After George Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ caused a sensation in 1830 by travelling at the then miraculous speed of 30 mph, “Railway Mania” took a grip on the nation.

This book focuses on East Lancashire including the meteoric growth of the original East Lancashire Railway Company which tragically though went out of business in 1859.

The phrase “survival of the fittest” - associated with Charles Darwin and his 1859 book ‘Origin of the Species’ – proves itself a telling means of accounting for how some companies survived the burst of the rail bubble and others did not.

By the mid-20th century, with steam engines becoming a threatened species themselves, the story is told of Alan Pegler and how he saved the Flying Scotsman from the breaking-yard but ended up dying virtually penniless himself.

In the wake of the Beeching Cuts of the 1960s, a brave rearguard action was mounted by the East Lancashire Railway Preservation Society (ELRPS) which ultimately bore fruit in 1987 with the opening of a heritage line from Bury to Ramsbottom.

This book contains a wealth of stimulating first-hand accounts, photos, maps and diagrams to make it a must-read for rail enthusiasts and all those keen to learn more about the fascinating human element to the railway story as a whole.

Nigel Jepson lives in Ramsbottom and is a keen supporter and member of Ramsbottom Cricket Club.

He first came to the local area in the mid-1990s when taking up post as Headteacher at nearby Haslingden High School. As far as the broader community was concerned, it didn’t take long to pick up the vibes regarding the longstanding rivalry between Haslingden and Ramsbottom, much of it existing on a cricketing front as traditional close rivals in the Lancashire League.

Nigel’s last UK Head’s post was at Kearsley Academy in Bolton from 2010 to 2014. ‘Retired’, he has though carried out interim Headteacher work in Dubai during 2016 and has also conducted teacher training programmes in New Delhi in 2018.

Although having always been keen on team sports, he developed a passion for long distance running which started with the London Marathon in 1982, moving through other events to New York in 2001. More recently, over 2017 to 2019, prior to the Covid pandemic kicking in, he ran four more marathons in Dubai, Belfast, Manchester and Liverpool.