The London & Birmingham Railway was the first major line in Britain and it was the greatest achievement of its engineer, Robert Stephenson, the man who, together with his father George, had set the age of the railway in motion with their pioneering achievements. The route presented a number of significant challenges, starting with the Camden Incline leading out of Euston up to the Primrose Hill Tunnel, followed by a number of other works including the Watford Tunnel, the Tring Cutting, Wolverton Viaduct and the notoriously troublesome Kilsby Tunnel. It is the first section of today’s West Coast Main Line.‘Seldom has the gigantic intellect of man been employed upon a work of greater utility.’ Punch, in praise of Bradshaw’s publications.Bradshaw’s guide was published in 1863, not that long after most of the railway network had been completed. It gives the reader a unique insight into the world of the Victorian railways and goes beyond the engineering aspects to record the sights to be seen in the towns and cities encountered along the way. John and Jay Christopher present Bradshaw’s original text accompanied by contemporary images and many new colour photographs of the same journey today.
