Anyone studying the social history of this country cannot fail to be amazed at the change which took place during the 19th century in modes of travel. This change was remarkable not only for the great increase in speed, but also for its suddenness. As travel became easier and cheaper, it became more common. One cause was the adaptation of steam to locomotion which began early in the century. Although pioneers like Blenkinsop, Hackworth and Hedley had done much useful work, it is George Stephenson who assists us in remembering the date, by naming one of his engines ‘Blucher’. Another cause was the formation of Corporate Societies or Joint Stock Companies who could command sufficient capital to undertake the building of the new railroads. In this country the old established systems of transport by road and canal quickly fell victims to the steam operated railway because it matched the canal for dependability and beat the road for speed. The following chapters will endeavour to show how the railways attained a high standard of public service after the many initial mistakes which are all too easily condemned by hindsight. The country came to rely on its trains, and, while the railways prospered, the public was never let down. In fact the nation, when once it had abandoned its peripatetic habits and had taken to the flanged wheel on steel rail, became travel conscious and so stepped easily into the petrol age when it arrived.

This book deals with the impact made by railways on Victorian society in Bedfordshire. A suitable date for the commencement is the year 1846 when the Bedford Railway was opened - the county’s first line, and I have chosen 1890 or thereabouts for the closing date of the narrative. By 1890 the railways were just beginning to respond to the outstanding ‘Regulation of Railways Act, 1889’, probably the most important act since Gladstone’s of 1844. The 1889 Act brought our railways up to a pitch of safety, comfort and efficiency which could not be matched anywhere else in the world.

In chapter 7 I have mentioned briefly the Bedfordshire lines that were planned, but not proceeded with.