Originally published during the early part of the twentieth century, the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature were designed to provide concise introductions to a broad range of topics. They were written by experts for the general reader and combined a comprehensive approach to knowledge with an emphasis on accessibility. C. Edgar Allen's The Modern Locomotive was first published in 1912. Intended as a work for non-specialists, it looks at the development, design and working of a typical early twentieth-century locomotive.