With his usual insight and authority, he describes the history, geography, design and significance of each of these glories; explores their role in the national imagination; champions the engineers, architects and rival companies that made them possible; and tells the story behind the development, triumphs and follies of these very British creations.From Waterloo to Whitby, St Pancras to Stirling, these are the marvellous, often undersung places that link our nation. All aboard!

    He is their wisest, most detailed historian' Observer India joined the railway age late: the first line was not completed until 1853 but, by 1929, 41,000 miles of track served the country. However, the creation of this vast network was not intended to modernize India for the sake of its people but rather was a means for the colonial power to govern the huge country under its control, serving its British economic and military interests. Despite the dubious intentions behind the construction of the network, the Indian people quickly took to the railways, as the trains allowed them to travel easily for the first time. The Indian Railways network remains one of the largest in the world, serving over 25 million passengers each day.In this expertly told history, Christian Wolmar reveals the full story of India's railways, from its very beginnings to the present day, and examines the chequered role they have played in Indian history and the creation of today's modern state.

    Fifty examples were built, and were initially used to haul express passenger trains on the, then non-electrified, section of the West Coast Main Line between Crewe and Scotland. They were originally hired from English Electric Leasing, and were eventually purchased outright by BR around 1973.Class 50s were nicknamed "Hoovers" by rail enthusiasts because of the distinctive sound made by the air-filters originally fitted (these proved unreliable, and were removed during mid-life refurbishment, but the "Hoover" nickname stuck). Once the electrification of the line from Crewe to Glasgow was completed, the locomotives were moved to services in the south west of England, primarily on the mainline from London to Exeter, and were eventually retired from service in 1994 after being progressively replaced by the InterCity 125 High-Speed Trains (HSTs).