The Semi-Technical section of this Booklist contains numerous books on British steam locomotives.
4ft 81/2 and all that
Mills • £ 9.99 • (F)
Perhaps it was the swinging going on at the time (I, of course, was too young to remember...), but the Sixties saw the appearance of a number of 'humorous' books on railways, most of which deservedly disappeared without trace. This was one of the best, unashamedly taking the classic formula of 1066 and All That and applying it to the history of (British) railways. Even so I can't quite make up my mind whether it is worth reprinting 44 years later, although it does have a wonderful and manic innocence to it. Buy a copy and see what you think! 68 pages, heavily illustrated with cartoons. Hardbound. Ian Allan
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Fire & Steam
Wolmar • £19.99 • (B)
From the author of The Subterranean Railway, a Best-Seller a couple of years ago, comes 'A New History of the Railways in Britain'. Christian Wolmar has set out to put the history of the railways, encompassing both their construction and their social impact, in one easy-to-read volume. He also emphasis the political aspects of the railway and the role of the state in their construction and operation, and is especially good on their side-effects, some envisioned, some not. Plus he treats the railways as a living thing, so this is an ongoing story. If you are looking for lots of technical details, deep historical detail, and an even spread of information, this isn't the book for you, but if you want a thought-provoking, informative and very enjoyable read, this is it! 364 pages. 43 illustrations, some in colour. Hardbound. Atlantic Books
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Mixed Gauges
Snell • £46.95 • (A)
"Mixed Gauges" has surpassed even the high hopes and expectations I had of it. It is quite superb.
Mr. G.T. Essex
You cannot look through this book only once and then put it away - Browse again and again and enjoy something different every time!
Mr. George M Hoekstra - Review in SWISS EXPRESS
Modern scanning and processing technology has done very well with the reproduction of old colour originals. ......... In short, this is a wonderful account of travel in the age of steam encapsulating a past world of railways which few enthusiasts were able to experience. We must thank John Snell for sharing his probably unparalleled experiences, and Camden for presenting the result so stylishly and successfully.
Review - 'Continental Modeller' February 2008
I received the copy of 'Mixed Gauges', which is absolutely superb in every respect. The cover photo is a knockout - better than Monet. And I am so fed up with seeing digital, telephoto, 'glint' shots, that to see these lovely conventional slides reproduced so well is a delight. The layout of the book is nice, too (speaking as a former graphic designer).
Mr. C.L. France
The 400 plus pictures, mostly by the author, are almost all in colour and convey in often dramatic form the power and diversity of steam world-wide in its declining years.....The Main lines get plenty of attention, but the author is also skilled at seeking out lesser byways of foreign railways. ....this is quite a special book, and for anyone who wishes to find out (or be reminded) what the steam era looked like in its final years before diesels and electrics took over, this is a splendid volume.
Mr. Brian Knowlman - Review in 'National Railway Museum Review'
John Snell's book is brilliant, not only in content but in print & bind quality, well done!
Mr. P.E. (a printer by trade) York
The landscape format of this book superbly brings out the best in (John Snell's) colour studies, some evocative, others moody, many simple record shots, but nonetheless invaluable as they are never-to-be-repeated...... Not only is this a landmark book covering the steam autobiography of one of the movement's leading lights, but it is a beautiful presentation volume that you will want to dip into again and again.....
Review - 'Heritage Railway' February/March 2008
It (comments about Bruckner and railways) is taken from a glorious new book 'Mixed Gauges', which devotes much of its 256 pages and 434 photographs to the narrow gauge but sets the subject firmly in the context of railways as a whole. Absolute delight!
Mr. David Joy - review in 'Narrow Gauge World & ng modelling' March/April 2008
This book is an entertaining and informative read......, richly illustrated with a lot of very good photographs, some of which are truly spectacular. I recommend you get a copy, you will enjoy it
Mr. David Proctor, Editor, review in 'Australian Model Engineering' March/April 2008
The young John Snell was with the late Tom Rolt and David Curwen when they opened the doors of Pendre Shed at Towyn in April 1951, starting the worldwide preservation movement, and he retired in 1999 after 28 years as General Manager of the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway. In the intervening period, whilst professionally he has sometimes not been involved with railways or preservation, he has always been actively involved in both, on many fronts, including writing or contributing to numerous books on railways. In fact, John's writing is well known and his only novel, published in 1958, must be the only family saga set against the background of a Welsh narrow gauge railway.
Given he was born in Fiji in 1933, spent the war years in New Zealand, and returned to Britain for further education thereafter, inevitably John has travelled widely, always with camera to hand. What is surprising is that very few examples of his photography have ever been published before and, as is very evident here, he is fully the equal of any of the well known photographers from the 1950s on - Derek Cross, W. V. Anderson, Eric Treacy, Marc Dahlstom, Felix Fenino et al., although he was perhaps a more enthusiastic, and earlier, user of colour than most.
If you were into railways, home and 'abroad', from the late 1950s to the mid 1970s in particular, this is incredibly nostalgic and will bring the memories flooding back. If you are too young, just see what you missed! Not that this book stops in the 70s - it continues much later in South America and South Africa in particular.
The text is a delight, being informative and interesting, with an underlying dry humour, but it is the photographs that will take your breath away. Whilst the locomotive or train is always the centrepiece, these are not sterile photographs of lumps of machinery, but are full of life with lots of incidental details, which is why we chose a large landscape format - 245 mm x 297 mm, with a good number of the photographs printed absolutely full page. And there are a lot of photographs - around 400 in full colour and 60 or so in black & white. The earliest photographs here where taken in 1945 in Fiji, then in 1950 on the S & DJR.
The main chapters cover: The U.K in the 1950s, including a superb series of pictures on the Furzebrook Railway, Fiji and the sugar cane railways, Wales - mainly, but by no means exclusively, the Talyllyn, New Zealand, Australia, Scandinavia, France, Spain and Portugal, Java and Thailand, Germany, the U.S.A., Switzerland, Austria and Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Rumania and Czechoslovakia, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru, South Africa, and the Last of British Steam. The author usually travelled solo, or with a handful of friends - his Andean adventures were the only time he was part of an organised group, other than a few trips to the French narrow gauge, when he was the organiser or leader.
There are 256 pages, so this is a big book in every way, and we are sure that it is one you will enjoy for many years to come. Buy a copy and give yourself a huge treat! Hardbound. Camden
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A Journey in Time
Barry • £ 9.99 • (F)
If you want to know what it was really like to be on the footplate of an British express train in the days of steam, you won’t find a better description than you have here anywhere else - this is marvellous! As a young freelance technical writer the author had obtained Footplate Passes in 1961to ride on the footplates of a steam train, a diesel-hauled one, and a DMU, and the diesel article appeared at the time. The notes of his steam journey were lost for some 45 years before reappearing, and form the basis of this book. The journey was on the footplate of Castle Class No. 4037 “The South Wales Borders” during the glorious June of 1961, as this locomotive hauled a summer SW to NW express from Bristol to Shrewsbury, via the Severn Tunnel and Hereford, heavily loaded to 14 coaches. And author James Barry has his description ‘spot-on’ - the text is 106 pages of very accurate recounting, which is a delight to read. Plus 10 pages of photos, map and gradient diagrams. Buy this book! Paperback. Exposure Publishing
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Birmingham Footplateman
Herbert • £15.95 • (C)
The author joined British Railways in 1949 as a lad porter, being then too young for the locomotive department, but transferred to it a few months later at Tyseley depot. By 1965 he was promoted driver, right at the end of the steam era, and was 'Put back' for a while until transferring to the LMS shed at Saltley to resume driving, but on diesels. However, in 1973 he resumed driving steam on 'Specials' and, towards the end of his career also drove preserved diesels on these. Railwaymens' reminiscences can be variable, but this is definitely 'top-link' and recommended. 272 pages. 105 B&W photos. High Quality Paperback. The Oakwood Press
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Locomotive Headboards - the Complete Story
Peel • £25.00 • (A)
Naming trains has been a widespread practice around the world, but it was only in Britain that the carrying of headboards was a regular occurrence. The practice really only became nationwide after World War 11; whilst it had originated on the North British Railway in 1912, it was only on the LNER that headboards were carried between the wars, other the GWR’s Cheltenham Flyer. This excellent book covers all of Britain’s headboard carrying named trains with dates, routes etc, and details the types of boards used, and their wide practical and stylistic variations. 294 pages full of b & w photos, plus a selection of colour ones, and drawings of plate types. Hardbound. Sutton Publishing.
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Colonel Stephens Insights into the Man and his Empire
ed. Shaw & Mitchell • £18.95 • (C)
Lt Colonel Holman Fred Stephens managed to own, control, or have a finger in, a quite extraordinary number of the smaller railways of Britain, during his active period of some thirty years starting around the end of the 19th century. Foremost amongst these was the Kent & East Sussex Railway, and this book is taken from a whole series of articles in the (preserved) railway’s magazine. The articles cover many railways, and the famous ‘Railmotors’ and make a very pleasant and informative read. 191 well illustrated pages. Hardbound. Middleton Press
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'LBSC' Footplate Experiences
LBSC • £ 7.95 • (F)
"LBSC" was the pseudonym of 'Curly' Lawrence, probably the most famous of all writers on miniature steam locomotive construction, and was the result of seven years or so in the employment of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway at New Cross shed, where he rose from cleaner to approved fireman - and it is these years which are the subject of this highly readable book, written as only the master could! 96 pages. 73 photographs. Softcover. Oakwood Press
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Saga by Rail: Great Britain and the Isle of Man
Boyd • £14.95 • (E)
More memoirs from James Boyd to follow-up his Irish book, this really does have an amazing span, including Snailbeach District Railways, Woodhead Reservoirs Tramway, the Welshpool, Festiniog, Talyllyn, Welshpool, Corris and Isle of Man railways, a trip to Inverness on VE Day, shunting on the S&DJR and much, much more. A feast of delights! 192 pages. Prodigious numbers of b&w photos, and a highly readable text. 192 pages. Paperback. The Oakwood Press
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Crewe Works Narrow Gauge System
Talbot & Taylor • £ 8.95 • (F)
Under then CME John Ramsbottom, an 18” gauge internal tramway was installed in parts of Crewe Works during the 1860s, and gradually extended to give easy transport of parts and materials over a considerable part of the works site; the system even crossed the WCML on the ‘Spider Bridge’. What made the system remarkable was that, ab-initio, it was steam worked by 0-4-0 tanks, the first designed by Ramsbottom, some more by Francis Webb - all a very early example of “minimum gauge” principles. The second engine, “Pet” may be seen at the NRM in York. Just over half this book covers the system’s history, with the rest covering the locomotives in considerable detail. An interesting and well done book. 64 pages. 58 B & W photos. Numerous drawings and maps. Softcover. L & NWR Society
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Carlisle’s Crane Makers - the Cowans Sheldon Story
Earnshaw • £ 9.95 • (F)
(See main entry in History of Engineering section)
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Lost Lines - Scotland
Wellbourn • £13.99 • (E)
Not new - it has been around in successive editions since 1994, this is a nicely done book looking at many of the more major lines closed in Scotland during the British Railways era, but also the narrow gauge Campbeltown and Machrihanish, plus considering the observation cars used in Scotland, and some preserved railway details. Good text, many b & w photographs and maps. 128 pages. Paperback. Ian Allan
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Testing Times at Derby
Rimmer • £ 9.95 • (F)
The author of this interesting book entered Derby Works in 1943 as a ‘Priv’ apprentice, found himself transferred to the Drawing Office, and especially the locomotive testing group, where he worked on steam locomotive tests, and others, up till 1961. It is an interesting story, initially about an apprentice’s life at a major locomotive works, and then the methods by which locomotives were tested on the road. If you are looking for information on the solutions to the problems testing highlighted you won’t find much here - this is mainly about how the testing was done, and the adventures that went with this. 120 pages.85 B & W photos. Paperback. Oakwood Press. (This book originally appeared as a series in the late Don Young’s magazine Locomotives Large and Small)
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British Carriage & Wagon Builders & Repairers 1830-2006
Sambrook • £ 24.99 • (A)
Given the number of wagons used on Britain's railways it is logical that there should have been more than a fair few builders and repairers, but what is surprising on reading this book is just how many there were. In effect a gazetteer covering all known firms, not only are the big firms such as Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon, Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon and Hurst, Nelson included, so are dozens of smaller concerns. Well produced with many reproductions of letterheads and photographs of works, inside and out, and products. 199 pages. Hardbound. Lightmoor Press
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Working Wagons Vol. 4 1985-1992
Larkin • £12.95 • (D)
The last 3 volumes in A Pictorial Review of Freight Stock on the B.R. System (Vol. 1 is out of print), each of these uniform books contains clear photographs of the good wagons found on British Rail during the years covered. There is very slight overlap of wagon type, but not of photos. The text contains useful details, especially numbering, and whilst there are no drawings, these books are as useful for the modeller as the historian. Each volume has around 160 photos and 96 pages. Paperback. Santona Publications
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Private Owner Wagons from the Ince Waggon & Ironworks Co.
Watts • SPECIAL PRICE! • £ 9.95 • (A)
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Oil on the Rails
Coppin • SPECIAL PRICE! • £ 9.95 • (A)
These two books from The Historical Model Railway Society, each dealing with different types of private owner wagon, represent quite stupendous value (they were originally £19.95 each). The first covers the coal wagons produced by the Ince Waggon & Ironworks Co. of Wigan for numerous collieries and other concerns, the second covers the history of the British oil tank wagon. Both are full of photographs and drawings, which will be very useful for modellers in all gauges, but what I found interesting in both books (especially the oil wagon one), was the detail story of the development of the industries involved. 190 & 162 pages respectively, overflowing with photographs and drawings. Hardbound. (How long they will be available at these prices I know not, so buy NOW)
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HISTORIC CARRIAGE DRAWINGS
Vol. 1 LNER and Constituents
Campling • SPECIAL PRICE! • £ 9.95 • (B)
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HISTORIC CARRIAGE DRAWINGS
Vol. 2 LMS and Constituents
Jenkinson • SPECIAL PRICE! • £ 9.95 • (B)
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HISTORIC CARRIAGE DRAWINGS
Vol. 3 Non-Passenger Coaching Stock
Tatlow • SPECIAL PRICE! £ 9.95 • (B)
Three books of great interest, containing drawings, photos and basic descriptions of rolling stock as covered by each title. Vol. 3 includes Six Wheel and Bogie Passenger Brake Vans, Milk and Motor Car vans, Horseboxes, Prize Cattle Vans, Palethorpes Sausage Vans, Milk Tanks and other non passenger carrying vehicles attached to passenger train consists. Very useful for model builders, but full of interest even if you are not making a scale replica. 128, 136 and 128 pages respectively. Hardbound. Pendragon. (Originally published at £19.95)
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British Railways Mark 1 Coaches SET
Parkin • SPECIAL PRICE! • £29.99 • (A)
When I was but a lad, shuffling up-and-down the WCML, I always hoped my seat would be in a Mark 1 coach, then very modern, but the London-Perth train rarely had such modern equipment (and in truth the old LMS stock may have been more comfortable anyway). Whatever - as their name implies, the BR Mark 1 coaches were the first BR design, intended for operation all over the system. Included in the series was every type of passenger coach, mainline corridor, or suburban non-corridor, and including sleepers, Pullmans, Royal train stock and PO vehicles. And they were rebuilt, had different bogies, etc. etc.... This set of main book and supplement contain 294 pages of photos, drawings and text with what appears to be every conceivable detail on these coaches, and represents a tremendous reference source for the railway historian and, in particular, the modeller in any scale. The price represents a saving of £4.98 on the original individual prices. Main book hardbound, supplement is paperback. THMRS
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British Rail Mark 2 Coaches
Harris • £30.00 • (A)
The BR Mark 2 coaches are a remarkable link between the steam era, and the birth of Inter-City, HSTs and the like. Developed from a Western Region design exercise, their existence was a matter of luck rather than strategic planning, as they led the way to the modern era. Other than as Pullmans, they were never built as catering vehicles which rather spoilt the lines of long distance trains, which always had a Mark 1 catering vehicle included, but the Mark 2s were an export success, forming the basis of carriages for Ireland in particular, but also a number of African systems, Israel and New Zealand. And whilst never used with steam in their heyday, many Mark 2s are found on steam specials. 191 well produced and illustrated pages. Hardbound. Mallard Venture
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The Wantage Tramway
Pearce Higgins • £ 28.00 • (B)
Nicely done facsimile reprint of a 1958 classic history of this fascinating tramway/branch which connected the town of Wantage with the GWR at Wantage Road Station. Unique in many ways, not least in that it paid a dividend every year of its life, the Wantage Tramway was the epitome of the slightly odd British branch and its history and place in the Berkshire countryside is very well told here. 158 pages. 39 B & W plates, maps etc. Hardbound. Adam Gordon
(Very limited print run - do not delay if you would like a copy.........)
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The Isle of Wight Railways from 1923 Onwards
Maycock & Silsbury • £25.00 • (B)
This book looks at the railways of the Isle of Wight from the formation of the Southern Railway to the present, so covers the railways ‘glory days’ between the wars, and the inevitable post-war retrenchment, from an island wide system, to today’s 8.5 mile electrified stump from Ryde to Shanklin plus, of course, the Steam Railway. What is surprising here is just how much freight the line handled at one time, and how heavily much of it was built. A nice salute to what was a lovely system. 288 pages. Numerous b & w photos, maps, drawings and diagrams. Hardbound. Oakwood Press
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The Brookwood Necropolis Railway
Clarke • £12.95 • (D)
This is the fourth enlarged edition of a book which first appeared in 1983, and which is still arguably mistitled, the subject really being The London Necropolis Company, its huge cemetery located just west of Woking, and how connection was made with London, where most of those to be buried originated. The answer was (a) a private station close to Waterloo, (b) a three quarter mile spur off the mainline, from Brookwood station to two separate stations within the cemetery itself and (c) a regular train connecting the two, usually daily, and utilising two special hearse vans; the service operated from 1854 to 1941, when the station was damaged in the Blitz. It is a remarkable, and well related story, one as much tied in with the growth of London in the 19th century, and the Victorian way of death, as railways, but without them it wouldn’t have been possible. 192 very well illustrated pages. Fold out map of the cemetery. Paperback. The Oakwood Press
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The St. Andrews Railway
Hajducki, Jodeluk & Simpson • £16.96 • (D)
It may have been only 5 miles long, but the railway from Leuchars Junction to St. Andrews in Scotland was built entirely by local interests, with local capital. It was a pioneer of the cheap railway movement - a reaction against greed fuelled spiralling costs. And it prospered, partially because St. Andrews was home to the oldest University in Great Britain, as well as the home of golf, and the source of substantial good traffic. Ultimately, and inevitably, the railway was taken over by the North British and, after 120 years of useful existence was, equally inevitably, closed by British Railways in 1969. This is a detailed, and readable history of the line, and those it served. 288 pages. Over 200 photos, maps and illustrations. Paperback. The Oakwood Press
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The Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway
Western • £12.95 • (D)
New, revised, edition of this very good history of the only line which actually went through the Lake District. Originally built as the last of a series of links to bring coal from South Durham to the blast furnaces of West Cumberland, for most of its life the line survived on local freight and, increasingly, tourists, the last section, between Penrith and Keswick being closed in 1972; exquisite timing given the huge rise in car-borne tourism at the time, which has given rise to a near permanent traffic-jam between these two towns ever since. And that explains the serious proposals afoot to reopen the line between them. 200 pages. Around 140 b&w photos, maps and plans. Paperback. The Oakwood Press
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Track of the Ironmasters
McGowan Gradon & Robinson • £ 8.95 • (E)
This book is a reprint of the 1954 classic, very collectable and hence almost unobtainable, history of the Cleator & Workington Junction Railway. Here is the original text, brought up to date with footnotes, appendices, maps, track layouts and many new photos. Opened 125 years ago in October 1879, the C&WJR was the last route in a complex network through the backhills of West Cumberland feeding the steelworks of its home town. One of the C&WJR’s branches, the Lowca Light Railway, had Britain’s steepest grades for conventional passenger working - 1 in 17, and was amongst the last haunts of industrial steam in the north west. This book is an enduring memorial to a busy local line that, at its peak, employed over 300 staff. 72 A4 format pages. 57 illustrations. Softcover. Cumbrian Railways Association
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Whitehaven: the Railways and Waggonways of a Unique Cumbrian Port
Quayle • £13.50 • (D)
It may be hard to believe now, but Whitehaven was once very high in the ranks of Britain's busiest ports, mainly because of the coal exported from it. The town was largely developed by the Earls of Lonsdale, who, together with other pit owners, installed waggonways to connect mine and port, some of which developed into proper railways. Together with others, this meant that Whitehaven became the centre of a spider's-web of lines which transported the mineral wealth of its hinterland, and was also the frontier between the Furness Railway and the LNWR. Interesting tale of an interesting area - and a great town. 102 pages. 69 B&W and 7 colour photos. 27 maps, plans and drawings. Paperback. Cumbrian Railways Association
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The Coniston Railway
Andrews & Holme • £ 7.95 • (F)
Another excellent book from the Cumbrian Railways Association, this is a new and very updated printing of their first book from in 1985. Opened in 1859 to tap the expanding copper ore traffic, the very attractive Coniston Railway took a high-level course at Coniston to allow an extension to the copper mines wharf, with the result that the station was high above the village, to which it was connected by an inconveniently steep road. By 1890 the copper ore traffic was gone, leaving slate, general goods and, increasingly, tourists as the principle traffic, often heading for the Furness railway’s steamers on the Lake. Closed to passengers in 1958, and freight four years later, little of this lovely line is now visible. This is a good book for the railway historian, and especially for anyone looking for an interesting prototype to model, Coniston’s station being a dream for modellers - and their is a LOT of information on it here. 64 A4 format pages. 62 photos, numerous maps, station diagrams, and drawings. Softcover.
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The Coniston Railway (B)
Western • £ 8.95 • (G)
For obvious reasons we hate it when we have two books with the same title, which is why this one has sprouted the (B). In fact I seriously considered not stocking this, but it does sit comfortably with the book above, mainly because it has different photographs, and especially more of the line and stations south of Coniston. So here is more info for anyone wanting to build a model of the perfect prototype.96 well produced pages. 61 b&w photos, plus maps. Paperback. The Oakwood Press
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Dalton-in-Furness
Battye • £ 8.45 • (F)
The ancient capital of Furness, Dalton lies a few miles to the north of Barrow in Furness. Its railway interest lies in the fact that the nearby junction is where lines from the east split to go to Barrow by both north and south lines, and to head north towards Whitehaven. Additionally, Dalton lay at the heart of a host of mineral lines connecting numerous mines and quarries in the area with both the main line, and Askam Ironworks to the north west. The story of Dalton and its railways, main line and industrial is told here, in yet another excellent book from the Cumbrian Railways Association. 66 pages. 64 b & w illustrations. Numerous maps, plus track and signalling diagrams. Fold out scale drawings of the station building, footbridge and canopies. Paperback.
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Skipton 160 Years of Railways
Binns • £17.95 • (D)
This is a good, mainly pictorial, look at the changing railway scene at Skipton over the past 160 years. A major junction on the Midland Route from Leeds and Bradford to Morecambe, Carlisle and Scotland, and seeing much heavy freight as well as major expresses and more local trains, operations in the area have always been very varied, and are very well covered here up to the present date. 96 pages (17 in full colour), around 180 illustrations and maps. Paperback. Trackside Publications
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The Light Railway King of the North
Barnett • £11.95 • (F)
Lt-Colonel Stephens is usually considered “The Light Railway King”, but there was another contender for the title, Sebastian William Meyer of York, who promoted a total of 10 light railways, and was associated with others, all in the Northeast. Of these lines, the Isle of Axholme Light Railway, the Cawood, Wistow and Selby Light Railway, the Dearne Valley Railway and the North Sunderland Railway are probably the best known. This book covers the man, and all his railways, including abortive schemes, in some detail, and makes it clear that there really was more than one “Light Railway King”. 112 pages. Numerous photos and maps. Paperback. R&CHS
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Steam Destination Bournemouth
Heavyside • £ 8.99 • (F)
In this nicely done book are nearly sixty full page B & W photographs of steam twixt Waterloo and Bournemouth during the 60s, up till the 9th July 1967 when Britain’s last great steam show came to an end. For me this is nostalgic stuff, as I both used the line, and filmed it for most of the last few years, and Tom Heavyside has captured the period very well here. Forty years ago this summer - I feel ill! 64 landscape format pages. Paperpack. Colourpoint.
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Shap Steam Twilight
Heavyside • £ 8.99 • (F)
Tom Heavyside again, in a book uniform with that above, but this time looking at the last steam action, towards the end of 1967, between Lancaster & Penrith and over Shap. By then steam was used only on Parcels and Freight trains, and indiscriminately at that, with ‘Britannias’ spending their last days pulling a few goods wagons. Interesting to see the Cumbrian Fells again with steam, and without the M6! 64 landscape format pages. Paperpack. Colourpoint.
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Lost Railways
Uniform series of books, each 48 landscape format paperback pages, with 50 to 60 mainly full page and mostly archive B & W photos of scenes, often at stations, in the areas concerned. Good value! Stenlake Publishing.
+ Many of the photos in this book are of the very last days of British Railways' steam.
*Model engineer info - "Glasgow's Last Days of Steam" contains the only photo I have seen of the locomotive which was the prototype of Martin Evan's "Rob Roy".
The Locomotives Built By Manning Wardle & Company Volume 1 - Narrow Gauge
[Harman • £ 16.95 • (C)
Mention the Leeds firm of Manning Wardle and visions of four or six coupled industrial engines tend to result. But they also built a considerable number and variety of narrow gauge locomotives for railways and industrial concerns at home and overseas, and it is these which are covered in this extremely well produced book. The best known locomotives featured here are the quartet built for the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, but there are some glorious oddities amongst the more normal products exported all over the world. If you are a model maker looking for some interesting prototypes, here they are. 104 pages. Around 200 b & w photos and drawings. Paperback. Century Locoprints. (Likely to go out of print during the life of this list.............)
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The Locomotives Built by Manning Wardle & Company Vol. 2 Standard Gauge
Harman • £ 19.95 • (B)
Here are the four and six coupled industrial engines mentioned above, plus a very few ‘main line’ locomotives (mainly early 0-6-0 tender goods ones), all standard gauge in this volume. However there is an extraordinary variety of shapes and sizes here, and that is ignoring the ic locomotives, crane locomotives, railmotors, tramway and compressed air locomotives. 152 pages. Lists and around 160 b & w photos, very well reproduced. Paperback. Century Locoprints.
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The Locomotives Built by Manning Wardle & Company
Vol. 3 Broad Gauge & Works List
£16.95 • (C)
The last volume in this excellent series looks at the broad gauge locomotives Manning Wardle built for railways in the U-K, Ireland, India, Russia, Argentina & Chile, and also includes a Works List, details of Manning Wardle designs built by other manufacturers, non locomotive products and a colour section. 104 pages. Large format paperback. Century Locoprints
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Robert Hudson Ltd
Haigh • £ 4.00 • (G)
Based mainly on old Catalogues and the author's memories and knowledge from his time as an apprentice at their Gildersome Foundry works, this slim A4 format book is a good introduction to the firm of Robert Hudson, suppliers of narrow gauge railway equipment (and some standard) to the world. Hudson supplied a track systems similar to Decauville, but are best known for a vast range of tipping wagons, for all gauges which are well covered here. 28 page, well illustrated softcover book, published by the author.
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English Narrow Gauge Railway Drawings
Tustin • £ 6.00 • (F)
Contains 21 of Ray Tustin's drawings of locos and stock from the Ashover Light Railway, the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway and the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railways. A couple of the drawings don't reproduce brilliantly, but this is great information for the NG modeller. 25 clip bound pages. 7mm NG Assoc.
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25, 19 and 26 drawings respectively of narrow gauge locos and rolling stock, mainly but not exclusively, from the British Isles, all in 7mm:ft scale. Give yourself a surfeit of the narrow gauge! Card Covers, Clip bound. The 7mm N.G.A.
Buildings and Structures of Narrow Gauge Railways
£ 6.00 • (C)
This book contains 23 drawings of assorted stations, signal boxes, coal offices, bridges etc. from a whole host of British narrow gauge railways, plus 3 drawings of signals, 2 from the Festiniog Railway, and one from the Southwold. Clipbound and, as always, an excellent information source. 7 mm N.G.A
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Another selection of Narrow Gauge Drawings reprinted from Narrow Lines
£ 6.00 • (F)
Unlike others in this series, this volume has considerable overseas interest, even if the bulk of the locomotives were British built. Of the 27 drawings, 2 cover Southwold Railway coaches and 2 W&LLR covered vans. Of the rest 10 cover locomotives of British railways, 2 Dutch locos, 1 Tasmanian, 1 Argentinian, 2 South African, 1 Malta Railways, 1 Lagos Steam Tramway, 2 Indian railways, 2 from New Zealand and 1 from Australia. Useful international info at a bargain price. Clipbound. & mm N.G.A.
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The Festiniog Railway Historic Drawings:
Locomotives & Rolling Stock
£ 8.00 • (D)
Another publication from The 7mm Narrow Gauge Association, this book contains 30 drawings of FR locos, coaches and wagons, plus some photos and a lot of useful info. 60 well produced pages. Softcover and clipbound
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The Festiniog Railway Preservation Era Drawings:
Locomotives & Rolling Stock
£ 12.00 • (D)
Thirty one pages of drawings (7 steam locos, 7 IC locos, 12 coaches and 5 waggons), plus 28 pages of text and photographs in this new book from The 7mm Narrow Gauge Association. A4 format, softcover and clipbound.
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Published by the Moseley Railway Trust, these three books document aspects of British industrial railway history. The first two cover industrial diesels built by Ruston, in the first, the larger, but still small 48DS & 88DS classes built for gauges of 3'6" to 5' 6" and in the second title, the very wide range of smaller narrow gauge locomotives built. The third describes the interesting and rather attractive range of narrow gauge heavy oil engined locomotives build by Ruston Proctor and Hornsby, the first of which was also the world's first commercially succesful oil engine locomotive. All softcover.
A Guide to Simplex Narrow Gauge Locomotives
Hall & Rowlands • £12.95 • (E)
The 2 axle NG IC locomotives made by the Motor Rail and Tramcar Company first came to real note during World War 1, when they were used on the narrow gauge railways to the front line; arguably they were the first successful mass-produced IC locomotives, and the firm continued to develop and produce them until 1987 when the business was bought by Alan Keef Ltd. This well produced book contains the history of the Company, the story of the development of the locomotives, and finally details of the considerable number of ‘Simplex’ locomotives still in existence. 108 pages. App. 60 B & W photos and 30 drawings. Paperback. Moseley Railway Trust
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The Lincolnshire Potato Railways
Squires • £12.95 • (E)
The Fens are not obvious narrow gauge country, but for around 60 years from 1909, there was an extensive network of 2 foot gauge lines, extending to some 140 miles at the maximum throughout the area - all used in connection with the potato farming the area is famed for. Initially most lines were horse powered, but post WW1 IC engines appeared - steam being limited to a few examples. This book, first published in 1987, covers the history of the lines in considerable detail, with numerous illustrations, maps and some drawings. 160 page paperback. Oakwood Press
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George Stephenson's Crich Railway
Tebb & Smith • £ 6.95 • (G)
From 1841 to 1957 a railway laid out by George Stephenson, and owned by the company he founded, operated in the north Midlands, carrying limestone from a quarry below Crich Stand to be burnt in the company's huge kilns at Amergate; it may also have been the very first metre gauge railway in the world, albeit more by accident than design. Now the National Tramway Museum runs over the top third or so of the line. This exceedingly good value book tells the history of this unusual line, its four steam locomotives, and three post war diesels in some detail, and with excellent photos plus three scale drawings. 64 pages. Softcover. Crich Tramway Village
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A Collection of 7mm scale drawings to aid modelling the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway
• £ 6.00 • (F)
Of the 30 drawings in this Narrow Lines Extra from The 7mm Narrow Gauge Association 7 drawings cover the 3’ gauge line, the rest covering the 15” gauge railway in operation today. Also includes a brief history and description of the line. 32 pages. Clipbound
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Moving Mountains by Rail
Peaty • £17.99 • (D)
This is a good overview of the quarry railways found in the Mendips, Cornwall, Bath, Portland, the Medway, Charnwood Forest, and in Wales and the Marches. The linking point of all the systems is that the operating companies are all part of Hanson Aggregates. Here you have railways inside the quarries, and linking them to the main rail networks, of just about every conceivable gauge and locomotive type, up to the real American ‘switcher’ which lurks in the Whatley complex, working 24 hours a day. This is an excellent and informative read, helped by lots of archive and more recent photographs and maps. 191 pages. Paperback. Tempus Publishing
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Quarry Hunslets of North Wales
Thomas • £22.95 • (B)
Updated edition of this book telling the individual histories of the various 2’ gauge 0-4-0 tank locomotives built for use in the quarries of North Wales, of which the majority have survived into preservation. This breed is popular as a model in a number of scales and gauges, and this is a very good reference source for any model builder. 256 pages. Almost 200 B & W photos and 6 locomotive drawings. Hardbound. The Oakwood Press
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The Isle of Man Railway - a modeller's inspiration
Winter • £14.99 • (D)
Ostensibly this is a book on modelling the 3' gauge Isle of Man Railway, but only 26 of its 130 pages relate directly to modelling, and the reality is that this is a superb photographic gazetteer of the railway, especially during two interesting periods in its history - the 1950s and the 1970s. There is an informative text, but it is the 400 plus photographs, the majority in colour, which are the core of this very well produced book. A4 format paperback. Peco Publications
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The Puggy Line
Howat • £ 9.95 • (F)
Even if it has a different name, this is the third edition we have featured of ‘The Lochaber Narrow Gauge Railway’, but this is much superior to previous ones, with more text and pictures. Open for 44 years, not only was this 3’ gauge system one of Britain’s longest lived, at a route length of 26 miles, it was one of the longest, and climbing from virtually sea level to over 1100 feet, the highest worked by adhesion. Intrigued? Buy this excellent 96 page book containing numerous illustration and maps. Paperback. NGRS
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Cornwall Narrow Gauge
Dart • £ 14.95 • (E)
Described here are 35 lines, of which 30 were industrial, the other 5 being current ‘pleasure’ lines. The former category includes The Camborne & Redruth Tramway, Pentewan Railway and the Redruth & Chasewater Railway, but all the industrial lines are connected with the mining industry. 96 pages. Around 150 B & W photos, Maps. Hardbound. Middleton Press
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Dorset & Somerset Narrow Gauge
Mitchell & Smith • £14.95 • (E)
Illustrated and described here are 18 industrial, 1 military and 9 narrow gauge ‘pleasure’ railways in the two counties concerned. Most of the lines are fairly well known, but the military one - at the Royal Navy Cordite Factory at Holton Heath certainly wasn’t, and is covered in more detail.96 pages. App. 140 B & W photos and maps. Hardbound. Middleton Press.
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Devon Narrow Gauge
Dart • £14.95 • (E)
This books makes a feature of the Lee Moor Tramway, but Devon had a lot of other narrow gauge railways - not just the Lynton & Barnstaple; indeed it still has a fair number as this book shows. Around 140 B&W photos of interesting subject matter but, even by their rather variable reproduction standards, this is not really one of Middleton Press's best efforts (which is a pity). 96 pages. Hardback
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The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway 1895-1935
Catchpole • £ 9.95 • (F)
If there is a ‘classic’ book on the British narrow gauge it must be this, first published in March 1936, only 6 months after the L & B closed. Now in its eighth edition, and rarely out of print in 69 years, this really is a lovely book on a lovely line, now showing signs of being awakened from its long slumber. 128 pages. Numerous B & W photos, maps and a loco drawing. Paperback. Oakwood Press (whose first book this was!)
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The Ballycastle Railway
Patterson • £14.99 • (C)
A revised and enlarged edition of Dr. E. M. Patterson’s 1965 book recounting the history of the 3’ gauge line in County Antrim, which lasted over forty years till 1950, when it was the last UTA-operated, passenger carrying narrow gauge railway. Because of its ownership, the line inherited a number of locomotives from the Ballymena and Larne section of the then NCC, including a very useful cross-compound 2-4-2, and a very purposeful 4-4-2, PLUS the only corridor stock ever used on the narrow gauge anywhere in the British Isles. All Dr. Patterson’s books were good - this is now even better in this edition. 160 pages full of B & W photos, maps and diagrams. Large format paperback. Colourpoint Books
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The Way to the Stars
Turner • £ 6.50 • (G)
Extremely good value brief history of the Snowdon Mountain Railway, which even after 100 years remains Britain’s only rack railway, and is still mainly steam operated. In effect this is a precis of a larger, and now out of print, book on the same subject by the same author, and forms a useful introduction to this unique line. 95 pages. Maps and numerous photos, inc. some colour. Paperback. Garreg Gwalch
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The Vale of Rheidol Light Railway
Green • £ 26.95 • (A)
This is a thorough account of not only the history of this famous Welsh ng line, but also a review of the locos and rolling stock, with detailed descriptions of the route and stations. 272 pages. Maps, timetables, track plans and over 380 pictures. Hardbound. Wild Swan
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The Spooner Album
Michael Seymour Memorial Album • £ 37.50 • (A)
The original of this book was based around over forty whole plate photographs of the Festiniog Railway, taken during August 1887 by Birmingham photographer R.H. Bleasdale. These form an invaluable and unique record of the railway as it reached its zenith. This new edition of the album contains these and extra Bleasdale photographs, plus a commentary on the railway at the time of the original album, and other material from the FR Archives. The greatest care has been taken in scanning the photographs, which warrant endless study, and they are printed on heavyweight 170 gsm artpaper pages in a large (294 x 210mm) landscape format. 120 pages in all, hardbound and in slipcase. Narrow Gauge & Industrial
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The Leek & Manifold Valley Light Railway
Turner • £49.50 • (A)
Given that the Leek & Manifold was just eight miles long, lasted just thirty years, and never had more than two locomotives it is remarkable that there are now no less than three books on it currently in print. I should have known better, but when I first heard that Roy C Link was planning to publish this, I rather thought he might be loosing his grip, but he has come up with a really very beautiful book, full of new information on the line, not to mention 404 photos, 58 maps and diagrams and 36 scale drawings. As well as the local history, this book also links the railway strongly with its engineer Edward Calthrop’s work in India, the reason why it brought a touch of the British Raj to North Staffordshire. Unreservedly recommended to anyone who appreciates beautiful books. 368 page hardback. RCL Publications
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Harrogate Gas Works - its railways and other transport systems
Hallows & Smith • £ 7.95 • (G)
This interesting book is the story of the traction engines, and subsequently a 2’ gauge railway, which brought coal from the remote main line delivery point to Harrogate’s gasworks. The railway ran for some 48 years until closed in 1956 and the full story of the line, its locomotives, and of the traction engines which preceded it, is told in this nice book. 56 pages, illustrated with over 40 photos, graphs, maps and scale drawings. Softcover. NGRS
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FILMS!
The number of railway films produced in the U-K is staggering and neither my eyes or my fingers could stand to review them all in these pages. The following are included purely because I personally like the style of video, and quality of production from the firms concerned.
How To Drive Steam Locomotives
App. 60 mins • DVD £19.99
See “Semi Technical” section earlier for full details. Features nice sequences on the West Somerset, Mid Hants, Ravenglass & Eskdale etc.
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Terminus
App. 118 mins • DVD(2) £ 12.99
John Schlesinger’s 1961 film Terminus is widely regarded as one of the very best railway films of all time. It shows 24 hours in the life of London’s Waterloo station, without commentary, but with a wonderful soundtrack from Ron Grainer. For those of a certain age, especially me, it is incredibly nostalgic - take me back, mother! As if this isn’t enough nostalgia, this DVD also includes the famous London-Brighton in Four Minutes which, if nothing else, shows just how busy London’s suburban lines were in the 1960s. Also included are British Locomotives, produced in 1959 for the ‘Locomotive and Allied Manufacturer’s Association’ and First of the Thirteen on the modernisation of the British rail signal network early in the 1970s. Value or what?
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Night Mail & West Highland
App 50 mins • Combined DVD • £19.99
Perhaps the most famous documentary ever made, “Night Mail” tells the story of the West Coast Postal, carrying the mail from London to Glasgow, headed by unrebuilt “Royal Scots”. You see the train through the eyes of the signalmen and station masters, as well as the men who dealt with the mail en route. It may be 70 years old, but few more recent railway films, or videos, get within a million miles of this film! It’s history and it’s wonderful! “West Highland”, is the same, even if completely different! This is a beautiful 30 minute film made by Director John Gray and Cameraman David Hanley for the BBC at the very end of steam on the West Highland Line between Glasgow and Mallaig. This is a moving and impressionistic look, in the tradition of Night Mail, at this most beautiful of railway routes.
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Today and Every Day
App. 77 mins • B & W • DVD £19.99
Combines three films from the 1940s; Locomotives for the Second Front, which is a short newsreel showing the production of WD Austerity locomotives at Springburn in 1943, North British, a fairly long and detailed look at the process involved in designing and manufacturing steam locomotives in 1949, which includes new locos being hauled through the streets of Glasgow to the docks by traction engine. The main feature is Today and Every Day which is a fascinating look at the railways of Britain in 1947, and which was made with the co-operation of the ‘Big Four’ railway companies. Amongst other delights this includes a trip to Dover on the “Golden Arrow” to see the train ferries and unique sea locks in operation, a footplate trip on “The Cheltenham Flyer” from Swindon to London, plus a few (pre-war) shots on the legendary 101/4” gauge ‘Surrey Border and Camberley Railway”. And there is much more, including the first mainline diesel-electric locomotive, LMS 10000. Highly enjoyable!
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Portraits of Railwaymen in the 1940s and 1950s
70 mins • DVD £19.99
Combines the three films on the video Shunter Black with Portrait of an Engineer, a B & W film from 1954 which shows the processes involved in building a steam locomotive, in this case at the Vulcan Foundry.
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The Last of the Industrial Narrow Gauge Railways
55 mins • DVD • £ 9.95
This is an enjoyable 'meander along 12 industrial backwaters of the sixties and seventies' with James Tennant. Amongst the 'systems' featured are Penrhyn Slate Quarries, Kettering Furnaces, Scaldwell Tramway, Guiness Brewery, Irthlingborough Mines, Wellingborough Ironworks and City of Birmingham Waterworks. Mixed motive power and gauges in this selection, all shot on 8mm silent cine film, but with an added commentary.
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The Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway - Early Preservation Years
35 mins • DVD • £ 9.95
A most enjoyable (and rare) look at the very early days of preservation, here on the Welshpool & Llanfair. You see early working parties in 1960, well before the opening, the first steam train (including shots of its passage through Welshpool town), the return of the Countess, trains working to Castle, many with the early Chattenden and Upnor coaches and many more nostalgic sequences, all shot on 8mm silent cine film, but with an added commentary.
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Ffestiniog History
105 mins • DVD • £19.99
Combined here are two videos - Letter from Ffestiniog (1998) and the 1995 Ffestiniog Gala 40 Years. The former contrasts scenes shown in the 1887 photos of R.H. Bleasdale with the same 110 years on, whilst the second film records historic scenes shot during the 40 year Gala of 1995, including a considerable amount of original equipment at work again.
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Vale of Rheidol & Brecon Mountain Railways
App. 60 mins • DVD • £19.99
Vintage Graham Whistler, and digitally remastered for DVD, this film was shot in 1989, the bulk of it showing operations on the dramatic Vale of Rheidol line, then only recently taken over by its present owners from British Rail. The last 20 minutes were shot on the scenic Brecon Mountain Railway from Pant to Potsticill and feature a train hauled by Graf Schwerin Lowitz - a good Welsh name if ever there was one!
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Steam at War
The Home Front • 60 mins
Destination Victory • 52 mins
COMBINED DVD • £24.99
Two excellent films combining wartime B & W archive film with colour sequences shot at wartime recreation events on British preserved railways. As its name implies the first film deals exclusively with film shot in Britain, the colour sequence being shot on the NYMR. The second has more home footage, but also includes sequences from Europe, notably of German loco production and, especially, of the repair of the lines around Caen after the D Day landings, and
the unloading of WD and USATC locos at French ports. The colour sequences are shot on the Swanage Railway, the Kent and East Sussex and, again, the NYMR. This DVD set also includes a third 'Steam at War' compilation, plus a bonus documentary "Southern on Service" and film of two Steam at War Weekends held at the Severn Valley Railway. Great Value!
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The British Transport Films Collection:
Many of the films made by BTF are now held by the British Film Insititute who have digitally remastered them for the following releases; the film quality is considerably better than I have seen in other versions.
Night Mail - Collector's Edition
116 mins • DVD(2) £15.99
It had to happen - we now have two DVDs featuring Night Mail! This one comes from the BFI and has apparently been re-mastered and digitally restored. It also comes with different extra films: Spotlight on the Night Mail (1948), Thirty Million Letters (1963) and Night Mail 2 (1986), plus Way to the Sea (1936) and a fully illustrated booklet. The choice is yours!
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On and Off the Rails - The British Transport Films Collection Vol. One
• DVD(2) £ 19.99
This tremendous value 2 disc collection contains the following from videos above:
Blue Pullman, Elizabethan Express, Train Time, Under the River, Snowdrift at Bleath Gill, This is York, The Great Highway, a Day of One’s Own & John Betjeman goes by Train PLUS the following previously not released on video: Rail 150 (1975), The Diesel Engine Driver (1959), On Track for the Eighties (1980), Cybernetica (1972) & This Year-London (1951). See what I mean about value - 261 minutes in all!
NB These DVDs are Regionalised for Region 2 so will NOT play in Australasia or North America.
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See Britain by Train
The British Transport Films Collection Vol. 2
DVD (2) £19.99
The first volume in this series (above) has been a best-seller in no uncertain terms. This new two DVD set differs slightly in that the films in it are more travel orientated, including West Country Journey (1953), Letter for Wales (1960), Heart is Highland (1952), Glasgow Belongs to Me (1966), England of Elizabeth (1957) and Capital Visit (1955) to name seven out of the twelve films here. Whilst they may be distinctly rosy in tone, what these films do give you is an excellent look at the Britain’s way of life in the 50s and 60s. 261 minutes of both B & W and colour films; what value!
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Running a Railway - The British Transport Films Collection Vol. 3
DVD (2) £19.99
Included in this latest two DVD set are such classics as: Terminus (1961), Fully Fitted Freight (1957), Farmer Moving South (1952), Making Tracks (1956), Britannia - A Bridge (1973), Operation London Bridge (1975) and Wires Over the Border (1974), plus seven other films - 237 minutes of B & W and colour films for you to enjoy; if you have the two sets above, you will know all about the quality.
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Reshaping British Railways - The British Transport Films Collection Vol. 4
DVD (2) £19.99
More from the BFI National Archives - no less than 247 minutes of delight on 2 DVDs. The fourteen films here look at significant events between 1953 and 1978, starting with the case for a cleaner, more efficient motive power, then steam’s ‘Indian Summer’, the introduction of DMUs, Beeching, progress into the 1960s and the approach to the age of the High Speed Train - and much more. Three of the films - A Place in the Team, Freight and a City and Second Nature have never previously been available to watch at home. Others films here include Work in Progress (1951), Wash and Brush Up (1953), Service for Southend (1957), Let’s Go to Birmingham (1962), Plumb Loco (1971) and Overture One-Two-Five (1978). Over 4 hours of nostalgic delight!
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Off the Beaten Track - The British Transport Films Collection Vol. 5
• DVD (2) £19.99
A mind-blowing 304 minutes in this collection of 15 films from the BTC Films Collection. Unusually in this series, only one film, the 1970 Railways for Ever is strongly railway orientated, with Sir John Betjeman waxing nostalgic about steam power, and film of, and from the last British Railways steam train of the 11th August 1968. But railways appear in the otherwise marine Ocean Terminal (1952), Link Span (1956) and The Seaspeed Express (1980), the road transport They Take the High Road (1960) and both Every Valley (1957) and Age of Invention (1975), which cover industrial history. There are two other films on road transport, four on nature, one on architecture and one looking at life in Marylebone in 1972. Great viewing, and incredibly nostalgic - even the 1980 film looks a long time ago, which I guess it is, even if it doesn’t feel it.
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The Art of Travel - The British Transport Films Collection Vol. 6 • DVD (2)
£19.99
As the name implies, the films in this 250 minute double DVD set are about the destination, rather than the mode of getting there. Titles to be enjoyed here include: North to the Dales, Yorkshire Sands, Down to Sussex, The Land of Robert Burns, Journey into History, A City for All Seasons, London for a Day and Lancashire Coast amongst others. Come on - out with the buckets and spades for a trip down memory lane!
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The Age of the Train - The British Transport Films Collection Vol. 7
• DVD (2) £19.99
Around 250 minutes on the two discs in this set which includes 17 films from the BTC archives, all of these moving into the 'modern' era, with just one - The North Eastern Goes Forward, dating from the steam era. Two others date from 1969, the rest are from the sixties, other than one from 1980 and two from 1982. Usual great quality, interest (and nostalgia)!
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Salisbury Steam Finale
45 mins • DVD £10.95
Exciting film, shot in 1988 by the British Rail Southern Region Route Filming Unit, of an exc |
