Railway Facts (David & Charles, 2010), Discovering Scotland’s Lost Local Lines (Waverley Books, 2010), The Lost Lines of Britain (AA Publishing, 2010), Steaming Across Britain (AA Publishing, 2011), Amazing & Extraordinary Facts: Trains & Railways (David & Charles, 2011), The Times: Mapping the Railways (co-written with David Spaven - Times Books, 2011), Railway Days Out (AA Publishing, 2012), Amazing & Extraordinary Facts: Steam Age (David & Charles, 2012), Britain's Scenic Railways (Times Books, 2012), Dr Beeching: 50 Years On (David & Charles, 2013), An A-Z of Famous Express Trains (David & Charles, 2013), Exploring Britain's Lost Railways (Times Books, 2013), Railway Day Trips (Collins, 2014), Great Railway Journeys of the World (Times Books, 2014), History of Britain's Railways (Times Books, 2015), Lost Railway Walks (Collins, 2016).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 11, 2015
Love maps? Love railways? Then what are you waiting for?! This is a densely-packed, hugely informative book, with extracts of maps from the very first 'hm, should we build a railway or canal here?' plans, through early OS maps, maps that went with acts of Parliament, track layout maps, rail nationalisation maps, Beeching, rail privatisation maps, and the proposal for HS2. There are also old photos, leaflets and posters.
Not just visually gripping, the text is very readable and puts each map into context. This is a super book, probably my favourite birthday present this year, which provides an excellent history of the railways without all the tedious stuff about locomotives and station styles. Many non-railway buffs assume interest in one means interest in the other, which isn't the case at all - I mean, steam trains and railway architecture are OK, but it's the routes I'm really interested in. That's what this book is all about and it does it brilliantly.
Not just visually gripping, the text is very readable and puts each map into context. This is a super book, probably my favourite birthday present this year, which provides an excellent history of the railways without all the tedious stuff about locomotives and station styles. Many non-railway buffs assume interest in one means interest in the other, which isn't the case at all - I mean, steam trains and railway architecture are OK, but it's the routes I'm really interested in. That's what this book is all about and it does it brilliantly.
May 18, 2022
For a train enthusiast and map lover this was an intriguing and informative read which has allowed me to delve into some areas briefly touched on in the book.
August 29, 2022
Very detailed book about railway maps
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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