Today' after a generation of neglect in favour of the all-conquering motor car, the railways of the world are undergoing a revolution and are set for a triumphal return to favour. Their rebirth, like their original conquests, is global. It includes some of the most ambitious engineering projects ever undertaken, such as the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France and the combined bridge and tunnel link between Scandinavia and the European mainland. This regeneration has meant overcoming huge logistical problems, like laying tracks over the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. By 1994 this line will provide a continuous rail link between London and Shanghai or Saigon, proving that railways can no longer be seen as merely a historical phenomenon.
As well as looking into the future, Locomotion looks to the past. It illustrates the infinite number of ways in which railways have changed the face of the world, democratizing travel and providing exciting opportunities for human ingenuity and endeavour. Politicians, financiers and imperialists may have exploited the railways' power for their own ends, but in so doing they opened up the world. Over time the railways tamed the wilderness, creating whole new regions from Siberia to the Canadian Prairies, conjuring up new industries, providing more and more fresher foodstuffs for the inhabitants of the cities they had spawned. They also created the modern tourist, whether bound for the seaside or the mountains, and they became a universal means of transport, just as useful for pilgrims on their way to Lourdes as for gamblers on their way to Monte Carlo.
In this remarkable book, Nicholas Faith chronicles both the worship and revulsion inspired by the railways, the most elemental invention of the industrial revolution. Through stunning illustrations and photographs Locomotion also shows why railways have provided inspiration for innumerable writers, from Dickens to Paul Theroux, and for architects, artists and film-makers alike.
The railway revolution is under way. Who said that railway dreams belonged to the nineteenth century?
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