Search results for ""crecy publishing""

Arguably, since the 1920s but markedly since the 1960s, the railways have been fighting a losing battle with the road transport to retain their share of freight traffic. Gone are the days when almost every British passenger station had its own goods yard, handling all kinds of freight in wagonload quantities for distribution in the local area. That network of general freight terminals was gradually reduced and, eventually, eliminated, as the railway lost out to its main competitor, the lorry, with British Rail effectively throwing in the towel in relation to wagonload traffic with the demise of the Speedlink network in the 1990s. At the same time, rail freight has developed new markets for heavy trainload operations. That growth has led to the setting up of specialised terminals for aggregates, cement, steel, deep-sea containers and other bulk cargoes. The move from traditional wagonload traffic to lengthy and heavy block trains conveying only type of freight has been fully accomplish

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The change from a red circle to a white circle on an old OS map is indicative of a station closed to passengers but very often open for freight. This was generally a temporary state of affairs being a prelude to ultimate closure of the line. In this, the eleventh in the series, we examine the railways of the pre-1974 county of Berkshire, travelling west to east with a few necessary detours north and south where relevant lines (used to) exist. The date 1974 is particularly important for this volume, as the Local Government Act 1974 which came into force on 1 April 1974 (we will not comment on the choice of this specific day), meant many closed stations and lines were ''moved'' overnight. Branch line changes to Windsor & Henley are considered together with an insight into Berkshires industrial lines. Newbury is spotlighted and, amongst others, Radley - Abingdon is discussed providing a local insight into a bygone age.

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1966 was a bad year for the thousands of fans of the erstwhile Somerset & Dorset route when, after more than 100 years of service there would be no more trains over this picturesque line between Bath and Bournemouth. In the years building up to that dreadful time, railway management had done everything they could to make the railway less attractive, diverting trains and rescheduling services so as to make connections difficult if not impossible, at the same time ''asset stripping'' so as to reduce to a minimum the service this once proud railway could offer. Half a century later much of the route has disappeared but before it did and whilst in moribund state, Jeffery Grayer recorded the scene witnessing the demise of a line and a way of life that has rarely been portrayed before. Containing much new material this book will rekindle memories of what once was and what we have now lost forever before. Much of the material to be seen is previously unpublished and will rekindle memories of

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Hugh Longworth has published a number of very successful volumes on British Railways'' steam locos, DMUs and coaching stock. His thorough and detailed research has focused on the operation history and allocations of the rolling stock types covered in these books.In this completely new work, in the style of those previously published, he covers in detail all the classes of diesel and electrics locomotives that were introduced by BR from the modernisation plan of 1955 to the present day. Each class, which operated over this lengthy period, is covered in the book. The headlong rush to eliminate steam traction and modernise the railways from the 1950s onwards produced very mixed results. Some of the locomotives introduced were very successful and long lived with examples still in service well into the twenty first century whilst others were found seriously wanting and withdrawn completely after only a few years in service. For each class, a concise history is provided giving construction d

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