The Oxford Companion to British Railway History: From 1603 to the 1990s, Jack Simmons, Gordon Biddle

Directly and indirectly, railways changed Britain and the lives of its people more than any other product of the Industrial Revolution, shaping the country as we know it today.

This encyclopaedia charts that progress, beginning with primitive 17th-century wagonways, passing on through the eras of horse, steam, diesel and electric traction, and charting the change from private and public ownership up to the privatizations of the late 1990s.

Over 600 entries by 88 contributors provide a reference to all aspects of railways, including: construction and development; individual companies; civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering; locomotives, vehicles, traffic; signalling and safety; management and finance; competition, legislation; personalities; relationships with governments, industries, commerce and other countries; social and geographical impact of railways; and associations with literature, the arts, sport and health.