Railway book suggestions

[Jordeh]

I've recently caught the reading bug but have really struggled to find any appealing literature on the railways. Any suggestions for notable books you recommend reading about the railways would be really appreciated.

To give you some idea of what I'm interested in, I enjoy the business, politics and recent history side of the railways (essentially privatisation) but I am open to reading any good books about the railways. Recent books I've enjoyed about aviation are Michael O'Leary's biography and the South West airlines business model for instance.

Many thanks.

Edit: I am also interested in light rail and metro system books too.

 

[RichmondCommu]

This book might interest you.

Modernisation Plan: British Railways' Blueprint for the Future.

In some respects its quite a depressing book to read but nevertheless very interesting. Another good bet but out of print (and therefore expensive!) is I Tried To Run Railway. No doubt others will be along with their suggestions.

Kind regards,

Richmond Commuter!

 

[Aldaniti]

Behind the crumbling edge - A view of the nationalised railway by Stephen Poole. Its an insight into how British Rail operated and how it did so much with so little. Well balanced, covers good and bad, probably the best railway book I've ever read. No longer in print but you'll find a copy in a secondhand bookshop or perhaps through a library.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Red for Danger by LTC Rolt - charts the development of safety systems through the lessons learned from accidents right back to the early days of railways.

 

[43074]

The recently published ''The Network Southeast Story'' by Chris Green & Mike Vincent is excellent for covering the business and politics behind the London & Southeastern sector of British Rail between 1982 and 1994, then going on to look at the former NSE franchises and their recent history since privatisation.

Similarly, ''The InterCity story'' by the same authors is also thoroughly recommended, charting the history of InterCity from 1965 to 2012, and its business and politics.

 

[Aldaniti]

The recently published ''The Network Southeast Story'' by Chris Green & Mike Vincent is excellent for covering the business and politics behind the London & Southeastern sector of British Rail between 1982 and 1994, then going on to look at the former NSE franchises and their recent history since privatisation.

Similarly, ''The InterCity story'' by the same authors is also thoroughly recommended, charting the history of InterCity from 1965 to 2012, and its business and politics.

Yes, I would very much recommend those two books too. The InterCity Story was the most interesting for me - I picked up quite a few tips on running a business from Chris Green's writing. A very astute railwayman and business leader and a loss to the railway to this day in my humble opinion.

 

[telstarbox]

"British Rail 1948-83: A Journey by Design" is good, out of print though.

 

[LAX54]

Red for Danger by LTC Rolt - charts the development of safety systems through the lessons learned from accidents right back to the early days of railways.

seconded, this book is a 'must' for all people interested in Railways.

 

[deltic]

I would endorse all the recommendations - if you want a real heavy weight tome then Gourvish's business history of British Rail in 3 vols covers the period from 1948 to 2005 and will keep you occupied for months.

 

[ainsworth74]

If anyone is thinking of buying these books please consider checking if they're available on Amazon and using the link to our store to do so. It doesn't cost you anything but the forum will gain a small amount of the transaction to help towards our running costs.

Full details here

 

[Jordeh]

Looks like some really good suggestions there, plenty to keep me going.

Thanks to all.

 

[ungreat]

"The Quintinshill Conspiracy" is quite good also