Early Railways - J. B. Snell

The railway was the first transport system capable of sustaining a modern urban civilization. The invention of the steam locomotive in the early nineteenth century, followed by the rapid expansion of railway networks to cover large areas of the globe, form an essential and fascinating part of the history of modern man.

In this book J. B. Snell has traced the story from its earliest beginnings until World War I. He describes the technical development of steampower and the permanent way that made possible the construction of fast lines through even the most difficult and mountainous country in many parts of the world. He writes of engine-design, signalling systems, tunnelling, railway economics and politics, conditions of early rail-travel, and the great engineers of several countries from whose energy and inventiveness we still benefit.