The final volume in the Anatomy of Canals series brings the story right up to date.  Canal Mania hit Britain in the 1790s; when it subsided canal construction still carried on, but under the shadow of a new threat, as the first locomotives puffed their way onto the transport scene.  Engineers rose to the challenge by building ever more direct routes, with deep cuttings and high embankments.  This was also an age of experiment, with devices such as boat lifts, culminating in the famous Anderton Boat Lift, now restored to working order.

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Robert Aickman, founder of The Inland Waterways Association along with L T C (Tom) Rolt, sets out his views and recollections of IWA's formation, and its first five years.  The book was published posthumously.

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Millions of people make use of Britain's inland waterways every year, yet only a couple of generations ago their thousands of miles were in such a state of neglect and decay that they were threatened with extinction.  Race Against Time is the story of Britain's most successful environmental campaign to date.

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Nearly eighty years ago, a small band of enthusiasts gathered together to form The Inland Waterways Association.  They had witnessed the decline of the canal network and closure of parts of the system and had decided to do something about it.  From those early beginnings, IWA grew into a group of many thousands of members, all dedicated to restoring and using Britain's inland waterways.

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