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AT NO time did the British steam locomotive develop more rapidly than in the 1901-14 period. Generally referred to as the Edwardian era, even though its royal eponym passed away in 1910, it witnessed not only prodigious weekly construction but an entire new design on average every three weeks!
The period is also noted for a dramatic increase in the size and strength of motive power, a prime example of such progress being Britain’s first Pacific, The Great Bear, in 1908.
Former National Railway Museum stalwart Philip Atkins has gained a deserved reputation over the years for accurate book and article research, and this latest offering is no exception. He has pored over reams of largelyoverlooked official statistics to produce a highly-readable account of the UK’s railway zenith.