Overview

A fascinating guide to early train disasters, illustrated through contemporary postcards and explained expertly by John Hannavy. The track record of Britain’s railways in the early 20th century was not a good one – in 1909, a report titled ‘General Report to the Board of Trade upon the Accidents that have occurred on the Railway of the United Kingdom during the year 1908’, was published, concluding that over 1,000 people had died on the railways during the year, and nearly 8,000 others had been injured. With the Edwardian era marking the heyday of the photographic postcard, many of the accidents which occurred were photographed in often-graphic detail and, in the days before photographs in newspapers became commonplace, postcards disseminated those news pictures rapidly across the world. John Hannavy is a writer, photographer and historian, with a lifelong fascination for both postcards and railway history. 

Full Product Details

Author:   John Hannavy
Publisher:   Porto Press Ltd
Imprint:   Whittles Publishing
ISBN:  

9781849957229

ISBN 10:   1849957223
Pages:   120
Publication Date:   06 April 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION – ‘The Diver’ and other stories                     900 – From Ashbourne to Ropley; a disastrous start to a new century 1901 – The first postcards of railway accidents 1902 – ‘I feared if I said anything I would cause a panic’ 1903 – ‘Our epidemic of railway disasters’ 1904 – ‘A singular mishap’ 1905 – Photographers were quickly on the scene 1906 – At least the whisky survived undamaged 1907 – Pulling the wrong lever 1908 – ‘Good God! He will be in to the coal train!’ 1909 – Not a suitable class of engine... 1910 – ‘Will you kiss me before I die?’ 1911 – ‘Good God! There is a mineral on No.1’ 1912 – ‘The damaged bridge bore striking testimony’ 1913  – ‘there was a block on the line at Colchester’                                                 1914 – The April day the ‘Flying Scotsman’ came off the rails 1915 – Quintinshill, the railways’ darkest day  

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Author Information

John Hannavy is Professor Emeritus in photography and photographic history, and is also a Fellow of both the British Institute of Professional Photography and the Royal Photographic Society. He is the author of numerous books including The Encyclopaedia of Nineteenth-century Photography and Great Photographic Journeys, and is a regular contributor to Scotland magazine and Discover my past Scotland.

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