author
Sir Cusack P. Roney
1810–1868
An Irish railway executive and civil servant, he moved through the worlds of government, industry, and public spectacle at a time when rail travel was reshaping modern life. He is best remembered for his work with major railway companies and for writing Rambles on Railways, a lively 1868 reflection on the age of steam.
1 Audiobook
Rambles on Railways
by Sir Cusack P. Roney
About the author
Born in Dublin and baptized in February 1809, he was the son of surgeon Cusack Roney and studied at Trinity College Dublin. Over the course of his career, he worked in the British civil service as a private secretary and later became closely tied to the railway industry, serving as secretary to railway companies including the Eastern Counties Railway.
He went on to play an important role in the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada, serving as managing director in London. He was also secretary to the Great Industrial Exhibition held in Dublin in 1853, and his work there led to his knighthood.
Beyond administration, he left behind a writer’s view of the railway age. His book Rambles on Railways, published in 1868, mixes history, observation, and enthusiasm for the fast-changing world of nineteenth-century transport. He died on September 30, 1868.