Fascinating statistics on the now closed lines and demolished stations from these two counties, accompanied by 52 old photographs showing many of the locations in their prime. The original Wemyss Bay station, forerunner to the extravagant mock-Tudor structure that exists today, a railbus at Crosshouse, and the sorry spectacle of Kilwinning East station during demolition are some of the many subjects.

By comparison with their English counterparts, Scottish nineteenth-century railways have suffered from a degree of neglect by economic historians. Most of the existing literature is written for the railway enthusiast, concentrating mainly on topography, mechanical developments and entertaining episodes. Few of these books cover the whole of Scotland and most are treatments of single companies or of particular dramatic events. This study covers the earliest period of Scottish railway history, from the years of the first waggonway developments in the eighteenth century to the advent of the railway mania of the 1840s. It concentrates on the planning and formation of the various railways, the problems and achievements associated with their construction, and the financial records of the companies up to 1844. The first two chapters cover the horse-drawn waggonways of the eighteenth century and the coal railways of the early nineteenth century, while Chapters 3–5 cover the railways of the 1830s and 1840s.

This major project comprises fourteen thematically arranged volumes. The aim of the Compendium is to examine the interlocking strands of history and traditional culture that go into the making of a national identity, in an up-to-date synthesis of the current state of knowledge. By bringing together information from a variety of sources, the Compendium not only provides a digest of topics, but also points towards areas for new investigation. The Compendium concentrates upon the present and the historical period and does not generally deal with prehistory, although for certain themes, such as the development of agriculture and buildings, early evidence is taken into account. Where appropriate, reference is made to foreign parallels and to the influence on Scotland of the cultures of neighbouring peoples. Scottish influence on the world at large is also taken into account, whether in relation to urban or rural, maritime or land-based topics. Material and non-material aspects of history and tradition are considered equally, at all levels of society, indeed oftentimes focusing on the interaction between people of differing social strata