Trains and railways: general interest Books

Book SynopsisA wonderful selection of original photography of the railways in the beautiful county of South Yorkshire.

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Book SynopsisTelling the story of the pioneering engineers behind the locomotives that took part in the iconic Rainhill trials.

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Book SynopsisWonderful, previously unpublished photographs, of the railways of South East Asia. A fascinating insight into the railways of this rapidly changing area of the world.

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Book SynopsisNew B-format paperback edition. The history of steam in Britain, from the Rocket in 1829, through to the last main line locomotive in the 1960s.

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Book SynopsisA highly illustrated survey of the glory days of steam in Essex, Sussex, Norfolk and parts of Cambridgeshire.

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Book Synopsis Fifty Railways that Changed the Course of History is afascinating and beautifully presented guide to the train lines and rail companies thathave had the greatest impact on modern civilization. Entries range from the Metropolitan Line of the LondonUnderground, the world's first underground railway, to the Pacific Railroad, thefirst transcontinental railroad in North America. In order to justify the assertion that they literally ''changedthe course of history,'' each railway is judged by its influence in fivecategories: Engineering, Society, commerce, Politics, and Military.Table of Contents1. Rochester to London, England, 75. Caesar’s troops adopt Grecian measurements for grooved roads in their latest colony, Insula Albionum, Great Britain. George Stephenson adapts them for standard gauge, now used by sixty percent of the world’s railroads. 2. Swansea and Mumbles, Wales, 1807. Carriages on the world’s first recognised passenger rail service are drawn by horse and sail. 3. Glasgow, James Watt (1736 – 1819) and Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (1725-1804). Between them the two men devised the necessary elements for Richard Trevithick to develop his steam engine. 4. Circular track, London, England, 1804. Richard Trevithick’s steam engine, Catch Me If You Can, carries passengers round a circular track in London. 5. Stockton and Darlington, England, 1825. Opened by George Stephenson, it becomes the world’s first publically subscribed railway. But it was a visionary land surveyor, William James, and not Stephenson who would be called the father of the railways. 6. Charleston to Hamburg, South Carolina, America, 1830. The first successful steam locomotive line opened with the steam train, the Best Friend of Charleston. Oliver Evans in 1812 imagines a national railroad network. 7. Semmering, Austria, 1854. Regarded as the world’s first mountain railroad, it would be followed by increasingly hazardous rail ascents such as Mount Washington (1869), Mount Rigi, Italy (1873) and Snowdon, Wales (1896). 8. London to Birmingham, England, 1838. The start of England’s rail network led to the synchronising of railway clocks. Coping with timekeeping where railroads ran across timelines had its own challenges. 9. Philadelphia to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, America, 1838. Mail contracts killed the pony express and mail coach and revolutionized the postal service. In England W. H. Auden and Benjamin Britten contribute to the London Midlands Service’s 1936 film starring music, Night Mail. 10. Nuremburg to Fürth, Germany, 1835. The first steam-driven railway opens in Germany and leads to the creation of Germany’s first long distance railroad line. 11. Union Pacific and Central Pacific, America, 1869. A golden spike ceremonially driven into the tracks marked the last railroad link between the American east and west. 12. Midland Railway, England, 1844. Entrepreneur George Hudson becomes the first railroad rogue, ruining hundreds of investors during Britain’s rail mania. 13. Lancaster and Carlisle, England, 1846. Carnforth Station on the L & C Line became the setting for the 1943 film Brief Encounters, with music by Rachmaninoff and based on a Noel Coward play about a chance meeting at ‘Milford Junction’. Rail encounters continued to inspire film makers. 14. Metropolitan Line, England, 1863. An underground rail route between Paddington and Farringdon Street, London, paves the way for a host of city railroads from New York, Shanghai and Tokyo, to Moscow, Seoul and Paris. 15. London and North Western, England, 1850. The opening of the steam line between Aberdeen and Billingsgate Fish Market in London contributed to the depletion of stocks of the ‘silver darlings’, herring. Britain was not the only country where an efficient railroad caused species decline. 16. Northern Railroad New York, America, 1851. The first refrigerated box or cattle car used on the American railway was not a success. However Gustavus Franklin Swift (1839–1903) introduced the design that herald the age of cheap beef. 17. Liverpool and Manchester, England, 1830. William Huskisson, MP died after being hit by a train, the Rocket. On the Great Western Railway in 1841 a group of passengers, builders working on the House of Parliament, were killed when the train ran into a landslide. These accidents were nothing compared to the damage wrought by the 2004 Sri Lanka tsunami when the Queen of the Sea railroad lost more than 1,700 on a single journey. Rail safety is on the decline and not just due to natural disasters. 18. Washing and Springfield, America, 1865. George Pullman special carriage carried the body of President Abraham Lincoln to its final resting place. Pullman became the chief employer of African Americans after the Civil War, using former slaves to staff his Pullman service. 19. Melbourne and Hobson’s Bay Railway Company, Australia, 1854. Beaten into the record books by Chicago Union’s Chicago to Galena commuter rail in 1848, the Flinders Street to Port Melbourne rail was one of the early commuter rails and Australia’s first line. The opening of rail links between city centres and the outskirts has culminated in France’s ‘TGV commuter belts’ over a hundred miles distant. 20. Grand Truck Pacific, Canada, 1914. So many towns in Western Canada were created by the railroad that the company took to systematically naming them in alphabetical order. The impact of the Canadian Pacific Railway with features such as its ‘school trains’, had a powerful effect on some of the nation’s remotest regions. Railway towns from Wolverton, Crewe and Swindon in the UK to Baldwin, Philadelphia, Meiningen Germany and Nässjö in Sweden. 21. Windsor Hotel, Montreal, 1878. The Windsor was the first of Canada railroad’s grand hotels. The rise and fall of the railway hotel. 22. Milano Centrale, Rome, Italy. The development of the railroad station from New York’s Grand Central to the Gare de Lyon in Paris and St Pancras’, London in the days when rail companies and governments vied to build bigger and better. 23. East India Railways, India, 1854. The East India opened up northern and eastern India from Calcutta to, eventually, Delhi with stock, rails and sleepers. Everything was transported by sailing ship from Britain. 24. Shanghai to Woosung, China, 1876. At the start of the annual holidays or Golden Weeks, over 6.5 million take to China’s trains. The nine mile line, China’s first, was shut down within a year, but the country eventually developed the world’s third largest rail network. 25. The Tay Bridge Disaster. North British Railways, 1890. The failure of the bridge across the Firth of Forth signalled a new approach to bridge building, reflected in the grandeur of the world’s largest long bridge, the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 26. London Midland, England. The railway was the first to produce a timetable before George Bradshaw (1801-53) established his famous railway timetables. 27. Baltimore Ohio Railroad, America, 1895. The railroad started the first electric locomotive service with an engine developed by Werner von Siemens. Eighty years on and the Trans Europ Express system, linking all major cities with electric trains reached the height of its popularity. 28. Great Eastern Railway, Holland, 1862. In 1913 Rudolph Diesel, eponymous inventor of the successor to the steam train dies under mysterious circumstances on the Antwerp to London on the boat train, SS Dresden. 29. Trans Siberian Railroad, Russia, 1905. Connecting Moscow to the Sea of Japan the world’s longest railway contributed to Russia’s defeat by the Japanese in 1905. 30. Baghdad Railway, 1903 to 1940. The contentious rail route from Berlin to Baghdad, which came under attack from T.E. Lawrence’s Arab guerrillas was both blamed for contributing to the start of the First World War. 31. Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railway, America, 1860s. The first armoured trains appeared during the American Civil War. By the close of the nineteenth century they were being employed in the Boer War: war reporter Winston Churchill was captured by the Boers on such a train in 1899. 32. Ambulance trains, France, 1914. The two world wars signalled a peak in rail traffic with the movement of munitions and armies. They also saw the introduction of travelling hospitals. 33. The Trans-Australian Railway, Australia, 1917. With its Tea and Sugar train, the Trans finally connected Perth with the rest of the continent, despite Australia adopting three different gauges. 34. Kalka Shimla Railway, India, 1903. The railroad that passed through some of India’s most dramatic scenery connected Kalka and the rest of the Indian railway system with what was to become the headquarters of the British Army in India. It would play a pivotal role during the Second World War. 35. Burma Railway, Burma, 1943. The railroad is christened the Death Railway after more than 100,000 forced labourers die during its construction. 36. Tokyo to Shimonoseki, Japan, 1940. The Shinkansen or bullet train began its developmental history in wartime Japan. It went on to break world records. 37. Leipzig to Dresden, Germany, 1839. The old line facilitated the Third Reich’s plan to liquidate those regarded as enemies of the state. The Reichsbahn, or National Railways, recorded and charged each and every passenger journey to the gas chambers. 38. Ferrocarriles Argentinos, Argentina, 1945. Redundant narrow gauge track and rolling stock from the First World War was used to build the Trochita (“The Little Narrow Gauge”), later made famous as the Old Patagonia Express. 39. Settle and Carlisle, 1960s. It was billed as Britain’s most scenic route, but until the late 1960s and a controversial minister called Doctor Beeching, it had plenty of attractive rivals. 40. Birmingham Airport to Birmingham Station, 1984. The first ‘Maglev” monorail opened at Birmingham, England to be followed by similar systems in Japan, Germany and Vancouver, Canada. 41. Channel Tunnel, 1990. The French and British buried their differences and the hole-boring machines that drilled out the Tunnel (it was too large to extract) when the two countries were linked by the Chunnel. It’s status as the world’s longest rail tunnel is challenged by plans to link Russia and the US under the Bering Sea. 42. Alcalá de Henares, Spain, 2004. The simultaneous bombing of four trains on Madrid’s commuter network marked a weather change in terrorism . It was not the first such atrocity, nor would it be the last. 43. Cape to Cairo, Africa, uncompleted. Cecil Rhodes’ vision of a railroad that would link Africa from north to south and bring political stability to the continent was only a partial success. 44. London North Eastern, England, 1923. The Flying Scotsman, operating on the London to Edinburgh line, captured the popular imagination as it raced into the record books. Engines have been racing to their destination ever since the Rocket won the Rainhill Race in 1829. 45. Leicester to Loughborough, England, 1841. An entrepreneurial Baptist, Thomas Cook, chartered a train to carry 500 Temperance supporters to a rally. He went on to found a tourist agency that spanned the international railroad network. 46. Orient Express, France, 1883. The route from Paris to Istanbul became the iconic journey for romantic rail routes that ranged from Italy’s Bernina Express and the modern Danube Express to Amtrak’s Cascades between Oregon and Vancouver. 47. California Zephyr, America, 1949. The rise and fall of this famous rail route was to be rescued by the founding of America’s national rail body, Amtrack. Its early days, with Richard Nixon in the White House, were caught up in controversy. 48. Tayllyn Railway, Wales, 1950. In 1950 a group of volunteers rescued the narrow gauge Welsh slate route and opened it as a heritage railway. Their endeavours would inspire rail rescues worldwide including Australia’s Puffing Billy, the UK’s Bluebell Line and New Zealand’s Glenbrook Vintage Railway. 49. North Borneo Railway, Borneo, 1905. Built with foreign labour to carry tobacco from the interior the railroad, in 2012, was revived as an environmentally friendly tourist attraction. The development of railroads as sustainable transport systems. 50. Great Western Railway, England, 1930s. Railroads have inspired artists, writers and musicians, from Rev. W. W Awdry in his home beside the Great Western Line to E. F. Nesbit’s the Railway Children.

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Book Synopsis''An utterly enjoyable voyage under Paris'' - THE OLDIE''Delightful and diverting... Martin is the most unpretentious and companionable of guides; the book is great fun'' - LITERARY REVIEW''An eclectic blend of engineering and travelogue, urban planning and anecdote... a sincere love letter'' - THE ECONOMISTAndrew Martin has been described as ''the laureate of railways'', having written many books with railway themes. Metropolitain: An Ode to the Paris Metro, is the first English history of the Metro for the general reader.Metropolitain is as stylish as the Metro itself and laced with cultural references. Andrew explains why Last Tango in Paris is a great Metro film, and what the Metro chase scene in the classic thriller, Le Samourai, says about Parisian culture. We also meet Andrew''s half-English, half-French friend, Julian, who runs a society dedicated to Metro history. He tells

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Book Synopsis''A tale of irresponsibility and inexperience'' THE TIMES''Graphically written with a sense of dramatic construction'' SCOTSMANOn December 28th 1879, the night of the Great Storm, the Tay Bridge collapsed, along with the train that was crossing, and everyone on board...This is the true story of that disastrous night, told from multiple viewpoints:The station master waiting for the train to arrive - who sees the approaching lights simply vanish.The bored young boys watching from their bedroom window who witness the disaster.The dreamer who designed the bridge which eventually destroyed him.The old highlanders who professed the bridge doomed from the outset.The young woman on the ill-fated train, carrying a love letter from the man she hoped to marry...THE HIGH GIRDERS is a vivid, dramatic reconstruction of the ill-omened man-made catastrophe of the Tay Bridge disaster - and its grim aftermath.Trade ReviewGraphically written with a sense of dramatic construction * SCOTSMAN *A tale of irresponsibility and inexperience * THE TIMES *One of our leading historians, whose works ... are as scholarly as they are readable * OBSERVER *

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Book SynopsisWhy don't trains run on time? Why are fares so expensive? Why are there so many strikes? Few would disagree that Britain's railways are broken, and have been for a long time. This insightful new book calls for a radical rethink of how we view the railways, and explains the problems we face and how to fix them. Haines-Doran argues that the railways should be seen as a social good and an indispensable feature of the national economy. With passengers and railway workers holding governments to account, we could then move past the incessant debates on whether our railways are an unavoidably loss-making business failure. An alternative vision is both possible and affordable, enabling the railways to play an instrumental role in decreasing social inequalities, strengthening the economy and supporting a transition to a sustainable future.This book is relevant to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9, Industry, innovation and infrastructureTrade Review'Punchy, well written and forensic in its analysis. Exposes how attacks on rail workers' terms and conditions have been at the heart of privatisation - and how passengers and taxpayers have also been fleeced by shareholders and bosses.'Frances O'Grady, General Secretary, Trades Union Congress'A clear, precise and accessible glide through the disastrous history of British privatised rail and a passionate case for why we need the railways now more than ever, Derailed is an InterCity125 in a discourse dominated by Pacers and Pendolinos.'Owen Hatherley, culture editor of Tribune and author of Modern Buildings in Britain‘Tom Haines-Doran provides an excellent summary of the wrongs of rail privatisation, but that's the easy bit. The best sections of the book are those attempting to provide ideas for sorting out the mess and giving the railways the focus they need to survive at a time of concerns about climate change and inequality.’Christian Wolmar, author of British Rail: A New History 'Derailed is a fascinating and readable guide to the state of the UK's railways, which shows exactly what needs to be done to build a rail network that works for public good rather than private profit.'Grace Blakeley, author of The Corona Crash 'Derailed is a brilliant, revelatory book. Deeply researched, lucidly written and humane, it explains the chronic failure of corner-cutting, under-funding and privatisation in Britain’s railways – and more importantly, what we can do about it. I commend this book to anyone who has ever wondered why things don’t work properly in this country, and wants to know how to fix it.'Richard Seymour, author of The Twittering Machine'The privatisation of our railways has proved to be one of the greatest policymaking disasters of the last century. It has cost the taxpayer and travelling public billions of pounds and, tragically for many passengers and railway workers, it has cost them their lives. This book demonstrates clearly how this scandal can be remedied.'John McDonnell MP'In Derailed, Tom Haines-Doran puts the UK’s rail system in these political-economic contexts with a compelling account of its history, present conditions and future possibilities.'Chris Saltmarsh, The Ecologist'Derailed is a refreshing take on Britain’s post-privatisation railways and convincingly makes the case for passenger-led reform. While primarily aimed at passengers and rail users, Derailed will find broad appeal with those interested in transport more generally, especially those intrigued by its role in the fight against climate change. Equally, this book would benefit undergraduates and more advanced scholars keen to understand the puzzle pieces of Britain’s privatised rail network.'William Law, LSE Review of Books 'This is a very impressive survey of Britain’s railway industry, which also puts forward a whole series of proposals for improving it.'The Morning Star'Derailed is, in short, an indispensable read for anyone with even a passing interest in the railways, either as a passenger or member of staff. I hope that both unions and passengers’ groups take notice of it. It can inform the movement well for the next stages of the struggle to get the public-transport system we so urgently need.'Kevin Crane, Counterfire 'An absorbing read, and its slim paperback format means it is an excellent travelling companion fora rail journey...'Rail Express'This short and accessible book provides an incisive analysis of the reasons for the failure of the privatisation of Britain’s rail passenger services.'Sean McCartney, Emeritus Professor at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary, University of London -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 Why don’t the trains run on time?2 Why are fares so high?3 Why are there so many strikes?4 How can the railways be held to account?5 Is there light at the end of the tunnel?Notes Index

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Book SynopsisBuilt to carry minerals from mines in the Rheidol valley, the 2ft gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway found its niche carrying tourists to the tourist attraction at Devil's Bridge, 12 miles inland from the Cardigan coast resort of Aberystwyth. Taken over by the Cambrian Railways and then the Great Western Railway, it became the last steam railway operated by British Rail. In 1989 it became the first part of the national network to be privatised. Now under the control of a charitable trust it is undergoing a revival that will see it become one of the leading tourist attractions in Mid-Wales.

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Book SynopsisThis is a history of the railways of Oxford ,looking at the operations and development of services , from the opening of the Oxford Railway by the Great Western on 12 June 1844 through to the present day. This volume covers the development of the railway locally, including the London and North Western Buckinghamshire Railway' from Bletchley, together with the five local branch lines. The opening of the Great Western / Great Central joint line from Culworth Junction to Banbury Junction in August 1900 resulted in the growth of inter regional cross country services passing through Oxford . The advent of the second world war saw the construction of a new junction at Oxford North giving for the first time a direct link from the Great Western to the London Midland & Scottish Railway branch to Bletchley and beyond. The opening of these two new junctions saw a considerable increase in both passenger and freight traffic which resulted in Oxford becoming a major railway centre . For many years one of the highlights was the arrival and departure of locomotives on a daily basis from all of the big four railway companies. Those days are long gone, but today Oxford is as busy as ever, with passenger services to London operated by Great Western Railway and Chiltern Trains, and by Cross Country Trains the South and the North of England.

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Book SynopsisRob Shorland-Ball is a former teacher and is also a born story teller and is well aware of the strong local loyalties in East Anglia. Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex are considered to be very different separate and independent areas by their inhabitants When the author worked in Suffolk he explained that he came from Cambridge which he believed was the front door of East Anglia, an elderly Suffolk man to whom he was speaking, paused for a while and then said, with unarguable finality, here in Suffolk if Cambridge exists at all , it is a back door and rarely used. The minor railways illustrated in this book were once busy transport links and made vital contributions to the social and business heritage of the area they served. By the 1950s and 60s, when the author explored them, they were rarely used, so needed to be recorded and their stories told before they were forgotten entirely. To bring this book up to date, the final section is called Destiny because some of the track beds have survived and flourished with new usage as restored heritage railways, footpaths and cycleways and one route as a busy busway.

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Book SynopsisDerek Cross was one of a group of outstanding railway photographers, who mostly took pictures during the steam and early modern traction era, 1950s and 1960s. David Cross his son, has inherited his extensive collection of black & white and colour material, which has many unpublished images. This book covers the Southern from the last days of the Southern Railway through to British Railways days in the mid 1960s, when steam was on the way out. This is the first book that covers the Derek Cross Southern photographs, which date from the late 1940s through to the end of Southern Region steam and as such, features some very rare locations, unusual liveries and long extinct classes of locomotive. The author has carefully selected some rare and unusual pictures for this volume, which will be of interest and use to both railway historians and modellers.

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Book SynopsisIn many ways this title featuring the evolution of cross-channel boat trains and the many dedicated services responsible for moving international passengers to and from trans-Atlantic steamers, is an extension of luxury railway travel. But that's not the full story as it encapsulates more than 125 years of independent and organised tourism development. At the end of the nineteenth century, faster and more stable twin-screw vessels replaced cross-channel paddlers resulting in a significant expansion in the numbers of day excursionists and short-stay visitors heading to Belgium, France and the Channel Islands. Continental Europe, as it had done since the end of the Napoleonic Wars beckoned, introducing ideas of modern-day mass tourism. Numerous liners bestriding the globe were British domiciled. Major ports became hives of commercial activity involving moving freight and mail, as well as transporting all manner of travellers. Not only was there intense competition for passenger traffic between the Old and New World and Britain's imperial interests, greater numbers of well-heeled tourists headed off to warmer winter climes, and also experimented with the novel idea of using ocean steamers as hotels to visit an array of diverse destinations. Cruise tourism and the itinerary had arrived as 'Ocean Special' boat trains became essential components of railway and port procedures. Whilst some railway operations were dedicated to emigrant traffic, continental and ocean liner boat trains were also synonymous with the most glamorous travel services ever choreographed by shipping lines and railway companies working closely in tandem. This well illustrated book explores the many functions of boat train travel.

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Book SynopsisThe 'Claytons' were originally conceived as the British Railways "standard" Type 1 diesel-electric locomotive, superseding other Type 1 classes delivered as part of the 'Pilot Scheme' fleet. The early classes suffered from poor driver visibility, and the plan from 1962 was for subsequent trip-freight and local yard shunting locomotives to be centre-cab machines with low bonnets to dramatically improve visibility. To this extent the Claytons were highly successful and popular with operating crews. However, the largely untested high-speed, flat Paxman engines proved to be highly problematical, resulting in deliveries being curtailed after 117 locomotives. Further requirements for Type 1 locomotives after 1965 were met by reverting to one of the original 'Pilot' designs! Deteriorating traffic levels ultimately led to the Claytons being withdrawn from BR service by December 1971. Considerable amounts of archive material have been unearthed to enable the issues surrounding the rise and fall of the 'Standard Type 1' locomotives to be fully explored. Further sources provide insights into the effort and money expended on the Claytons in a desperate attempt to improve their reliability. Individual locomotive record cards, together with personal sighting information, allow histories of each class member to be developed including allocations, works visits, liveries and disposal details. Supported by over 280 photographs and diagrams, dramatic new insights into this troubled class have been assembled for both historians and modellers alike.

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Book SynopsisL N E R 4-6-0 Tender Mixed Traffic Locomotives covers the design, construction, operation and performance of all 4-6-0 locomotives that ran on the London & North Eastern Railway between 1923 and 1947 and the LNER designed engines that ran on BR's Eastern Region until the end of BR steam in 1968\. This includes the former Great Central 4-6-0s of classes B1 - B9 (the B1 and B2 later reclassified B18 & B19); the North Eastern Railway B13 - B16s; the Great Eastern B12s; and the LNER B17s, the Thompson B1s and rebuilds (B2 and B3/3). The book has over 60,000 words and 400 black and white and coloured photographs, many previously unpublished from the archives of the Manchester Locomotive Society at Stockport. It will be of particular interest to railway modellers and enthusiasts of locomotive running and performance as well as those seeking more general locomotive history. The book is designed and written in the same style as David Maidment's previous Locomotive Portfolio books on engines of the Great Western and Southern Railways, and includes where possible his own experiences, seeing and travelling behind engines of these classes in the 1950s and early 1960s, especially the B1s, B12s and B17 'Sandringhams'.

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Book SynopsisRailways have been used for the carriage of mail since soon after the Liverpool & Manchester Railway opened in 1830, the development of the first travelling post offices following, enabling the Post Office to achieve maximum efficiencies in mail transportation. As the rail network grew the mail network grew with it, reaching a peak with the dedicated mail trains that ran between London and Aberdeen. The Post Office also turned to railways when it sought a solution to the London traffic that hindered its operations in the Capital, obtaining powers to build its own narrow gauge, automatic underground railway under the streets to connect railway stations and sorting offices. Although construction and completion were delayed by the First World War, the Post Office (London) Railway was eventually brought into use and was an essential part of Post Office operations for many years. Changing circumstances brought an end to both the travelling post offices and the underground railway but mail is still carried, in bulk, by train and a part of the railway has found a new life as the Mail Rail tourist attraction. Author Peter Johnson has delved into the archives and old newspapers to uncover the inside story of the Post Office and its use of railways to carry the mail for nearly 200 years.

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Book SynopsisWhen British Railways (BR) was privatised in April 1994 some of the freight companies were bought by English Welsh Scottish Railways (EWSR), which immediately reviewed the mixed locomotive fleet and led to the decision to purchase 250 locomotives from General Motors (USA), based on that company's earlier Class 59 design supplied to Foster Yeoman in 1985\. Delivered to Newport Docks each locomotive was lubricated, filled with fuel and water and released to traffic within hours of being craned onto the quayside. The early privatised freight market was geared to the heavy industries but the changes of Government policies to counteract global warming has seen consequent changes in freight operations whilst global trading has seen massive growth in the movement of containers between ports and inland distribution centres. This changing market has encouraged both existing and new operators to base operations on a reliable locomotive fleet which has been met by the Class 66 design. The expansion of the locomotive's operating area has been recorded within the book through a regional analysis noting both the freight services operated within the region and the companies providing them. This also notes changes of operators, both by exchange of locomotives and exchange of hauler as contracts are re-negotiated at regular intervals. Fred Kerr's book seeks to show, as at October 2019, the range of services that have been operated by class members, including the occasional passenger services despite the locomotives not being fitted with any heat generating equipment.

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Book SynopsisThe Southern Railway between 1923 and 1939 was the only British company to carry out a sustained programme of electrification which became known as the Southern Electric. Unlike many recent projects, each incremental step was completed on time and within budget. This successful project was more impressive as it was achieved during a period of economic stagnation (including the great depression') and despite government disapproval of the method of electrification. The driving force behind this endeavor was the railway's general manager, Sir Herbert Walker, but at his side was his electrical engineer, Alfred Raworth, the man one journalist described as an electrification genius'. Alfred Raworth's career began working with his father the eminent consulting engineer and entrepreneur, John Smith Raworth. Following the collapse of his father's business Alfred joined the railway industry and devised an ambitious and innovative electrification design. This was discarded when the railways of southern England were grouped' into the Southern Railway after which he took responsibility for the implementation of the electrification schemes. With Walker's retirement in 1937, those who continued to support steam traction took the policy lead. A marginalised Raworth retired but was later to witness the fruition of many of his discarded ideas.

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Book SynopsisLMS & LNER Steam Locomotives is the result of over two decades of photographing steam locomotives in action in many parts of Britain covered by the former LMS and LNER Railway Companies, the two largest of the 'Big Four' Railway Companies which operated in Britain between 1923 and 1948. The majority of the photographs were taken during the British Railways era between 1948 and 1968. Although the author Malcolm Clegg has a sizeable collection of steam locomotive photographs taken during this period, the photographs which appear in this book are from the private collection of his lifelong friend and family relative, Mr Peter Cookson (a retired school-master), himself a railway historian, author and amateur photographer, who has kindly provided the photographs for publication in this book. Many of the photographs selected are rare and unusual for a variety of reasons which should appeal to railway historians and steam enthusiasts alike.

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Book SynopsisThe accomplishments, and initiatives, both social and economic, of Edward Watkin are almost too many to relate. Though generally known for his large-scale railway projects, becoming chairman of nine different British railway companies as well as developing railways in Canada, the USA, Greece, India and the Belgian Congo, he was also responsible for a stream of remarkable projects in the nineteenth century which helped shape people's lives inside and outside Britain. As well as holding senior positions with the London and North Western Railway, the Worcester and Hereford Railway and the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway, Watkin became president of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. He was also director of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railways, as well as the Athens-Piraeus Railway. Watkin was also the driving force in the creation of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway's 'London Extension' - the Great Central Main Line down to Marylebone in London. This, though, was only one part of his great ambition to have a high-speed rail link from Manchester to Paris and ultimately to India. This, of course, involved the construction of a Channel tunnel. Work on this began on both sides of the Channel in 1880 but had to be abandoned due to the fear of invasion from the Continent. He also purchased an area of Wembley Park, serviced by an extension of his Metropolitan Railway. He developed the park into a pleasure and events destination for urban Londoners, which later became the site of Wembley Stadium. It was also the site of another of Watkin's enterprises, the 'Great Tower in London' which was designed to be higher than the Eiffel Tower but was never completed. Little, though, is known about Watkin's personal life, which is explored here through the surviving diaries he kept. The author, who is the chair of The Watkin Society, which aims to promote Watkin's life and achievements, has delved into the mind of one of the nineteenth century's outstanding individuals.

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Book SynopsisIn May 1923, when Shanghai publisher and reporter John Benjamin Powell bought a first-class ticket for the Peking Express, he pictured an idyllic overnight journey on a brand-new train of unprecedented luxury-exactly what the advertisements promised. Seeing his fellow passengers, including mysterious Italian lawyer Giuseppe Musso, a confidante of Mussolini and lawyer for the opium trade, and American heiress Lucy Aldrich, sister-in-law of John D. Rockefeller Jr., he knew it would be an unforgettable trip.Charismatic bandit leader and populist rabble rouser Sun Mei-yao had also taken notice of the new train from Shanghai to Peking. On the night of Powell's trip of a lifetime, Sun launched his plan to make a brazen political statement: he and a thousand fellow bandits descended on the train, capturing dozens of hostages.Aided by local proxy authorities, the humiliated Peking government soon furiously gave chase. At the bandits' mountain stronghold, a five-week siege began.Brilliantly written, with new and original research, The Peking Express tells the incredible true story of a clash that shocked the world-becoming so celebrated it inspired several Hollywood movies-and set the course for China's two-decade civil war.

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Book SynopsisRAILS THROUGH WEXFORD is a photographic journey across the two scenic railway routes in the south of the county, which once upon a time connected Waterford city with Wexford town and points further afield, by two different routes. The photographs are mainly from the collection of acclaimed railway photographer Barry Carse, who has been taking photographs of railway operations in the area for some fifty years. Many of the scenes depict operations which not only have long since ceased, but of which little or no trace now remains. We commence our journey around the county by tracing the erstwhile North Wexford line, from Waterford city up through New Ross and onwards through Palace East to join the Dublin - Rosslare line at Macmine Junction. From Macmine Junction, we head south to Wexford and onwards to Rosslare Harbour, before returning to Waterford via the South Wexford line through Wellington Bridge. Despite both being opened as through routes in 1906 and serving a similar hinterland, the two lines would have a very different history. As a through route the North Wexford line was closed in 1963, although the section from Waterford to New Ross would remain in use for freight trains until 1995. However, largely due to the sugar beet loading facility at Wellington Bridge, and Rosslare - Cork passenger trains in times past, the South Wexford line would survive until the untimely demise of the domestic beet industry in 2006 and the end of passenger services in 2010. The beet traffic, for so long a staple on this line, has been covered in detail in the book. Today, only the section from Dublin to Wexford and on to Rosslare remains in use for passenger trains only.

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Book SynopsisThis wonderful publication provides a unique visual and historical record of the West Cork Railway as rail enthusiast and historian Chris Larkin warmly remembers the lifetime of the rail system in a travelogue which allows readers to hop onto a West Cork train and savour the journey of a bygone era. Highly illustrated with 188 images, while on board, you might even meet a celebrity! Fully illustrated throughout, material from Irish Railway Records is complemented by unique and rare images from private collections and the London Illustrated News. Photographs, vintage posters, postcards, colour slides, tickets, advertisements and images of railway paraphernalia fill the pages. West Cork Railways takes the reader time travelling from the famine right through to the rocking 1960s. Sit on a seat and be whisked from your West Cork home to villages and towns carrying along the dreams, needs and aspirations of bygone travellers. Observe railway life and the harmonious existence of dogs, cats, hens, ducks and geese at the level crossings. Railway enthusiasts will savour detailed accounts of railway stations, length of lines together with steam locomotives and wagons, while those interested in social history will enjoy accounts of halt-keeper’s houses and lists of people including those that worked on the Cork - Beara line. The railway brought much prosperity to the region; however, decades have passed since its 1961 demise and the rapid physical decay of the line. West Cork life continued, albeit in a different way. While today connectivity is measured in speed, this railway is fondly remembered for linking its people. Heartbreakingly, if it had held its ground for a further 12 years until EEC entry (1973), the railway right of way for future generations would have been preserved.

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Book SynopsisThe self-contained, fully electrified Merseyrail system is an iconic part of the UK's railway network. With 75 route miles of track, sixty-nine stations, and over 800 services, it is the third largest rail system outside London and the South East, transporting around 100,000 passengers safely, efficiently, and to the highest environmental standards on any typical working day. Radiating from the city of Liverpool, it serves the Wirral and parts of Cheshire and West Lancashire, where it has gained numerous awards for reliability, punctuality, and passenger satisfaction. And the future of Merseyrail looks bright: state-of-the-art Class 777 electric multiple units are entering service and extensions of the network are being planned. 'Merseyrail Electric: The Award-Winning Network' is the definitive book on this magnificent network, examining with an expert's eye its development, its rolling stock, and its exciting future.Table of ContentsIn the Beginning; Onwards; Operations; Gallery-Northern Line; Gallery-Wirral Line; Merseyrail Miscellany; Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisThe 00 gauge train set was the ultimate ‘boy’s toy’ of the 1950s and ’60s. Electric 00 gauge trains were introduced by Trix and Hornby Dublo in the mid-1930s, but the Second World War quickly halted production. However, they burst back onto the post-war scene with great success, and 00 quickly became the dominant scale in Britain, and was taken up by other large manufacturers including Tri-ang. Whilst the components of the sets themselves were often basic, they could be transformed into astonishing landscapes in the hands of imaginative builders. The sheer number of box sets, locomotives, rolling stock, buildings and accessories gave everyone the ability to form a bespoke layout. This beautifully illustrated introduction to the heyday of clockwork and electric 00 gauge trains tells their story up until 1975, when finer detailing and changing trends led to them becoming enthusiasts’ models rather than children’s toys.Trade ReviewI feel like a gap in my education has now been filled... an interesting and informative read. * MODEL RAIL *Table of ContentsForeword by Richard Lines Introduction The Beginning to 1945 Post-war Austerity: Smaller Companies Post-war Hornby Dublo and Trix The Giant Awakes: Enter Tri-Ang European HO Gauge in Britain Tri-Ang Hornby and Hornby Railways 1966–75 Beyond 1975 Appendices: Accessories; Retailers; Bertram Otto Places to Visit Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThis fascinating pocket book draws on numerous primary sources from the early days of the rail network through to the Big Four, British Railways and beyond to present a unique guide to the knowledge and skills required for locomotive drivers, engineers and firemen. Beginning with an introduction to steam from about 1890, the book outlines the rules of the rail network, locomotive management from driving to servicing, a guide to signalling and operations, and rules of the running shed along with a wealth of practical advice and conditions of service for the men on the footplate. The Railwayman's Pocket Book offers a unique insight into the age of steam that will appeal to all railway enthusiasts.

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Book SynopsisLincolnshire is a largely rural county, which was reflected in the early history of the railway lines. The main lines mostly passed through on their way to somewhere else and the local traffic was handled by a large number of branch lines. Author Alan Stennett explores the history of the railways in Lincolnshire, starting with the very early days when it was expected that Lincoln would be on a main line to the north, only to lose out to what we now know as the East Coast Main Line. Using archive maps, original photographs and other sources, he traces the development of railways in the county, and their role in serving the great fishing port of Grimsby, 'bracing' East Coast resorts such as Cleethorpes and Skegness, the iron and steel industries of Scunthorpe and the agricultural heartland of the Fens. The network saw many early closures before being savaged by the Beeching cuts, but the story continues to the present day, where new developments offer renewed hope for what is left of the system.

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Book SynopsisThe Western Region of British Railways has always held a special appeal for railway modellers. Formed in 1948, the WR carried on the traditions of The Great Western Railway more or less unchallenged until the regions were abolished in the 1990s. Modelling the Western Region provides all the advice you need to model your own railway layout based on this fascinating region and era. This book considers the historical background of the Western Region; it reviews available ready-to-run and kit-built steam and diesel motive power; explains Western Region signalling practice; discusses rolling stock typically used on the Western Region and, finally, provides practical suggestions for branch and main line layouts.

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Book SynopsisThe line from Settle to Carlisle is one of the world's great rail journeys. It carves its way through the magnificent landscape of the Yorkshire Dales - where it becomes the highest main line in England - descending to Cumbria's lush green Eden Valley with its view of the Pennines and Lakeland fells. But the story of the line is even more enthralling. From its earliest history the line fostered controversy: it probably should never have been built, arising from a political dispute between two of the largest and most powerful railway companies in the 1860s. Its construction, through some of the most wild and inhospitable terrain in England, was a Herculean task. Tragic accidents affected those who built, worked and travelled the line. After surviving the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, the line faced almost certain closure in the 1980s, only to be saved by an unexpected last-minute reprieve. This book describes the history behind the inception and creation of the line; the challenges of constructing the 72-mile railway and its seventeen viaducts and fourteen tunnels; threat of closure in the mid-1980s and the campaign to save it, and finally, the line today and its future.Trade ReviewStrongly recommended. Superb account of a spectacular line. * Heritage Railway *

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Book SynopsisRailway buildings have always had a fascinating character all of their own, despite many no longer being in operational railway service. This book tells the story of how these buildings evolved alongside the development of the railway in Great Britain and examines how architects over the years have responded to the operational, social and cultural influences that define their work. Written for those with a keen interest in architecture and the railway, as well as those new to the subject, The Architecture and Legacy of British Railway Buildings provides an unique insight into the production of railway architecture, both in the context of railway management and the significant periods of ownership, and the swings in national mood for railway-based transportation. As well as tracing its history, the authors take time to consider the legacy these buildings have left behind and the impact of heritage on a continually forward-looking industry. Topics covered include: the context of railway architecture today; the history of how it came into existence; the evolution of different railway building types; the unique aspects of railway building design, and finally, the key railway development periods and their architectural influences.Trade ReviewThe book is an attractive and well-produced volume comprising 192 pages of text plus acknowledgements, contents list, index and bibliography. For the price this is a good book and specifically for SPAB members highlights many schemes where railway buildings have found new uses outside of the operational railways. -- Clive Baker * SPAB magazine - The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings *Most railway architecture has had to adapt to its predecessor. This fascinating book shows how skilfully that can be done. It also points to a future where Crossrail, HS2 and other projects will deliver an entirely new architectural legacy. Britain’s great railway journey is far from over. -- Nigel Crowe, Institute of Historic Building Conservation * Institute of Historic Building Conservation *

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Book SynopsisThis book describes seven branch lines which climbed into the mountain ranges that span the length and breadth of the countries of India and Pakistan. Some - like the Darjeeling Himalayan - are well known, but others - like the Zhob Valley, Khyber Pass and Kangra Valley lines - are less so. Several of these railways were also the last bastions of steam operation in the sub-continent. Unsurprisingly, as hill railways, most of them reached remarkable heights, many using ingenious feats of engineering to assist their climb into seemingly impenetrable terrain. These lines served diverse locations, each with its own characteristics, from the hostile territories of the North-West Frontier, along the spectacular foothills of the Himalayas, skirting the Western Ghats of the Deccan down to the gentle rolling landscape of the Nilgiris, or Blue Hills, of South India. The book gives the histories of the seven hill railways including summaries of their operations and routes. Maps and gradient charts for all seven railway lines are given as well as listings of the locomotives operating the hill railways.

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Book SynopsisThe Inter-City 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train (HST) fleet, which was built from 1975 to 1982 and was introduced into service in 1976. The Inter-City 125 train is made up of two Class 43 power cars, one at each end of a set of carriages (the number of carriages varies by operator). The train operates at speeds of up to 125 mph in regular service, making it the fastest diesel-powered train in the world, a record it has held from its introduction to the present day. After four decades, most of the HST fleet is still in front-line service, with various UK train operators. This fascinating Inter-City 125 High Speed Train Owners' Workshop Manual looks at the evolution and anatomy of the Inter-City 125, along with details of the operation and servicing of the trains, views from drivers, and details of how the trains were modernised for the 21st century.

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Book Synopsis“Ingenious, great fun, and wholly original” - Fay Weldon CBE, on The Seventh Train What if you can’t stand where you are because there’s nothing there? What if you don’t want to end up anywhere else in case that’s empty too? When life has lost its road map, sometimes the only way to get back on track is to get back on the rails. The Seventh Train is a ride - a ‘road movie’ on the railways. It’s a journey that Elizabeth invented; the only original thought she has ever had in her previously uneventful life. Unbeknown to her, she is not travelling alone. If only she’d pretended that the spare seat was taken. With a wonderfully eclectic cast of characters, The Seventh Train takes its passengers on a journey from the tragic to the strange, arriving finally at hope. By turns heart-breaking, thought-provoking and hilarious, this tale is a life-affirming exploration of the human spirit via the British railway timetable!

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Book SynopsisAll aboard for a delicious ride on nine legendary railway journeys! Meals associated with train travel have been an important aspect of railway history for more than a century - from dinners in dining cars to lunches at station buffets to foods purchased from platform vendors. For many travellers, the experience of eating on a railway journey is often a highlight of the trip, a major part of the `romance of the rails'. Food on the Move focuses on the culinary history of these famous journeys on five continents, from the earliest days of rail travel to the present. The engaging story and vivid illustrations invite readers to discover an array of railway feasts: haute cuisine in the elegant dining carriages of the Orient Express, American steak-and-eggs on the Santa Fe Super Chief, and home-cooked regional foods along the Trans-Siberian tracks. Readers will be tempted to eat their way across Canada's vast interior and Australia's dusty Outback; grab an infamous `British railway sandwich' to munch on the Flying Scotsman; snack on spicy samosas on the Darjeeling Himalayan `Toy Train'; dine at high speed on Japan's `Bullet Train'; and sip South African wines in a Blue Train luxury lounge car featuring windows of glass fused with gold dust. Written by eight different authors who have travelled on those legendary lines, the book include recipes, from the dining cars and station eateries, taken from historical menus and contributed by contemporary chefs. Food on the Move is a veritable feast!Trade Review"Hudgins and seven other writers recount the glory days of train travel, specifically focusing on the cuisine that travelers used to partake of en route. It wasn't just the presence of cloth napkins, fine china, and real silverware that made the trip special; thought and care also went into crafting menus and selecting fine wine. Behind the scenes, chefs contended with the logistics of butchering meat (on board!) and keeping food cold, while the waitstaff made travelers feel like honored guests. Yes, once upon a time, it really was just like in the movies. Hudgins and her crew cover the globe from Japan's bullet train to the famed Orient Express to British Railways' Flying Scotsman. Even the United States, Canada, and Australia all once had train lines that knew how to 'put on a spread.' Readers will appreciate all of the research that shines in each chapter, but included photographs and recipes are sure to whet many a nostalgic appetite for a slower, more gentle, more genteel way of life and travel."--Booklist "Food and trains, my twin passions, are brought together brilliantly in this guided tour of the symbiotic relationship between railways and eating. Whether it is a simple aloo dum enjoyed in the hill town of Darjeeling, caviar on the Trans-Siberian or a feast on Orient Express, this book makes you want to go on every journey and eat every meal described in it." --Christian Wolmar, author of Engines of the Raj: How the Steam Age Transformed India

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Book SynopsisAll aboard the puzzle train!This book is fully loaded with 200 railway-themed puzzles, perfect for aficionados as well as inquisitive commutersMore than just a means of transport, trains have changed the world. Across centuries and continents, they've been unstoppable. But when you're sitting back in your seat on a long rail journey, why not pause for a puzzle or two?From quick quizzes and riddles to more leisurely crosswords and sudoku, whether you're a locomotive obsessive or just enjoy the occasional trip, there's plenty in these pages to fire up your mental furnace and keep you going full steam ahead to the end of the line.Inside you will find a rich variety of puzzles, including these:- Find the names of world-famous locomotives within word searches- Shuffle the letters of anagrams to identify essential railway paraphernalia- Guess the meaning of some technical train-related terms- Figure out what happened during strange-but-true incidents from railway history

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Book SynopsisThis is a second and completely revised edition of a book first published in 2002 which has been long out of print and is now much sought after. There has always been something special about those classic British Railways totem station signs that no other item of railway memorabilia possesses. They recall a railway system that, for better or worse, was far removed from that of today, when life was simpler and less formulaic, when stations were welcoming locations rather than barrier-laden fortresses, and signage was straightforward but still informative. Totems were deceptively simple in terms of their design and typography but clear, easy to recognise and colour coded for the various BR regions. They were found on stations across the network from Penzance to Wick and from Fishguard to Cromer. They told you what you needed to know and no more, they were standardised throughout the railway system, and have rightly earned their place in the ranks of collectible railwayana, with some examples reaching five-figure sums at auctions. This volume is as close as it is likely to get to a definitive book on all aspects of BR totems. Across its 350 pages are to be found 2,214 images - including 2,250 totems - 43 maps and a wealth of relevant statistics. For collectors of railwayana, students of design and for all those with an interest in railway history, this book will be both a visual delight and a reference source to be referred to again and again.

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Book SynopsisUnlike many of his fellow managers, Dick was a rail enthusiast at heart and never lost his passion for locomotives and their crews. He considered himself first and foremost a ''people person'' and estimated he had worked during his career with more than 25,000 men and women, many of whom became close friends and remained so for many years afterwards. After retirement in 1982, he made a major contribution to the continuance of main line steam train operations across the network. This book is a welcome reissue of two of his autobiographical volumes outlining aspects of his illustrious railway career, Steam in the Blood and Railways in the Blood. These have been out of print for some years and their reissue in this competitively priced paperback edition, will bring the life and times of this remarkable railwayman to the attention of a new audience.

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Book SynopsisOne of our best received railway titles in recent years was Northern Rail Rover, a selection of unpublished photos taken in the final years of steam on Britain''s railways by photographer, Allan Heyes. We were delighted when Allan agreed to compile a sequel from his extensive archive which covers his travels in search of steam in the 1960s. The result is an all new collection of his work, Northern Rail Steam.This book takes the reader on a journey recorded in over 200 images, which starts in North Wales and moves on through Chester to Merseyside. There follows a roughly circular itinerary starting around the Wigan area and south east Lancashire before heading to the north east and Cumbria before returning to Lancashire. While the majority of photos cover steam on the BR network, some explore the colliery and other industrial lines which fed traffic onto the main lines. Sequences of pictures at certain locations will recreate the lineside experience of many enthusiasts at this time and will bring them to life for those too young to remember those days.A feature of the photographs of Allan Heyes is that they honestly and accurately portray the reality of those last years of steam. There is no attempt to glamorise the subject, the dirty and unkempt nature of engine sheds and their locos is here for all to see. The book also focuses on the infrastructure and the environment of the steam railway so much of which has been swept away in the decades following the end of steam on Britain''s railways.

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Book SynopsisIf anything, interest in Britain''s railways and their history is increasing rather than diminishing. Many now deeply regret the mass closures of the late twentieth century and there are campaigns in many parts of the country to reverse some of these and restore lines that were prematurely closed. That railways are unquestionably an environmentally friendly form of transport is also part of this narrative.Interest in exploring disused railways is also growing among different groups. Nature lovers relish the flora and fauna of abandoned embankments and cuttings, industrial archaeologists delight in discovering viaducts, tunnels and old artefacts, while social historians may focus in uncovering the lives of those who lived or worked on the railways. For others, old railways simply invoke nostalgia for those not too distant halcyon days when a now-slumbering line was busy with passenger and goods trains hauled by steam locomotives of varying shapes and sizes.This book takes a detailed look at many of the ''lost'' railways of the North-West of England. It examines how they have fared since closure and what is still around to see and visit. The post-closure history of the line includes track lifting, demolition of buildings and structures, changes of ownership and access and the current condition of the railway in question today.As well as looking at what remains of a line, its original purpose is also explored; why was it built, what did it carry, why did it close? Comparisons are also made with lines that have survived and adapted to meet the demands of the modern passenger and freight transport. This book will appeal, not just to railway enthusiasts, but also to a wide range of readers beyond that community.

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Book SynopsisSince its first issue published in 2007, The Southern Way has become the acknowledged definitive journal on the history and heritage of the Southern Railway and the Southern Region of British Railways. The quarterly periodical has now reached issue number 60, and it continues to be the ''go-to'' reference for all those interested in the UK''s Southern Railways. Each issue contains a variety of articles and photo features, each offering an in-depth exploration of an historical aspect of the railways, rolling stock, infrastructure, incidents, events and people associated with ''The Southern Way''.The 60th issue of The Southern Way continues the tradition of previous issues with articles including:- The Queen and the Southern- 1948 - A Year of Change- Elmers End to Addiscombe and Sanderstead- Southern Engine Sheds in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire- Southern Railway Platform Tickets- A Day in the Life- Accidents will Happen- Longmoor Military Railway Open Day- Class 33 Mock-ups- Class 33s in the 1960s- Bulleid''s Class 4DD EMUs- Raworth/Bulleid Class 70 Electric Locomotives- BR Standard 2-6-4Ts on the SouthernIllustrated throughout its 96 pages, including rare and previously unseen colour images, The Southern Way continues to be the ultimate reference source for railway modellers, historians and enthusiasts.

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Book SynopsisBritish Railways was created in 1948 when the Great Western, the London, Midland & Scottish, the London & North Eastern and the Southern were taken into public ownership. BR inherited all their locomotives, passenger and goods rolling stock. Whilst much has been published on BR locomotives and passenger stock, accurate and detailed coverage of the large inventory of vehicles used to convey the huge volumes of goods traffic carried by the railways at that time, is less readily available. This series sets out to provide that information. Written by David Larkin, one of the acknowledged experts on British railway wagons, each volume is heavily illustrated throughout.Starting with an overview of the categories of vehicles covered, this fifth volume explores the huge fleet of open general merchandise wagons, of various sizes, acquired from the ''Big Four''. The wagons are generally dealt with in relation to the companies that built them. The types of wagons covered in this volume includes three-plank mostly dropside opens and the more common general merchandise five-plank versions. It also deals with all the wagons which were produced with shock absorbing equipment from the 1930s onwards, low sided 20-ton capacity all-steel aggregate wagons and PW open wagons used for ballast and general loads.This series is an essential work of reference for all those interested in BR''s huge wagon fleet and a valuable reference tool for railway modellers.

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Book SynopsisThe line from Newport to Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr lost its passenger services from April 1962. Includes an essay on the history of the line and photographs of its locomotives, trains and stations.

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Book Synopsis

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