Rails to Nowhere

Show Notes

Simon is joined once again by guest Aaron to discuss the emergence of the Internal Combustion engine as a means of powering road vehicles. This small invention would herald in the era of the motor car and while we often thing of that being a post WWII phenomenon in this episode Simon explains how the origins of car mania are traced back to the 1800s.

Part of the research for this episode stems from Simon dissertation, submitted in pursuit of his MA in Railway Studies from the University of York, so an acknowledgement of the support from Dr David Turner and Dr Kevin Tenant in writing that dissertation is due.

Support the Podcast through our Patreon and get bonus episodes, behind the scenes content and more: www.patreon.com/railstonowhere

Thanks to our wonderful Patreons who help make Rails to Nowhere happen and especial thanks to our £10 patreon ValkyrieLeamons.

Follow Simon at: www.twitter.com/reddragontweets

Bibliography

‘A Brief History of the Internal Combustion Engine’, 2019. https://www.tuev-nord.de/explore/en/remembers/a-brief-history-of-the-internal-combustion-engine/.

Bagwell, Philip. The Transport Revolution. London: Routledge, 1988.

Bagwell, Philip, and Peter Lyth. Transport in Britain 1750 - 2000: From Canal Lock to Gridlock. London: Hambledon & London, 2002.

British Pathe. ‘London Traffic Scenes (1930)’. British Pathe YouTube Channel, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAGBfm9uBso.

———. ‘Traffic Scenes in London (1930-1939)’. British Pathe YouTube Channel, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbaElyhAF00.

His Majesty’s Government. ‘History of Road Safety, The Highway Code and the Driving Test’. www.gov.uk, 2019. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/history-of-road-safety-and-the-driving-test/history-of-road-safety-the-highway-code-and-the-driving-test.

Law, Michael John. ‘“The Car Indispensable”: The Hidden Influence of the Car in Inter-War Suburban London’. Journal of Historical Geography 38 (2012): 424–33.

———. The Experience of Suburban Modernity: How Private Transport Changed Interwar London. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2014.

Priolead, John. ‘The Chronicle of the Car: Poor Men’s Cars’. Illustrated London News. July 1929.

‘The First British Petrol Motor Car’. Accessed 4 February 2023. http://www.knowledgeoflondon.com/fredbremermotorcar.html.

The Marquis De Chasseloup-Laubat. ‘A Short History of the Motor Car’, 1902. https://sites.google.com/site/motormiscellany/cars-other-vehicles/a-short-history-of-the-motor-car.

London Transport Museum. ‘The Motor Bus Revolution’, 6 February 2023. https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/stories/transport/motor-bus-revolution-1900-1914.

Unknown. ‘Biggest Jam Ever: Traffic Blocks at Uxbridge’. Uxbridge & West Drayton Gazette. May 1937.

Webb, Simon. Commuters: The History of a British Way of Life. Barnsley: Pen & Sword History, 2016.