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Ebook Free Fire & Steam: A New History of the Railways in Britain
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Fire & Steam: A New History of the Railways in Britain
Ebook Free Fire & Steam: A New History of the Railways in Britain
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Product details
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Audible Audiobook
Listening Length: 12 hours and 50 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: ISIS Audio Books
Audible.com Release Date: August 12, 2008
Whispersync for Voice: Ready
Language: English, English
ASIN: B001E6J2Y4
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
Self-admitted trainspotter and railway fan Christian Wolmar wrote the evocative book "Fire & Steam" as both a history and a rehabilitation of the railway system of the United Kingdom. Once the pride of the country and the sign of its technological superiority over any other, the current state of Britain's railways is positively dismal.Wolmar relates the initial technological discoveries and the subsequent building of the enormous railway system in the United Kingdom, truly one of the greatest building projects of the 19th century and still an inspiring "wonder of the world". Thousands of miles of railway track connecting every imaginable city and town created (and were in turn aided by) a boom of economic prosperity, united the country in terms of integrating markets, and fostered the development of stock exchanges and joint stock companies to run them. The train finally caused city gardens and urban agriculture to disappear as milk, butter, and many other basic products could now be shipped from the countryside to the city before spoiling - even leading to the invention of the tradition of fish & chips in every British town. It also allowed the creation of a unified time standard within the UK, as well as internationally, when Greenwhich was declared the earth's meridian.Of course these developments proceeded in the typical 19th century capitalist manner - enormous waste of investment through building competing parallel lines, a similarly huge loss of life through accidents and unsafe practices (most of which affected the railway workers rather than passengers), and large class differentials in transport. Nonetheless, the railway system played an important economic role in for example the crucial coal industry, as well as doing a fantastic job transporting troops in both World Wars. A government rationalization of the railways reduced the many small and inefficient competing companies to four, divided by operating regions, in effect creating local monopolies. That this proved much superior in efficiency soon became obvious, and as railway technology and practices modernized, the Labour government of 1946 decided to nationalize the railways.Unfortunately, this nationalization was undertaken in an ineffective manner - constant political incompetence prevented the creation of a long-term investment plan, leading to haphazard building and destroying. The absurd rules forcing the railways to undercharge for much freight, combined with equally absurd subsidies for oil for cars (which now seems inconceivable) caused the railways to suffer from increasing competition with road freight traffic. Instead of restructuring the railways, the government commission led by a certain Beeching decided to dismantle a large part of the total rail system, paying no heed to the important social role played by rail infrastructure and the effect on local economies. Never mind that nobody would ever come up with a plan to remove roads in rural areas due to lack of intensive use!Poor investment and bad decisions on the government's part subsequently enabled the Thatcherites to undertake an even more disastrous privatization of the British railways. They came up with a plan where the various competing companies would lease rolling stock from a single private train provider, and try to compete on fares and schedules. Of course all this did was create an enormous chaos on the railway tracks, a complete lack of any strategy or organization for future planning, and a consequent high degree of inefficiency in investment. This in turn led to consistent losses on the part of train companies, which of course had to be compensated for by the British taxpayer. The result was that the British government has spent billions of pounds on propping up supposedly private companies, whose directors and managers are nonetheless paid market rate wages, while being forced to practically renationalize the rolling stock provider which had no chance at ever making money.The once so superior British railway now has much less electrification than any other major railway system in Western Europe, is less practical and more expensive, and the total government cost has actually gone way up since privatization. Nonetheless this has not stopped neoliberal-inspired governments in other countries, including the Netherlands, from undertaking precisely the same botched privatization scheme, with equally disastrous results. Despite traditional party support for nationalization, the Labour Party under the Blair leadership has not undertaken any significant action on the railways, except for building the equally faux 'private' Channel tunnel connection.This shameful story of mismanagement and ideology demonstrates how something as traditionally inspiring and important as the British railways can be systematically destroyed if not led by a strong and enterprising government, one that recognizes that trains are far more environmentally beneficial, far more fuel-efficient (if modernized), more egalitarian, and perfectly viable. The only regrettable aspect of the book is that Wolmar does not go into the railway unions and the strikes more in-depth; they are mentioned, but only in passing, and the life of 20th and 21st century railway workers is not really analyzed. But aside from that, this book is a great history of the British railways.
My copy of this fine book contains a few dozen blank pages in the middle (a problem with an errant printing press), but reading on either side of the lacuna prompts at least a four-star review. Covering the earliest beginnings of the railways -- Britain's gift to the world -- Wolmar blends history and anecdote in a fluid, very readable style. Without the railway, urban development may never have happened, and the material wealth which rail networks around the world have generated is inestimable. From goods to troops to families en route to the English seaside, the carrying capacity of the train was a wonder. Christian Wolmar evokes its spirit perfectly.
If you are a Train buff, and British, and especially if your preference in Historical accounts is detail....you will devour this book. A little too much detail for me, but a reliable historical work.
Christian Wolmar provides well researched information on the development of railways in Britain and his book "Fire and Steam" provides an historical journey on what was a major transport medium at the beginning of the industrial revolution
An excellent history and a very good read
I found it very interesting. Detailed to the right level.
In the preface, the author explains that this book attempts to combine a description of the history of the railways and their social impact in one easy-to-read volume. He concedes that this necessarily means omitting some developments that railway enthusiasts might normally expect to find in a conventional railway history book. For example, there is not a lot here about locomotive or other railway developments, though they have been well-documented in plenty of other books. The author wanted to illustrate the social impact that railways had, which has always been about much more than getting from A to B. Overall, I think it fair to say that the author has largely succeeded in his aims, although some aspects of the social impact are missing, just like a lot of the railway developments.Much of the book focuses on the nineteenth century, which saw the birth of the railways and the development of the network. During this period, the politicians tried not to interfere in the running of railways once built, though they still had to sanction the building of each new line. Indeed, during the periods of most rapid development, parliamentary business was often dominated by legislation pertaining to railway construction. With the railways came a host of other problems involving safety of both staff and passengers, staff working conditions and a myriad of other issues. The twentieth century began with the railways in a dominant position, but the situation wasn't as bright even at the time as it is sometimes depicted. The first of two major wars (in which the railways played a vital role) began the long period of government involvement (some would say interference) in running the railways that has continued ever since. Some government involvement was necessary at various times but it certainly hasn't all been beneficial. Beeching's butchery of the network was a gross over-reaction. The privatization of the nineties has also been problematic to say the least, although as one who travelled extensively on the railways in the seventies and eighties, I don't remember British Rail very fondly either. Still, the Channel Tunnel eventually got built, as did the high speed link to St Pancras and the author suggests, probably correctly, that the railways still have an important role to play in Britain's future.The social impact is easy to forget, but Britain was a very different place 200 years ago. The author points to holidays away from home, commuting to work and the development of the football league among many things that couldn't have happened when they did without the railways, though these things would have eventually happened anyway. When it comes to shopping, the author points out that while freight trains were able to allow local shops to stock a wider range of products than before, passenger trains allowed people to head for the nearby town or city to see a wider range of shops, so the effect was two-way. Many other examples of the social impact of railways are given throughout the book, though they are limited to the practical effects. Although Charles Dickens and John Betjeman both get mentions in the main text and there is a bibliography for further reading near the back of the book, the author makes no real attempt to explore the impact of railways on general literature or other cultural influences, but the author couldn't cover everything.All in all, this is a fascinating book. Historians and railway enthusiasts may disagree about what has been included and what omitted and they may also disagree with some of the author's expressed opinions, but there is plenty of interesting reading here, whether you're familiar with the history of railways in Britain or not. The author was clearly firing on all cylinders when he wrote this book, letting off steam when he needed to without ever going off the rails.
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