200 Years of Locomotive Development - An Illustrated History

Since Richard Trevithick’s first forays into the development of the steam locomotive, Britain’s engineers have been at the forefront of railway technology. From the earliest simple steam locomotives to the latest diesel and electric engines, Britain had led the way in railway locomotion, although competition from European, Japanese and American manufacturers sometimes exceeded what British engineers had achieved. In this new book, industrial and railway historian Dr Richard Marks provides fresh insights into Britain’s role in railway locomotive design and technology and examines the highlights of British developments from Trevithick’s Coalbrookdale locomotive to the Brush Class 60 diesel locomotive. Based upon new research this useful primer aims to start the reader on a journey of discovery, unravelling some of the myths which have arisen around Britain’s railway history and explaining in an easy to follow narrative why some potentially advantageous developments failed to live up to expectations.