Few modes of travel have the enduring appeal of steam railways. Today preserved lines, locomotives and rolling stock attract not just expert enthusiasts but more casual visitors who are keen to savour the distinctive atmosphere of a lost era in transport history. Yet these relics are but one aspect of the long story of steam, for they cannot reveal the human side of working life on the railways ? the experience of the railwaymen who operated the machinery of the steam age. It is this, the human aspect of railway history that David Wragg has chosen as the subject of this landmark book. He has selected extracts from the personal reminiscences of railway men to create an all-round portrait of the industry in its prime. He records their memories, anecdotes and insights, and he brings the routines of the steam railway vividly back to life. AUTHOR: David Wragg has published several highly praised books on railway history, and he produced a textbook for the old Chartered Institute of Transport. He has also written on railways for the Sunday Telegraph, The Spectator, The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post. His Wartime on the Railways was reviewed by Rail as 'very readable' and by Railways Illustrated 'as a fascinating insight and also important record', and Railways Illustrated chose his Southern Railway Handbook as 'Book of the Month'. SELLING POINTS: ?The great age of steam railways as recorded by the men who worked in it ?First-hand accounts illuminating every aspect of the industry ?Insight into the working lives of generations of railwaymen ?An all-round portrait of a long lost era in railway history 20 illustrations
