Our Iron Roads

Fredericks Williams' iconic book about railroads restored and enlarged for a new generation of railroad enthusiasts.

The classic 1883 book about the history of rail travel, locomotives, and the dawn of the railway industry details the advancement, construction, administration, and excitement of 19th century railroads! Features:
- Enlarged 7"x10" pages
- Digitally restored images
- Author's original page layouts
- Classic type font
- Bold new cover design

F.S. Williams takes readers on a journey down "Our Iron Roads," a detailed and whimsical look at the history and construction of the railroad industry from a late 19th-century perspective. Profusely illustrated with crisp engravings of trains, construction scenes, and scenic railroad panoramas, this beautiful reprinting of William's most renowned work is a must-read for all locomotive enthusiasts.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 - "The coaching days of old, Tramroads, The Peak Forest Line, The Edge Railway, Fish-bellied rails, The Surrey Iron Railway Company, Dr. James Anderson, Wooden Trams and Horses, Mr. Edward Pease, Colliery Engines, Liverpool and Manchester Line Projected, The Rocket, The Sans Pareill, and more."
Chapter 2 - "Change of Public Feeling Towards Railways, Prophesies of Disaster, Progress, Railway Mania, George Hudson, The Railway King, November 30th, 1845, Disastrous Issues, and more."
Chapter 3 - "A New Railway Project, The Course of a Line, Mr. Gooch, The Battle of Saxby Bridge, Experience of Surveyors, The Minting Age, Scenes in Railway Committee Rooms, The Defense and the Attack, Sir Edmund Beckett, A Curious Bill, Cost of Railways, and more."
Chapter 4 - "Commencement of a Railway, Bedford and Bletchley Line, Difficulties in Construction of Railways, Gradients, Theoretical and Practical Considerations, Undulating and Level Lines, The High Peak Railway, The Lickey Incline, The Fell Over Mount Cenis, Illustrations, Retaining Walls, the Road Bed, Ditches and Drains, and more."
Chapter 5 - "Leveling of the Round Down Cliff, Blasting on the Londonderry and Coleraine Railway Embankments, Making an Embankment, and more."
Chapter 6 - "Tunnels, Shape of Tunnels, Shafts, The Horse-Gin, Timbering, Air Shafts, Vicissitudes of Tunnel Making, Drainage of Tunnels, Box Tunnel, Nicknames of Navvies, and more."
Chapter 7 - "Viaducts, Construction of Viaducts, Materials for Construction of Viaducts, Sankey Viaduct, Avon Viaduct, Bridges, Skew Bridges, Bridge at Newcastle, and more."
Chapter 8 - "Broad and Narrow Gauge, Ballast, Burnt Clay, Stone Sleepers, Rails Kept Warm, Steel Rails, Creeping of Rails, and more."
Chapter 9 - "Paddington Terminus, Curiosities of Lost Luggage, Arrival of Train and Departure, Rugby Junction, Maintaining the British Constitution, York Station, Refreshment Rooms, Strange Visitors at Stations, A Station Signal Box, Interlocking Signals, Block Systems, The Lamp Room, Telegraphy, and more."
Chapter 10 - "Station Masters, Booking Clerks, Thomas Edmondson, Ticket-making Machine, and more."
Chapter 11 - "The First Locomotive in the World, Improvements in Engines, American Locomotives, Speed and Momentum of Trains, Metropolitan Railway Locomotives, and more."
Chapter 12 - "The Editorial Department of a Railway, The Official Time Table, Third Class Passengers, Fox Hunters, Foolishness of Travelers, and more."
Chapter 13 - "Working of Trains, Punctuality of Trains, Snowed Up, Railway Accidents, Brake Trials at Newark, Westinghouse Brake, and more."
Chapter 14 - "Financial Aspects of Railways, Enormous Demands of Railways, Shareholders, and more."
Chapter 15 - "Continental Railways, Belgian Railways, Railways in France, American Railways, and more."
Chapter 16 - "Railway Revolutions, Numbers of Passengers, Comfort and Convenience, Residential Areas of London Enlarged by Railways, and more."