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Most books about Britains transport history have concentrated upon canals and railways. It is now clear that a great deal of traffic went by road even before turnpikes, and that goods as well as passenger services were much more highly developed than used to be supposed. This short book is an important survey of road transport over the past three centuries. The authors summarise the new evidence and arguments and explain why we need to take a longer view of the subject. They shed new light on the importance of horse-drawn freight in the eighteenth century, offset the undue attention that is paid to the railways in the nineteenth century, and stress that motor transports present great importance only dates from the 1950s. A full bibliography is provided for more extended study.
List of contents
Introduction; 1. Goods transport to the 1830s; 2. Passenger transport to the 1830s; 3. Road transport in the railway age; 4. Motor transport between the wars; 5. The motorway age; Notes; Bibliography; Index.
Summary
This book is an important survey of the new evidence and arguments regarding road transport over the past three centuries. It sheds new light on the importance of horse-drawn freight in the eighteenth century, offsets the undue attention paid to the railways in the nineteenth century, and stresses that motor transport's present great importance only dates from the 1950s.
