19: God in the Machine (with Anthony Dawson)
The birth of steam traction and the modern idea of the railway came at a time of great social change in Britain, when groups of religious dissenters were carving out their own niches in the world in order to prosper. Our guest for this episode is historian, author and all-round expert in early 19th Century railways Anthony Dawson. We shall be looking in to the circumstances of the people involved in promoting the idea of steam locomotives, their religious leanings and how this may have played a crucial role not just in the spread of railways but the industrial revolution as a whole. Anthony’s latest book ‘Locomotives of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway’ is available from Pen and Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Locomotives-of-the-Liverpool-and-Manchester-Railway-Hardback/p/18771 Anthony on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC75PkfxmwyEM6RrVStVwqwQ On Historical Lines on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnHistoricalLines RailStory on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RailStory