During the 18th cenutry Coalbrookdale was the acknowledged leader in this process. It produced the first iron wheels, the first iron rails, a very early use of steam in the coalmining industry, the first irons team cylinders, the first iron bridge, the first iron-framed factory building and the first railway locomotive. This sequence of firsts was started by Abraham Darby I, a Quaker who came to Coalbrookedale in 1708. This book follows the fortunes of the Darby family through a period of 300 years