
Blood on the Tracks
A History of Railway Crime in Britain
The History Press Ltd
Published on 1. May 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
978-0-7509-8269-6 (ISBN)
Description
Between 1835 and the 1850s, railway mania blossomed around Britain. Crime emerged as the railways developed, at first opportunistic crimes such as fare evasion and robberies, but gradually more inventive forms evolved, notably the minor clerk Redpath in the 1850s, whose shameless cooking of the books to live the high life exposed the lack of any kind of accountancy across the railway industry. The first train murder was not until the 1840s, and sparked great fear of foreigners as a German was charged and hanged for the crime. The outcry resulted in the communication cord being introduced to the railway carriages, so that no longer would they exist as completely separate spaces and passengers could alert the driver to any assault within.
This fascinating history covers all varieties of crime on the railways and how it has changed over the years, from assaults and robberies, to theft of goods, murder, vandalism, football and other crowd activity, suicide on the line, fraud and white collar crime, and also looks at the use of railway crime in film and literature.
This fascinating history covers all varieties of crime on the railways and how it has changed over the years, from assaults and robberies, to theft of goods, murder, vandalism, football and other crowd activity, suicide on the line, fraud and white collar crime, and also looks at the use of railway crime in film and literature.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Stroud
United Kingdom
Illustrations
65 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
305 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7509-8269-6 (9780750982696)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2010
The History Press Ltd
€13.99
Available for download
Previous edition

Book
05/2010
The History Press Ltd
€41.07
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
David Brandon spent much of his working life in adult education in colleges and universities. He has a passion for history and is a published author. He runs a variety of courses and lectures on topics such as 'Absolute Rotters and Total Cads - Villains in British History'; and 'You Are What You Eat - Food and Eating Habits 1550-2000'. He has also co-written several successful titles with Alan Brooke. He lives in Peterborough.