The cover photo shows the Mushkaf-Bolan railway in Baluchistan, Pakistan as it passes through a series of tunnels and over bridges en route to Quetta. In the 1890s, construction of the railway was supervised by Coopers Hill engineers Charles Hodson, Charles Cole, William Johns, and Thomas Curry. Installation of the neighbouring telegraph line was led by college graduate, Ernest Hudson.
"With sharp insight and a wealth of detail, Richard Hornsey tells the remarkable story of the Royal Indian Engineering College. Though short-lived, the college at Coopers Hill exerted an outsized influence on both the landscape of South Asia and the shape of British engineering education. Imperial Engineers belongs on the shelves of all who wish to understand this important part of the legacy of the British Raj."
Bruce J. Hunt, Associate Professor of History, The University of Texas at Austin
"Imperial Engineers is well-researched. The book’s strength is the level of empirical detail in all aspects of the history of the Royal Indian Engineering College, Coopers Hill. It is also notable that it follows the graduates to the field in India in order to analyze how their training – technically and ‘mentally’ – at Coopers Hill impacted their careers, lives, and professional engineering approaches. This book will be of interest to scholars and students concerned with the history of the British Empire and the history of engineers, technology, and science."
Casper Andersen, Associate Professor of Philosophy and History of Ideas, Aarhus University