Read Bill Fawcett - Shire Library: Railway Architecture in PDF, MOBI, DJV
9781784420475 1784420476 A guide to the architecture that gives British railways their identity, from stations to signal boxes.Roots of Britain's railways lie in the wooden-railed colliery wagonways of around 1600, but it was almost 1830 before specific railway architecture became needed. This evolved rapidly down to 1850, and for some time afterwards Britain led the world in designing passenger stations. Though stylistic dress followed contemporary fashions, their handling of space and of large crowds of people was something quite new. Glass and iron were used to produce elegant platform roofs, many exploiting the decorative potential of cast iron. However, the most striking contribution was made by the great arched station sheds, often seen as the 19th century's counterpart to medieval cathedrals. Between the 20th century's two world wars, architectural progress on Britain's railways was largely confined to London Transport, but the last few decades have seen a renewal of confidence and investment, matched by some interesting new buildings., The great arched train sheds of Victorian Britain are often seen as the nineteenth-century equivalent of medieval cathedrals: once specific railway buildings became necessary around 1830 British architects seized the opportunity with both hands, designing some of the great buildings of their age. However, these grand buildings are only part of the story - not only was the country peppered with humbler individually styled station buildings, but also with bridges, signal boxes, engine sheds and other structures specific to the railways. In this illustrated introduction, Bill Fawcett tells the story of railway architecture from the age of George Stephenson to modern times, including such influential architects as Sir George Gilbert Scott and Charles Holden.
9781784420475 1784420476 A guide to the architecture that gives British railways their identity, from stations to signal boxes.Roots of Britain's railways lie in the wooden-railed colliery wagonways of around 1600, but it was almost 1830 before specific railway architecture became needed. This evolved rapidly down to 1850, and for some time afterwards Britain led the world in designing passenger stations. Though stylistic dress followed contemporary fashions, their handling of space and of large crowds of people was something quite new. Glass and iron were used to produce elegant platform roofs, many exploiting the decorative potential of cast iron. However, the most striking contribution was made by the great arched station sheds, often seen as the 19th century's counterpart to medieval cathedrals. Between the 20th century's two world wars, architectural progress on Britain's railways was largely confined to London Transport, but the last few decades have seen a renewal of confidence and investment, matched by some interesting new buildings., The great arched train sheds of Victorian Britain are often seen as the nineteenth-century equivalent of medieval cathedrals: once specific railway buildings became necessary around 1830 British architects seized the opportunity with both hands, designing some of the great buildings of their age. However, these grand buildings are only part of the story - not only was the country peppered with humbler individually styled station buildings, but also with bridges, signal boxes, engine sheds and other structures specific to the railways. In this illustrated introduction, Bill Fawcett tells the story of railway architecture from the age of George Stephenson to modern times, including such influential architects as Sir George Gilbert Scott and Charles Holden.