To appeal to young visitors to the NRM and Shildon, a small book describing various locomotives in the National Collection, from across the centuries, has been published. At a pocket-money price of £3, youngsters can read about how British railway locomotives developed from Rocket to the latest Javelin and Eurostar Classes. This book has sold many thousands and was reprinted in 2019 to bring it right up to date with the latest developments in the ever-evolving story of Britain’s railways.
Stars of the Tracks
This book describes the story of railways in Britain from the early 1800s to the present day in easy to understand non-technical profiles of the locomotives in the Railway Museums at York and Shildon and on the national network. The railway mania of the 1840s through to the intense competition between companies in the late nineteenth century is described. Railways came under intense pressure in the First World War, and then in 1923, the plethora of private railway companies were 'grouped' into four big companies. World War 2 again put great pressure on the railways, and in 1948 they were nationalised. British Railways became British Rail and then in the 1990s they were privatised. Follow this fascinating story from Rocket to Eurostar. By Ian Harrison.
(28 pages. 25cm x 17cm softback.)