Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS v
3. ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS vii
4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xiii
5. Introduction 1
6. 1 Trade, transport and coal 1767–1815 8
7. 2 ‘Rails best adapted to the road’ 30
8. 3 Canal feeders, quarry railways and construction sites 49
9. 4 ‘Art has supplied the place of horses’ Traction 1767–1815 80
10. 5 War and peace 1814–1834 108
11. 6 ‘Geometrical precision’ 126
12. 7 ‘Most suitable for hilly countries’ 139
13. 8 ‘That truly astonishing machine’ 159
14. 9 Coal carriers 1815–34 192
15. 10 Internal communications 1815–1834 213
16. 11 The first main lines 1824–1834 233
17. 12 Coming of age 263
18. 13 ‘The new avenues of iron road’ 1834–1850 285
19. 14 ‘You can’t hinder the railroad’ 314
20. A NOTE ON SOURCES AND TERMINOLOGY 322
21. NOTES 326
22. BIBLIOGRAPHY 364
23. Index 388