Download or read book The Oxford Companion to British Railway History from 1603 to the 1990s written by Jack Simmons and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first encyclopedia to chart the progress of Britain's railway development. It begins with primitive 17th-century wagonways, fully considers the eras of horse, steam, diesel, and electric traction, and then charts the change from private to public ownership. Finally, it describes in detail the privatizations of the late 1990s. Over six hundred entries by eighty-eight expert contributors provide a comprehensive and unique reference to all aspects of railways.