Private Owner Wagons : An Eleventh Collection

Private Owner Wagons : An Eleventh Collection

In his eleventh exploration of Britain’s industrial history, the author has focused on two giants whose names may not be well known. Both were innovators in their respective trades; from very humble beginnings working as a boy in a Lancashire coal mine Joel Settle rose to be a dominating figure in the north Staffordshire coal industry, his innovations changing its face forever. Alfred Baldwin came from a family of Black Country ironmasters to rescue an ailing family ironfoundry from dereliction as a stepping stone to the founding of one of the largest and best known iron and steel manufacturers in the country – in addition his only child became Prime Minister of this country. Also included is a world heritage site in the Blaenavon Ironworks; an oddity from the Gloucester works designed to transport brine from a mineral spring to a world-renowned hotel; and a very familiar name which once adorned petrol pumps throughout the country. Few of these images have been seen before.