The Railway Haters: Opposition To Railways, From the 19th to 21st Centuries
This unique social history examines 200 years of controversy surrounding British Railways—from the dawn of industrialization to contemporary light rail.
 
During the Industrial Revolution, the power of landowning aristocrats was challenged by the emergent wealth and influence of the urban middle class. There was no greater symbol of this seismic shift in society than the British Railways Companies. Railways, with their powers of compulsory purchase, intruded brutally into the previously sacrosanct estates and pleasure grounds of Britain's traditional ruling elite.
 
Aesthetes like Ruskin and poets like Wordsworth ranted against railways; Sabbatarians attacked them for providing employment on the Lord's Day; antiquarians accused them of vandalism by destroying ancient buildings; others claimed their noise would make cows abort and chickens cease laying. And while the complaints have certainly changed, railways have continued to provoke debate ever since.
 
Arguments have raged over railway nationalization and privatization, about the Beeching Plan to increase efficiency, and around urban light rail systems. Examining railways from their beginnings to the present, this book provides insights into social, economic and political attitudes and emphasizes both change and continuity over 200 years.
1130616838
The Railway Haters: Opposition To Railways, From the 19th to 21st Centuries
This unique social history examines 200 years of controversy surrounding British Railways—from the dawn of industrialization to contemporary light rail.
 
During the Industrial Revolution, the power of landowning aristocrats was challenged by the emergent wealth and influence of the urban middle class. There was no greater symbol of this seismic shift in society than the British Railways Companies. Railways, with their powers of compulsory purchase, intruded brutally into the previously sacrosanct estates and pleasure grounds of Britain's traditional ruling elite.
 
Aesthetes like Ruskin and poets like Wordsworth ranted against railways; Sabbatarians attacked them for providing employment on the Lord's Day; antiquarians accused them of vandalism by destroying ancient buildings; others claimed their noise would make cows abort and chickens cease laying. And while the complaints have certainly changed, railways have continued to provoke debate ever since.
 
Arguments have raged over railway nationalization and privatization, about the Beeching Plan to increase efficiency, and around urban light rail systems. Examining railways from their beginnings to the present, this book provides insights into social, economic and political attitudes and emphasizes both change and continuity over 200 years.
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The Railway Haters: Opposition To Railways, From the 19th to 21st Centuries

The Railway Haters: Opposition To Railways, From the 19th to 21st Centuries

by David L. Brandon, Alan Brooke
The Railway Haters: Opposition To Railways, From the 19th to 21st Centuries

The Railway Haters: Opposition To Railways, From the 19th to 21st Centuries

by David L. Brandon, Alan Brooke

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Overview

This unique social history examines 200 years of controversy surrounding British Railways—from the dawn of industrialization to contemporary light rail.
 
During the Industrial Revolution, the power of landowning aristocrats was challenged by the emergent wealth and influence of the urban middle class. There was no greater symbol of this seismic shift in society than the British Railways Companies. Railways, with their powers of compulsory purchase, intruded brutally into the previously sacrosanct estates and pleasure grounds of Britain's traditional ruling elite.
 
Aesthetes like Ruskin and poets like Wordsworth ranted against railways; Sabbatarians attacked them for providing employment on the Lord's Day; antiquarians accused them of vandalism by destroying ancient buildings; others claimed their noise would make cows abort and chickens cease laying. And while the complaints have certainly changed, railways have continued to provoke debate ever since.
 
Arguments have raged over railway nationalization and privatization, about the Beeching Plan to increase efficiency, and around urban light rail systems. Examining railways from their beginnings to the present, this book provides insights into social, economic and political attitudes and emphasizes both change and continuity over 200 years.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781526700223
Publisher: Pen & Sword Transport
Publication date: 11/12/2020
Sold by: OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED - EBKS
Format: eBook
Pages: 416
File size: 63 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

David Brandon had many jobs before becoming involved in teaching and organising in Further and then Higher Education, specialising in Adult Education. He has published extensively on his own and co-operated with Alan Brooke on sixteen previous titles. His interests include British topography, walking, social and economic history, the history of London, of crime and of the Royal Navy. His main interest, however, has always been the railways of Britain and their economic, social and cultural impact.

Table of Contents

Introduction 7

Chapter 1 The Impact of Industrialisation and Urbanisation on Britain 15

Chapter 2 Inland Transport Before the Railway Age 19

Chapter 3 The Railway Age - An Outline of Railway Developments 1820-1914 31

Chapter 4 Challenges facing the Landed Aristocracy in the Early Nineteenth Century 52

Chapter 5 How Railway schemes were promoted 64

Chapter 6 How the Landed Aristocracy reacted to the coming of the Railways 77

Chapter 7 Other opposition from Landowners 109

Chapter 8 The need to regulate the Railways 162

Chapter 9 The Railway Interest 180

Chapter 10 Other types of opposition to the Railways 184

Chapter 11 Railways up and running and still generating criticism 236

Chapter 12 Attitudes to Railways in the Arts 269

Chapter 13 Examples of support for Railways 305

Chapter 14 Hostility continues 332

Select Bibliography 405

Notes 410

Index 414

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