Frank Carlson Library

India was the jewel in the crown of the British Empire. There were vast riches to be exploited and vast numbers of people to be subjugated. How better to achieve these aims than by building a rail network that facilitated the export of raw material and made it easier for troops to travel around the country to tackle uprisings? India joined the railway age late: the first line was not completed until 1853 but, by 1929, 41,000 miles of track served...

London hosts a dozen major railway stations, more than any comparable city. King's Cross, St Pancras, Euston, Marylebone, Paddington, Victoria, Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Waterloo, London Bridge, Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street-these great termini are the hub of London's transport system and their complex history, of growth, decline and epic renewal has determined much of the city's character today. Christian Wolmar tells the dramatic and...

In this book, the author, a transportation journalist, celebrates the vision and determination of the ambitious pioneers who developed the railways that would dominate the globe. She reveals the huge impact of the railways as they spread rapidly across the world, linking cities that had hitherto been isolated, stimulating both economic growth and social change on an unprecedented scale. From Panama to the Punjab, she describes the vision and determination...