British Piers and Pier Railways

This book explores the history of British piers, featuring their workers, visitors, and various attractions, including prizefighters, professors, ferries, steamers, fires, and railway systems. With over one hundred photographs, it provides a fascinating insight into the coastlines of the mainland and two islands, including surviving and abandoned piers.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 208 pages
\n Publication date: 30 November 2021
\n Publisher: Whittles Publishing
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The British have always held a particular affection for their coastal resorts, and piers are the epitome of the British seaside. This book takes the reader on a clockwise tour of our islands, stopping at every pier and walking through their histories. Yet, this is not just a tour of the pier; for it is not the pier that makes the history, but the people who work and walk along it. Within these pages, the reader will meet a prizefighter who achieved fame in a very different sport; learn of several professors whose talents were solely being able to leap from the pier; discover why man would ever want to fly from a pier; meet the former Beatle who worked for a pier company; read about the ferries and steamers that carried visitors; the fires, which are an ever-present danger; the men who designed and built the piers, along with the entertainers, characters, enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs who made the piers. Fascinating information is included on how piers became longer or shorter, which piers served as part of the Royal Navy during two World Wars, and the tremendous amount of work and effort it takes to keep the piers open to the public today. Several piers have embedded rails, with some still being used by trains or trams. These pier railways are described in detail: the engineering, the designs, and the changes over the years. While electricity is the sole motive power today, these had once been either steam-driven, pulled by horses, moved by hand, or even, in one example, wind-powered by a sail! With over one hundred photographs, both old and new, this is a tour of the coast of the mainland and two islands. Piers, which sadly have not survived, are included as well as those which never got off the ground (or the shoreline). It reveals why they were built, how they were repurposed over the years, and the incredible stories behind them.

\n Weight: 562g\n
Dimension: 170 x 239 x 15 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781849954846\n \n