In the course of the last 150 years the outskirts of the city have been transformed, and they have expanded, in a way that would astonish Edinburgh residents of just a few generations ago. In this detailed and fully illustrated account of the suburbs, Sandy Mullay not only offers a concise history of each district. His survey will be essential reading and reference for everyone who takes an interest in their neighbourhood He also features local anecdotes, myths and folklore, and he remembers remarkable, sometimes bizarre, episodes and notable individuals who played their part in the story. "The Illustrated History of Edinburgh's Suburbs" records, in words and photographs, the impact made on the city by an ever-increasing population and changes in industry, at work and in the home.

For half a century from 1948, Scotland's railway system was operated, for the first time, as a complete administrative unit - but also as part of a nationalised system for the whole of the UK. Scottish Region soon developed its own character, with its own problems and potential. Yet it suffered the same fate as the rest of the system - lack of modernisation in the first ten years, the later supply of Diesel and electric traction equipment which was not properly tested, the Beeching axe and the asset stripping prior to privitisation. This is the first ever history of Scotland's BR.