{"product_id":"london-and-birmingham-railway-150-years-on-9780715389683","title":"The London and Birmingham Railway: 150 Years On","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe London \u0026amp; Birmingham Railway was the first trunk main line out of the capital. The first stage was opened from the 'station in Euston Square' in 1837 and completed throughout to Birmingham in the following year, linking there with the newly completed Grand Junction Railway to Manchester and on to Liverpool. Robert Stephenson, engineer of the London \u0026amp; Birmingham, had inherited his father George's abilities and farsightedness in railway planning. He created one of the finest rail routes in the country, with its sweeping curves and gentle gradients taking it through the chalk and limestone hills of the South Midlands. It needed great civil engineering works to take it across major river valleys, the Brent, Colne, and Ouse, deep cuttings and long tunnels through the Chilterns and the Northamptonshire uplands. All of these have stood the test of time in the century and a half since they were built, mostly by hand and horse power, and today taking the frequent fast electric trains of this important BR route. Inevitably there have been changes, the rise and decline of local stations, the improvements to line facilities, the trains themselves, and above all the complete rebuilding for modern needs of the great stations at each end. This book surveys the line between Euston and Birmingham 150 years after its opening, in 120 black and white photographs of today's modern electrified system, illustrating not only the new but also what can still be seen from the past. David Gould has used locations not featured before in published railway photo-graphs while others portray familiar locations of the past in the not so familiar scene of today. It forms a valuable collection showing this railway in a new light as it celebrates its 150th anniversary. Accompanying the photographs are introductory text, chronology, and details of changes along the route.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardback with dust jacket, 96 pages, black \u0026amp; white photographs\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: Good, some foxing to EP\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David \u0026 Charles","offers":[{"title":"Secondhand (300)","offer_id":40527752822893,"sku":"9780715389683","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1910\/7111\/products\/9780715389683.jpg?v=1674669124","url":"https:\/\/rail-books.co.uk\/products\/london-and-birmingham-railway-150-years-on-9780715389683","provider":"Rail Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}