Metro: The Story of the Underground Railway
In Metro, writer and engineer David Bennett gives a comprehensive insight into the rise of underground travel over the past 150 years.
He traces the technological progress - from the risky breakthroughs in tunnelling techniques that made underground travel possible to the innovations that have made it safer and more pleasant, such as the move from coal-burning locomotives to the electrification of the line and the evolution of the first wooden carriages into the air-conditioned aluminium ones of today.
He also explores the architecture of the most dramatic and inspiring stations ever built, including the clean, Bauhaus- influenced lines of Berlin's U-Bahn, the stern grandeur of the Moscow Metro's "socialist" architecture, and the breathtaking exuberance of the Hollywood Red Line in Los Angeles. Metro also takes an in-depth look at the cultural phenomena, such as poster art and graffiti, that have flourished on underground systems around the world.
Thought-provoking, informative, entertaining, and expansively illustrated with 200 photographs, Metro reveals historical facts, heroic achievements, beautiful architectural details, and the secrets of subterranean engineering, and will appeal to historians, designers, architects, rail enthusiasts, and world travellers alike.
Hardback with dust jacket, 22x29cm, 176 pages, black & white and colour photographs
Condition: Good/Very Good
ISBN: 9781840008388
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Updated: 2 January 2025