The Rainhill Trials by Christopher Mcgowan

The Rainhill Trials by Christopher Mcgowan

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Summary

SUBTITLE: The Greatest Contest in Industrial Britain and the Birth of Commercial Rail The dramatic story of the first great battle between locomotives - which Stephenson's Rocket won - and the birth of commercial rail.

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The Rainhill Trials by Christopher Mcgowan

Early on the morning of Tuesday 6 October 1829, a crowd of ten thousand spectators gathered at Rainhill, a small hamlet on the outskirts of Liverpool. They had come to witness the most remarkable event of the Industrial Age. The Trials were a fiercely competitive tournament and the prize for the winner was the lucrative contract for the Liverpool and Manchester railway. THE RAINHILL TRIALS describes the highs and lows of each contestant, whether it be the eventual winner, Stephenson's Rocket or the people's favourite, Novelty, and relives the incredible tensions of the trials. Christoher Mc Gowan also gives us the background to the development of these stunning new technologies and includes lively pen-portraits of the engineers themselves - remarkable men who built remarkable machines in a remarkable age.
'You don't have to be a railroad fanatic to find this book fascinating... delightful and readable' PopularScience website 'The author tells his story with great panache and enthusiasm and uses his wide research to good effect.' CONTEMPORARY REVIEW
Christoper McGowan is a paleontologist and a zoologist with a sound engineering background and a passionate interest in the birth of rail. During his research he has examined the remains of five of the locomotives that feature in the book. He is also well-versed in nineteenth-century literature.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780316724807
ISBN 10 0316724807
Title The Rainhill Trials
Author Christopher Mcgowan
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher Little, Brown & Company
Year published 2004-04-01
Number of pages 400
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.