The advent of railways was a fundamental part of the economic and social revolution in the 19th century. Detailed plans were created to facilitate the manufacturing process and the maintenance of the rapidly expanding railway network. Miraculously, about a million of these magnificent drawings survived and are held in the National Railway Museum in York. Christopher Valkoinen selected over 130 examples that tell the engineering history of great innovations. These drawings are more than a reference tool for the historian or modelmaker; they are exquisite works of art, painstakingly produced by highly skilled artists, which can be appreciated in their own right.
