Jack Simmons (1) (1915–2000)

Jack Simmons was one of the great pioneers of British railway history. During his many years at the University of Leicester Simmons wrote several books on railways, co-founded the Journal of Transport History, and helped establish both the National Railway Museum in York and the London Transport Museum. This book was meant to be the first part of his magnum opus: a four-volume history of railways in England and Wales from the advent of the steam locomotive to the outbreak of the First World War, one that would cover every aspect of their development and impact upon the country. To lay the groundwork for this massive undertaking, Simmons started with a volume that would provide his readers with a summary of the evolution of railways south of the Borderlands during this period, as well as the particulars of their operation.

Simmons’s book can be divided into two parts. The first half of the book offers a chronological description of the establishment of railway networks throughout England and Wales during the Victorian era. Though rail transportation existed prior to 1830, the introduction of the steam engine as a source of motive power dramatically increased the possibilities it offered. As railways demonstrated their capabilities and usefulness, the number of lines proposed grew until a “mania” had taken ahold of the country. By the time it subsided in the mid-1850s it left England and Wales with a widespread but uncoordinated network of lines that was the envy of the world. Throughout this period, Simmons emphasizes the preeminence of private enterprise in this process: though each line was established through an Act of Parliament, there was nothing like the state-directed process that took place in France and Belgium during this period.

The British approach to railway development brought with it a set of advantages and disadvantages that Simmons details. While generally admiring of the system that emerged, he notes the growing complacency of railway managers as the industry matured in the second half of the 19th century as a series of companies emerged to dominate various regions of the country. Each of these companies developed a distinct character that made coordination difficult whenever the need for consolidation arose, yet together they provided a means of transportation across the country that became not just indispensable by the end of the period but iconic as well.

In the second half of the book, Simmons looks at the operations of the railways and the equipment they used. What could have been a dry description of rolling stock and signaling methods is used by Simmons to explain why English and Welsh railways adopted the forms and processes that they did. Much of it was shaped by circumstance, albeit with some variety between the various companies that hardened into custom over time. While he notes the diminishing degree of innovation as the period came to an end, Simmons acknowledges that this was not universal, as various companies continued to improve processes and introduce innovations into the 20th century, sometimes in the face of resistance from workers and even executives who saw little need to change what had worked successfully for so long.

Throughout the book Simmons notes topics that he planned to address in future volumes. This points to a design he had worked out before the initial book was published which, had it been completed, would have resulted in a truly magnificent work. Yet Simmons would publish just one more installment, The Railway in Town and Country, 1830-1914, before circumstances forced him to wrap it up with a catch-all work, The Victorian Railway, that offers us only a glimpse of what he intended. This loss is especially regrettable given the splendid quality of this book. While it is unfortunate that we do not have the full work that Simmons envisioned giving us, what he did complete remains an extremely valuable resource that everyone interested in English and Welsh railways should read.… (mehr)

Jack Simmons book is nothing less than an encyclopedia of Victorian railroad history presented in a narrative format. Using a thematic rather than chronological format, he addresses practically every aspect of the topic, from the machinery and use of railways to their representation in literature and their management of public relations. Within them he provides a clear overview of the people, places, and technologies that created and directed the development of Britain’s railroad network.

The author of over a half-dozen more specialized books on railroad history, Simmons brings an impressive breadth of knowledge to his topic. Much of this is clear from his writing, which with his confident and comfortable tone conveys an easy familiarity with his subject. Yet like an encyclopedia entry his coverage is often brief as he passes from subject to subject, leaving the reader wanting to learn more. This is especially true in terms of his illustrations, which while numerous are nowhere near sufficiently so for his text, leaving readers to track down pictures of the images and places he mentions for themselves.

None of this, however, detracts from the overall utility of this book. Well written and deeply researched, Simmons’s book is an excellent guide to understanding Victorian railroads and the role they played in the history of their time. Readers will find it an enlightening resource, one that they can enjoy from cover to cover or by selecting the chapters that sate specific needs. Either way, it is one that people interested in the subject will want to keep on their shelves for many years to come.… (mehr)

An erudite guide by one of the key writers on industrial history of his time on a temporary museum in an old tram depot in Leicester, which I suspect very few people now remember. Somehow, Leicester Council acquired on loan a number of locomotives from the National Collection and proposed a major transport museum to house them. (This, of course, was in the days when a railway museum was a collection of cold, dead engines, stuffed and mounted to be looked at, but certainly never to be used, God forbid.) The museum at Stoneygate Tram Depot, which I visited once, was a stop-gap measure to show off the best of them until the main museum was ready. Of the four locomotives of the title, the two Midland engines - the Johnson 'Spinner' no.118 (later 673) and the Kirtley 2-4-0 no.158a - were the gems. The Spinner was restored to running order briefly during the 1980s, but is now back at York, I believe; 158a is at Butterley, under the care of the Midland Railway Trust. The North Eastern steeple-cab electric was of interest to Leicester because it was built by the Brush Company at nearby Loughborough; that is now also at York. The fourth locomotive was an industrial steam saddle tank, also built by Brush, and which actually was the property of Leicester Museums. I suspect that now to be somewhere at the Abbey Mills pumping station complex, though I didn't see it there last time I visited in 2003.

The booklet was a good attempt to put these four engines into context and describe them in an academic yet understandable way.… (mehr)

This book has gone through several, rather different, editions: I have the 1986 3rd edition, which presents a slightly uneasy compromise in format between coffee-table book and serious academic history. As you would expect from Professor Simmons, the text is intelligent, well-argued, and supported by a useful bibliography and references. A concise but comprehensive sketch of British railway history up to 1985 is followed by essays on particular topics (buildings, motive power, people, etc.) and a few case-studies, each presenting a journey along a particular route and putting what the modern (i.e. 1985) traveller sees into an historical context. It's a book that's quite fun to dip into, but it doesn't really serve any obvious purpose: too serious (and not glossy enough) for the coffee table, too superficial for anyone really interested in the subject. While there are plenty of illustrations, some of them in colour, the quality of the paper and printing in this edition doesn't do them justice. The binding on my copy is also looking a bit dodgy, with a number of pages held in only by willpower. Probably the sort of book that other people buy you as a present.… (mehr)