Author Description

Fascinating study of the architecture of British railways, including not only the stations but also the bridges, engine sheds, viaducts, company towns and hotels. Railways were the most extensive new patrons of architecture in the nineteenth century. Many of their buildings were of a totally new kind and others posed novel problems of construction. Style and technique united as railways sought to combine the prestige and elegance of this new form of travel with crucial and imaginative innovations in engineering. This book collects studies from leading experts in various fields (members of SAVE Britain's Heritage) who address the new styles created in the 19th century, the spoiliation of some of Britain's most beautiful buildings and the efforts to repurpose rather than destroy them. Illustrated with over 200 black and white photos. 256 pages.