Spotlight on the railway work, life & death project

Q: This year, 2025, is the year that we’re celebrating Railway 200. Why is this such good news? Dr Esbester: I love Railway 200, because this is a wonderful opportunity to see railway history really p

Today we might minimise or even overlook the railway’s significance, because it is such an established part of our lives. Yet at its height the industry employed more than half a million people across

Our final extract from Bradley’s Railway Guide: A Journey through Two Centuries of British Railway History, 1825-2025 takes us to 2000… and an accident that would change the face of the railway

This year sees the celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world’s first steam-worked passenger line. It is an occasion to reflect on the

When we are asked who invented the railways, we can confidently say we did – Britain. But precisely who was involved and how it all developed is a long story. By the end of the 18th century, the Indus

Some final thoughts from the team at RAIL