Great British Railways E-Book

Vicki Pipe

• Herausgeber: September Publishing
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Take a journey of discovery and explore the top 50 things to see and do on Great British railways. Find the rarest train routes, learn about the railways' people and animal friends, marvel at iconic stations, whizz over amazing bridges, steam through tremendous tunnels and visit the most spectacular railway sights. You can: - Ride across dramatic viaducts. - Visit Britain's busiest railway hub and its least-used station. - Stop at Britain's highest station. - Meet the railway cats and dogs.This lively, interactive book will inspire children – and adults – to seize the moment and explore the wonderful world of Great Britain's railways. Written by Vicki Pipe with additional fun facts from Geoff Marshall, the dynamic duo behind the YouTube channel's All the Stations and authors of The Railway Adventures.

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First published in 2020 by September Publishing

Copyright © Vicki Pipe 2020

The right of Vicki Pipe to be identified as the author of this work has beenasserted by her in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permissionof the copyright holder

Illustrations by Grace HelmerDesigned by Emily Sear

Printed in Poland on paper from responsibly managed, sustainable sourcesby Hussar Books

ISBN 9781912836284

September Publishingwww.septemberpublishing.org

Vicki Pipewith Geoff Marshall

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CONTENTS

Introduction8

Where It All Began10

Trains14

Rare Services26

Design30

Tickets44

Bridges, Tunnels, and Viaducts50

Numbers (Part One)56

Clocks60

Staff64

Prominent People68

Numbers (Part Two)78

Vicki Explores84

Station Names96

Nature and the Railways100

Seeing the Future114

50 THINGS TO SEE & DO

1 See Britain’s Railway Firsts

2 Ride All the Train Operating Companies

3 Route 1: London Overground

4 Route 2: C2C and Greater Anglia

5 Route 3: Chiltern / Great Western Railway(GWR) / Heathrow Express / TfL Rail

6 Route 4: Merseyrail

7 Route 5: ScotRail

8 Britain's Busiest Railway Hub

9 How Many Train Classes Can You Ride?

10 Take a Rare Service

11 Visit an Award-Winning Station

12 Stop by Britain's Largest Stations

13 Spot the Smallest Stations

14 Find a Platform-Only Station

15 Marvellous Moquettes

16 What’s on Your Ticket?

17 The First Ticket Office

18 Permit to Travel Machines

19 Travel Over an Amazing Bridge

20 Go Through a Tremendous Tunnel

21 Go Over a Brilliant Viaduct

22 Most and Least Used Stations

23 See Incredible Clocks

24 Can You Spot These People?

25 Take a Trailblazing Route

26 Visit Asquith Xavier’s Plaque

27 Can You Cut It?

28 A Navvy Memorial

29 Brunel's Masterpieces

30 Railway Measurements

31 Travel Up and Down the Stations!

32 Platforms

33 Castles by the Railways

34 Take a Train to Humber Bridge

35 The Hardy Tree

36 The Crooked Spire

37 A World Heritage Site

38 Going into Battle

39 Crossing the Border

40 Your Favourite Station

41 Sign Language

42 Tree Spotting

43 Leaves on the Line

44 Getting Close to Nature

45 Incredible Edible

46 Non-Edible Gardens

47 Railway Pets

48 New Trains

49 New Stations

50 Next Stop…

CHECKLIST

INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION

The history of the railways in Britain is very complicated.  

The railways didn’t grow slowly. Lots of very important  

events happened in a very short space of time and each  

one had a significant impact on the other. In fact, one  

of the most difficult questions to answer is, what was  

Britain’s first railway? That all depends on what you mean  

by the word railway.

To begin with a railway was a path created by a set of metal  

tracks (sound familiar so far?) on which carts or waggons  

were pulled, usually by horses. They carried materials from  

quarries or mines quickly and more reliably than humans.  

These railways were usually just called ‘waggonways’ or  

‘tramways’, and they were only used by people working in  

the mines to move things about.

But then in 1798, the Lake Lock Railroad in Stanley near  

Wakefield opened, allowing anyone to transport goods for  

a price. The fact that anybody could use the line made it  

a public, not a private railway. It was the first of its kind in  

Britain and possibly the world – and it changed everything!  

INTRODUCTION

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Once the idea of a public railway for goods was achieved, it  

wasn’t too long before someone realised railways might be  

good for transporting people too. The first few attempts  

at public passenger railways in Britain were a mix of those  

that were pulled by horses, and those experimenting with  

something called a steam engine.

As soon as the steam engine had been perfected there was  

no stopping Britain’s railways. Everyone got excited and  

lines started popping up all over the place. Different railway  

companies were formed and each one was desperate to  

be the first to reach a new town, village, or city. Some  

companies didn’t care if someone else had gotten there  

before them. They simply built a brand-new route and put  

their station in a slightly different place. Windsor Central  

and Windsor & Eton Riverside stations are great examples  

of this.

It’s because the story of the railways is so complicated that  

there is always lots to look out for when you’re travelling  

by train. From unusual stations to wonderful wildlife and  

unbelievable bridges, this book will take you on a journey of  

fifty of the most fascinating things to see and do across the  

railways of England, Scotland, and Wales.

CHAPTER 1

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

CHAPTER 1: WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

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See Britain'sRailway Firsts

Let’s start at the beginning with a handy timeline,and a list of places you can see today.

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Lake Lock Railroad,Stanley near Wakefield

The first public goods railway pulled by horses.Take the two-mile walk from Outwood station inWakefield to find the blue plaque commemoratingthe line, which is located on the corner of LakeLock Road and Aberford Road.

The First Steam Engine,Abercynon Station

The first successful steam engine was built byRichard Trevithick. The engine pulled a wagoncarrying ten tons of iron from the Pen-y-Darrenironworks to the canal at Abercynon, where itdropped off the iron and returned to the works.It was a journey of about nine miles. A plaque andinformation board commemorating the event canbe found at Abercynon station. A replica of theengine is on display at the National WaterfrontMuseum in Swansea.

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CHAPTER 1: WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

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OystermouthRailway, Swansea

The first public passenger railway pulled by horses.You can now cycle the route of the original railwayline by following the signs for the Swansea BikePath, between Swansea and Mumbles.

Stockton & DarlingtonRailway, Durham

The first public steam railway, which carriedcoal, flour, and other goods between Stockton,Darlington, Shildon, and Bishop Auckland. Therailway did also carry passengers, but these trainswere pulled by horses for the first few years withjust one exception. On the day the railway opened,the steam engine famously known as ‘LocomotionNo1’ pulled carriages containing over 500 people.They became the first passengers to officially travelon a steam railway!

Today a journey between Stockton, Darlington,and Shildon will follow some of the railway’soriginal route. Stop at Darlington station to see alarge display with lots more information about thehistory of the line. A little further up the tracks, atNorth Road station, you can also visit the Head ofSteam museum.

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