The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: Red for Danger: The Classic History of British Railway Disasters, L. T. C. Rolt

Red for Danger: The Classic History of British Railway Disasters

L. T. C. Rolt

Railway disasters are almost always the result of human fallibility - a single mistake by an engine-driver, guard or signalman, or some lack of communication between them - and it is in the short distance between the trivial error and its terrible consequence that the drama of the railway accident lies. First published in 1955, and the result of Rolt's careful investigation and study of the verbatim reports and findings by H. M. Inspectorate of Railways, this book was the first work to record the history of railway disasters, and it remains the classic account. It covers every major accident on British railways between 1840 and 1957 which resulted in a change in railway working practice, and reveals the evolution of safety devices and methods which came to make the British railway carriage one of the safest modes of transport in the world. This edition uses the last text produced by Rolt himself in 1966 and includes a new introduction by his friend and fellow railway historian Professor Jack Simmons.

Book Details

  • Publisher: History Press
  • Publish Date: Jun 15th, 2009
  • Pages: 236
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - 0002
  • Dimensions: 9.10in - 6.10in - 0.80in - 0.88lb
  • EAN: 9780752451060
  • Categories: Railroads - HistoryEurope - Great Britain - GeneralSafety & Security - General (See Also House & Home - Safety

About the Author

L T C ROLT was born in Chester on 9 February 1910 and died in 1974. He was an engineer and craftsman, whose passion for Britain's industrial heritage led him to become one of the foremost historians of the 20th century. He was joint founder of the Inland Waterways Association. He also wrote Narrow Boat, Red for Danger and the famous Landscape Trilogy.