Tales Of The Iron Road

A fascinating journey through the history of railways From the early steam trains to the high-speed bullet trains of today, The Iron Road tells the hidden stories of railway history- the inspired engineering, blood, sweat and tears that went into the construction of the railways. Uncover the compelling tales of bold vision, invention and error, and social change behind the history of trains and railways, with famous railways such as the Transsiberian fully explored. Learn how the great railway pioneers such as George Stephenson produced the ideas and feats of engineering that created the railways and changed the world. Each exciting moment of railway history is captured, contextualised and enhanced by superb illustrations. Trains and railways of the past like the romantic Orient Express are brought to life through amazing eyewitness accounts, allowing you to see the railways through the eyes of people who were there at the time. Written by Christian Wolmar, an award-winning writer and broadcaster, The Iron Road is an exciting trip through the history of trains for any railway enthusiast.

The award-winning author of "Empire Express" retraces the route of the first transcontinental railroad.

In 1836, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas agreed on one thing: Illinois needed railroads. Over the next fifty years, the state became the nation's railroad hub, with Chicago at its center. Speculators, greed, growth, and regulation followed as the railroad industry consumed unprecedented amounts of capital and labor. A nationwide market resulted, and the Windy City became the site of opportunities and challenges that remain to this day. In this first-of-its-kind history, full of entertaining anecdotes and colorful characters, Simon Cordery describes the explosive growth of Illinois railroads and its impact on America. Cordery shows how railroading in Illinois influenced railroad financing, the creation of a national economy, and government regulation of business. Cordery's masterful chronicle of rail development in Illinois from 1837 to 2010 reveals how the state's expanding railroads became the foundation of the nation's rail network.

Same-Sex Affairs is a path-breaking history of male homosexuality in the Pacific Northwest from 1890 to 1930.

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America was made by the railroads. The opening of the Baltimore & Ohio line -- the first American railroad -- in the 1830s sparked a national revolution in the way that people lived thanks to the speed and convenience of train travel. Promoted by visionaries and built through heroic effort, the American railroad network was bigger in every sense than Europe's, and facilitated everything from long-distance travel to commuting and transporting goods to waging war. It united far-flung parts of the country, boosted economic development, and was the catalyst for America's rise to world-power status. Every American town, great or small, aspired to be connected to a railroad and by the turn of the century, almost every American lived within easy access of a station. By the early 1900s, the United States was covered in a latticework of more than 200,000 miles of railroad track and a series of magisterial termini, all built and controlled by the biggest corporations in the land. The railroads dominated the American landscape for more than a hundred years but by the middle of the twentieth century, the automobile, the truck, and the airplane had eclipsed the railroads and the nation started to forget them. In The Great Railroad Revolution, renowned railroad expert Christian Wolmar tells the extraordinary story of the rise and the fall of the greatest of all American endeavors, and argues that the time has come for America to reclaim and celebrate its often-overlooked rail heritage.