The Iron Road: The Illustrated History of Railways (Print ISBN 978-1409347996) by historian and broadcaster Christian Wolmar surveys the history of the railroad: From the first railway in England introduced in 1830 to the maglev trains and high-speed lines of tomorrow.
Luped picture research sourced over 200 images, including many never published before, from various sources. We particularly liked the photography of Matthew Malkiewicz, more of which can be seen here and on his website losttracksoftime.com.
The book is divided into 5 main sections: The First Tracks; The Spread of the Railways; Railways Come of Age; War and Uncertainty; and The Iron Road Today. Each section is sub-divided enabling the reader to jump to areas of interest if desired. Fully illustrated feature spreads help explain steam propulsion, bridge and tunnel building, signal telegraphy, braking systems and other advancements in technology. 
The combination of the author’s narrative and selective use of illustrations effectively convey how the spread of the railways help shape the world we live in today.
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