Resilient Pioneers: A History Of The Elastic Rail Spike Company

Out Of Print... The story of the Elastic Rail Spike Company is one inextricably bound up with that of the development of the railway and, more specifically, the development of the railway track. Since the company's inception in 1937 it has played as essential role in a great international industry and it is today recognised as the foremost pioneer in rail fastenings. This is not only an authoritative history of a quite remarkable successful company, but also a saga which combines the romance of the railway with the power-game of big business.The author, who has had unrestricted access to the files and minutes of the company, has pieced together a story of interest to railway enthusiasts and industrial historians alike. In tracing the history of the company, John Milligan has come across some truly amazing episodes and, amoung those recounted, is that of the Hedjaz Railway which ended in disaster in April 1971, after eight years of construction dogged by political strife between the participating Arab states. To this very day, many millions of rail spikes lie piled, unused, in the desert sands.