Bradshaw's Guide

Brunel and Bradshaw were close contemporaries. One became Britain's most celebrated engineer, driving his iron rails across the country, while the other brought the experience of rail travel to the masses through his timetables and guide books. Although the GWR mainline from London to Bristol had opened in 1840, the through journey across southern Wales to Neyland in Pembrokeshire - where Brunel planned to connect with his transatlantic steamships - only become possible after the opening of the Chepstow Bridge over the Wye and the completion of the line just a few years before Brunel's death. 'Bradshaw's Guides were invaluable in their time and they provide the modern-day reader with a fascinating insight into the nineteenth century rail traveller's experience.' Bradshaw's guide gives the reader a unique insight into the new world of the Victorian railways and goes beyond the engineering aspects of the line to record the sights to be seen in the towns and cities encountered along the route. Brunel expert John Christopher presents Bradshaw's original account as a journey from Swindon up to Gloucester and across South Wales. Branch lines to Cheltenham, Ross, Hereford, Neath and Merthyr are included. The text is annotated and accompanied by contemporary images as well as many new colour photographs of the same journey today.

Bradshaw's Guide of 1863 was the staple book to what's what and where's where for the mid-Victorians and it gives the modern reader a unique insight into the world of the nineteenth-century travellers. The railways themselves opened up Scotland properly to tourism for the first time, and many journeys that once took days to complete could now be undertaken in hours, bringing its many attractions within the reaches of the masses. This illustrated guide records the sights to be seen in the towns and cities encountered along the route. 'Bradshaw's Guides were invaluable in their time and they provide the modern-day reader with a fascinating insight into the nineteenth century rail traveller's experience.' Campbell McCutcheon takes us up the eastern side of Bradshaw's Scotland, using contemporary Victorian and Edwardian photographs and postcards to illustrate the scenes that the users of Bradshaw's Guide to Scotland's Railways would have experienced. This volume covers primarily the lines of the North British Railway and the Great North of Scotland Railway.

Bradshaw's Guide of 1863 was the staple book on what's what and where's where for the mid-Victorians and it gives the modern reader a unique insight into the world of the nineteenth-century railway travellers. The guide introduced the notion of seaside holidays to the general public and thanks to the railways it became possible for a town or city dweller to catch a train for a day-trip to the coast and still be home in time for supper. 'Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside, I do like to be beside the sea! I do like to stroll upon the Prom, Prom, Prom! Where the brass bands play: Tiddely-om-pom-pom!' Using Bradshaw's Guide illustrated with contemporary images and seaside postcards, John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon take us on a tour of Britain's Victorian resorts.

The West Coast Main Line – going all the way from London to Glasgow – remains one of the most important railway routes in this country. It was built by a number of separate companies and by 1863, when Bradshaw published his guide, the section from Manchester was operated as far as Carlisle by the London & North Western Railway, and from Carlisle onwards into Scotland by the Caledonian Railway. This guide covers that final section of the WCML, including the important locations encountered along the way. In the 1930s the LMS captured briefly the world record for a steam locomotive on this line. 'Seldom has the gigantic intellect of man been employed upon a work of greater utility.' Punch, in praise of Bradshaw's publications Bradshaw's guide was published in 1863, not that long after most of the railway network had been completed. It gives the reader a unique insight into the world of the Victorian railways and goes beyond the engineering aspects to record the sights to be seen in the towns and cities encountered along the way. Campbell McCutcheon and John Christopher present Bradshaw's original text accompanied by contemporary images to bring the journey to life for the modern reader.