Steam Railways Explained: Steam, Oil and Locomotion (England's Living History)

Steam Railways have always captured the public's imagination. From the first stirrings of the mineral lines in the early 1800s through to the heyday of the Railway Age, steam engines kept, and continue to keep, their fascination. The delightful surprise is that around the UK is now a wide range of working, restored steam railways. Every size and type is represented and it is they that are the prominent feature of this book, providing a real, solid picture of life and transport as it was. Stan Yorke is well known for his easy-to-follow style and here he goes beyond the characters and events of railway history to look at why things are the way they are, how the machines work, and the function of the numerous devices we see around a working railway line. Illustrated with over 100 photographs and aided by his son Trevor's superb drawings, the book is divided into four sections looking at the history, the track, signalling and building, the locomotives and rolling stock, and a review of the restored railway scene today including a list of sites to visit.