The World's First Railway System

• First modern economic history of the British railway system - a definitive reference source
• Uses counterfactual analysis to show how the British railway system could have developed, but didn't due to political and commercial pressures
• Provides detailed guides to a range of historical sources, including the first systematic use of deposited railway plans
• Contains a range of contemporary illustrations

Readership: Academics and researchers of Transport History, Economic History, and Management Studies; those involved in transport policy-making and rail enthusiasts.

Mark Casson, Professor of Economics, University of Reading

"The high quality of the methodology and bibliography of this volume reflect its academic origins...well worth careful study." - Today's Railways

Preface and acknowledgements
1: Introduction and Summary
2: Railways in the Victorian Economy
3: The Counterfactual Network
4: Regional Comparisons
5: Joint Lines
6: Regulation
7: Business Strategies and their Effects
8: Conclusions
Bibliography
Appendices
1. Deposited plans
2. Notes on the Local and Personal Acts tabulated in Chapter 2
3. Network geometry
4. The Counterfactual Network: Route descriptions
5. Analysis of Hubs
6. Excerpts from the Counterfactual Timetable
7. A Formal Model of Victorian Railway Regulation