Few modes of travel have the enduring appeal of steam railways. Today preserved lines, locomotives and rolling stock attract not just expert enthusiasts but more casual visitors who are keen to savor the distinctive atmosphere of a lost era in transport history. Yet these relics are but one aspect of the long story of steam, for they cannot reveal the human side of working life on the railways – the experience of the railwaymen who operated the machinery of the steam age. It is this, the human aspect of railway history that David Wragg has chosen as the subject of this landmark book. He has selected extracts from the personal reminiscences of railway men to create an all-round portrait of the industry in its prime. He records their memories, anecdotes and insights, and he brings the routines of the steam railway vividly back to life.