Durham could be called the birthplace of the Steam Railway Age. George Stephenson's Stockton and Darlington railway pioneered the steam engine and from this beginning railway networks were set up all over the world.
The regions large coal industry was the key to local development. Private systems sprung up across the area linking miles with main line trains and colliery ships on the Tees and the Tyne. Passenger services were almost an after thought in the rush to exploit the demand for coal to power the emerging industries. Today, motor transport has superseded goods trains and many of the old railway track beds have been converted to long-distance footpaths and cycleways.
This book tells the story, with photographs, maps, memories and anecdotes, of Durham and Teesside's railway's from their beginning in the early 1800s to the present day.
A5 (softcover) 160 pages
