Railway Blunders - Softcover

Vaughan, Adrian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 071103169X ISBN 13: 9780711031692

Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing, 2008

Synopsis

In the early years of railway history, many blunders arose from the ignorance of those dealing with new technology. Later, many of the promoters and engineers were tainted by another Victorian trait, that of over-confidence. Pride can lead to a fall and in the case of the first railway bridge over the River Tay, this was literally true. Its acclaimed engineer, Thomas Bouch, was knighted for his efforts, only to see his famous bridge destroyed shortly afterwards, the result, depending on ones point of view, of poor materials, weak design, adverse climatic conditions, or possibly a combination of all three! More recently, construction of the tunnels for the Heathrow Express was delayed by a collapse, when the revolutionary tunnelling methods adopted proved inadequate for the work. In between, there have been countless stories of railway blunders involving structures, rolling stock and other aspects of railway engineering and planning. The well known railway author and commentator Adrian Vaughan, turns his forthright attention to the subject of these blunders in this book. From the earliest days of the railway age, where politics rather than engineering determined much of the country's railway development, through to the 21st century where, arguably, the same is true, he examines various themes. Locomotives, organisation, structures, policies and much else all fall under his acerbic analysis for, as a former professional railwayman, he is ideally placed to put into print the frustrations of those who had to try and make the railways function despite these blunders. Comprehensively illustrated with some 180 photographs, Railway Blunders is a thought-provoking analysis of some 200 years of Britains history. It will appeal to social and economic historians as much as to railway enthusiasts. The book was first published in hardback (ISBN: 0 7110 2836 2) in September 2003. A reprint quickly followed. Having been unavailable for some time, the book is now being released for the first time in paperback at a very competitive price. This title will appeal to a wide range of general bookshop customers, especially in this format and at this price. It is an interesting and informative read and the parallels between some of the blunders of the past and those of the present day, will not be lost on those who read it.

About this title

About the Author

Adrian Vaughan is one of the country's foremost railway historians. He's written over 30 books on various aspects of the railway scene and he has two new volumes out now which he's been talking about on Up All Night. The first is a biography of one of the forgotten men of the Victorian era. He was called Samuel Morton Peto and he was one of the contractors who actually built the railway system. The other book is Adrian's take on the privatisation of the industry in the 1990s which he calls The Greatest Railway Blunder. Born in 1941 Adrian Vaughan spent the first part of his working life as a signalman on the line which was once the Great Western Railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Up All Night's Howard Benson went to talk to him as he worked in the signal box at Sheringham on the North Norfolk Railway. Below you can listen to our three part feature.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 071103169X
• ISBN 13: 9780711031692
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160