First published in 1968. It was probably the Great Exhibition of 1851 which inspired the son of a Congregational minister to publish the first book on the rise and progress of the railway system designed for the non-specialist reader. The resources of British railways had never before been so heavily taxed as they were in the summer of 1851, many had come by railway and had seen and used engineering wonders of which they might be expected to seek to know more. The first edition of this book appeared in 1852 and it included 37 woodcuts showing interesting features of railway construction and working, and was described by The Economist as being historic and scientific.