The Lore of the Train 4

The Lore of the Train
Author: C. Hamilton Ellis
published by Madison Square Press
Hardcover with Dust Jacket

The railway — a confined track for wheeled vehicles — has been used by man since the early 16th century, but it was not until the advent of the locomotive in 1804 that the stage was set for the train, that invention which was to change the face and life of the planet as nothing else since the first seagoing ships sailed the oceans in prehistoric times. This magnificent volume concentrates on the train itself, the machine for actual conveyance, and all its components — steam, electric and oil-propelled locomotives, and passenger, freight and special cars. All important national contributions to the development of this remarkable machine are faithfully recorded, and the story is continuous from the first invention containing all the elements that make up a train, Richard Trevithick’s 1804 Penydarren Tramroad in South Wales, to the introduction of the latest electric trains, most notably at this stage in Japan.

All important developments in the history of the train are illustrated by detailed drawings, many of them fully and accurately colored, while the picturesque side of the subject is rendered by reproductions of woodcuts, engravings and fine paintings.