There is a great railroad story in the non-railfan magazine, BBC History. While the scope of the mag IS British. It is in the Vol 11, No 1 issue that I just got in the mail in Illinois recently. The title is called “The birth of the railways.” It outlines eight places in Britain “associated with the dawn of rail travel.” The eight places: 1. Darlington Railway Museum, County Durham. Where the first passenger locomotives ran 2. Rainhill Station, near St. Helens, Mersyside. Where the Rocket shot to fame. 3. Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester. Where the railway age began. 4. Huskisson Memorial, Liverpool Cathedral. Where the first railway fatality is commemorated. 5. Stephenson statue, National Railway Museum, York. Where the ‘father of railways’ is remembered. 6. Box Tunnel, Wiltshire. Where in Great Western penetrated rock. 7. Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash, Cornwall. Where Brunel opened up the west. 8. St. Pancras Station, London. Where rampant competition produced a landmark. The magazine is probably available at major libraries and larger newstand
Thanks for the info ! [tup]
Here’s a link to the ‘on-line’ version of the article, which has more descriptions of each location. (It appeared in the January 2010 edition - the current edition is February 2010.)
Where History Happened: The Birth of the Railways
http://www.bbchistorymagazine.com/feature/where-history-happened-birth-railways
- Paul North.