Sir Arthur Heywood and the Fifteen Inch Gauge Railway Smithers • £ 22.95 • (A) Sir Arthur might well be insulted that this book is here as he certainly didn’t regard his railways as “miniature”, but his ideas play an increasing role in the miniature railway world. Mark Smithers looks at Heywood’s life, and the influences on his choice of 15” gauge, then you get the detail story of the Duffield Bank and Eaton Hall Railways, their locomotives and rolling stock, the story of the survivors and a look at his legacy, notable his (possible) influence on Henry Greenly’s designs. A superbly produced book full of photographs and drawings, as well as maps, gradients profiles etc. 184 pages. Hardbound. Plateway Press Add to shopping basket

Blakesley Hall and its Miniature Railway Kingston • {1881} • £ 2.50 • (H) The Blakesley Hall Railway near Towcester, and its owner C. W. Bartholomew are mentioned in most histories of miniature railways - justly so, as this was the first private estate miniature railway conceived with a specific purpose, and the first to use I.C. power, but little is known about the actual railway which was lifted at the outbreak of World War II. This little book, written by someone who knew the Hall and its railway, goes some way towards filling this gap, giving brief details of the railway, and rather more on its equipment, including a Cagney 4-4-0 and ‘Blacolvesley’, the petrol engined but steam outline 4-4-0 tank built in 1909, which is believed to now be the oldest operable I.C. powered locomotive of any gauge in the world. Other than resetting and a short Postcript by publisher Dr. Bob Tebb, ‘Blacolvesley’s’ present owner, this is a straight reprint, and nice it is. 20 pages. 16 B & W photos. Softcover and great value. Add to shopping basket

The Miniature Locomotives of David Curwen Little & Holroyde • £ 9.95 • (F) Over a fifty-year period David Curwen has built almost 50 miniature locomotives, steam and diesel, designed three dozen more for other builders, as well as two miniature passenger liners, Not surprisingly he had little time left for record keeping, and his biography (above) is a tad short on details of all he had built, an omission which this book more than corrects. Here are details of no less than 86 miniature locomotives (and one narrow gauge) which David has had a hand in, only one of which is known to have been scrapped, and it also includes details of the railways David's firm also operated, and other additional material to David's autobiography. Together these book are an excellent record of the work of this most prolific of builders. 118 pages. 146 photos, many in colour. Paperback. NGRS Add to shopping basket

The Ratty Album Vol. 1 Jenkins & Jenner • £ 6.50 • (E) Tremendous photo book on the R & ER, all bar 6 shots showing the line between the World Wars. Based on the collection of the late Bert Thompson, a railway employee from 1915 to 1953, the photos cover the time from the 15” gauge railways start, through its development to a year round common carrier, with the opening of Beckfoot Quarry and Murthwaite crushers, as well as a major tourist attraction. 74 well produced pages. 137 B & W and 7 colour photos. Paperback. R & ERPS Add to shopping basket

The Ratty Album Vol. 2 Jenner & Smith • £ 6.50 • (E) This collection of 131 photos (8 in colour) chronicle the first 34 preservation years of the R & ER, and the extraordinary number of developments and improvements which took place over this period under General Manager Douglas Ferreira who, on his retirement was the longest serving General Manager of any Independent Railway. For most of us, this book covers a period within living memory so, if you have ever visited the Ratty, this is highly nostalgic. 74 pages. Paperback. R& E R Co. Ltd. Add to shopping basket

A Collection of 7mm scale drawings to aid modelling the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway • £ 6.00 • (F) The 30 drawings in this Narrow Lines Extra from The 7mm Narrow Gauge Association cover the bulk of the rolling stock used on this railway, although mainly at one specific point in time. Seven 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 Add to shopping basket

Katie’s Other Sisters Buck • £ 6.95 • (G) A follow-up to the now out-of-print Siân and Katie - The Twining Sisters, here Stan Buck looks at the looks at the five engines built by Trevor Guest to the designs of Ernest Twining - a small but very influential group as, whilst there has been an explosion of new 15” gauge engines since 1964 when the last Guest/Twining engine appeared, only one has been to ‘standard gauge’ outline, all the others following Twining’s narrow gauge outline ideas exemplified in Katie, Siân and Tracey Jo/Wroxham Broad - but none so elegantly. Lots of background information on the two men, good text and 12 b & w photos, 32 colour photos and 3 drawings. 58 pages. Paperback. SPG Add to shopping basket

A Single to the Seashore: The Jaywick Miniature Railway Little • £ 6.95 • (G) Even by the standards of miniature railways, the 18” gauge Jaywick Railway on the Essex shore of the Thames Estuary was ephemeral, operating from July 1936 until September 1939. For two of those years its motive power was a historic model of a Stirling Single, and for the third is was a model of a Sentinel geared drive, vertical boiler locomotive. This book covers not just the history of the line, but also of the locomotives and rolling stock, which have proved to be much longer lived than the railway all surviving, in various states, till the present day. 62 photos. 3 drawings. Softcover. NGRS Add to shopping basket

Mull & West Highland Narrow Gauge Railway £ 2.00 • (H) This little book is both a brief history and guide to the unique 2 mile long 101/4” gauge line on the Island of Mull off the west coast of Scotland. Opened in 1984 the line provides a real service, linking the ferry port of Craignure with Torosay Castle, and goes from strength to strength, currently having three steam and three IC locomotives, all also described. 16 very well produced all colour pages. Published by the railway. Add to shopping basket

MAGAZINES

The Heywood Society Journal £ 5.00 • (H) The Heywood Society is dedicated to miniature railways in all gauges, and produces an excellent journal twice a year. The topics covered vary, but are always interesting. Limited print run, hence price, but worth it. Add to shopping basket

Miniature Railway £ 2.50 • (H) NEW British magazine on the subject, which aims to appear 3 times a year. Very nicely produced, the first issue includes articles on the 15” gauge Longleat Railway, the 10.25” gauge Poole Park Railway and on assembling a 7.25” gauge locomotive kit, as well as a more general article on gauges. 43 pages in all, and well worth considering. Add to shopping basket

FILMS

Train Mountain Revisited App 80 mins. • DVD • £26.95 Here it is - the eagerly awaited film of the Triennial Meet held at Train Mountain in 2006, filmed by Greg Robinson and his team in their own inimitable style. Fabulous scenes and 71?2” motive power in a great setting. Visiting motive power galore, including one diesel power car from Australia, not to mention an Atlantic, a Northern and a Big Boy triple-heading a train over 500 feet long over the steep gradients and curves of over14 miles of mainline. Is this paradise? (No, it is near, but is actually Oregon!) Add to shopping basket

Mull Steam App 50 mins • DVD £10.00 Add to shopping basket Very well made and enjoyable video mainly devoted to the 101/4” gauge Mull & West Highland Railway, but which includes some more touristy shots and shows secnes from the unique traction engine rally held on the island a couple of years ago. The section on the railway includes archive film, and a cab ride the length of the line which combine to give a very good snapshot of this unique railway.

Miniature Line Memories App 50 mins • DVD £15.00 Lovely film for anyone with an interest in British miniature railways, from 7.25" to 22" gauges. Using film from the 1920s up to the present and presented by Robin Butterell, the leading authority on the subject, this is a most enjoyable look at the development of miniature railways. Highly recommended. Add to shopping basket

Miniature Railways of Yesteryear App. 56 mins • DVD £ 9.95 Taken from 8mm film shot between 1960 and 1975, this film looks at the Fairbourne, Christchurch, Poole, Trentham Gardens, Blenheim Palace, Overstone Solarium, Doddington Hall, Hilton Valley, Hall Leys Park, Ravenglass & Eskdale and Downs School Railways, plus there is a nice selection on miniature railways on postcards. Despite valiant efforts by photographer and narrator John Tennent to present them as 'miniature', two of the lines featured, at Overstone Solarium and Doddington Hall, were 2' gauge narrow gauge, but don't let this, plus a few errors in the commentary, put you off; this is very nice, and there is historic footage here. Add to shopping basket

R&ER Heritage 60 mins • DVD • £19.99 Latest film on the ‘Ratty’ from Graham Whistler, combining R&ER Anniversary of 2000 with extra film, including some of ‘Douglas Ferreira’ the line’s splendid new diesel locomotive. Plus there are visiting engines and all the line’s own hard working fleet. Good watching! Add to shopping basket

Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Experience (1996) plus R & ER Cab Ride Double Film DVD • £19.99 Great value DVD of nearly 2 hours, with the Cab Ride film shot in 1997 of a cab ride from Ravenglass to Dalegarth on River Mite, with sparse but effective commentary from her then driver Ron Clarke. The return journey is abbreviated and includes some shots on River Esk. Really super film and recommended!of a earlier, Also included is the very good, but more general, R & ER Experience film, now withdrawn on video. Add to shopping basket

RH & DR Cab Ride 120 mins • DVD £19.99 Make a round trip over the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway in the cab of 80 year old Greenly Pacific “Southern Maid”, with driver Mike Jacques, and then have Mike explain the controls of 4-8-2 “Hercules” in detail. Most of the time you are running at 25 mph (a scale 75 mph), and what the Romney lacks in scenery it more than makes up for with the pacing shots possible using its double track. Usual high quality one gets from that devilish duo, Graham Whistler and Gordon Rushton. Add to shopping basket

The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway DVD £19.99 Enjoyable film from Graham Whistler and Gordon Rushton showing operations on this 13 mile long, 15' gauge railway, including a considerable proportion of the line covered from the cab (OK - the tender). Plus there are some great parallel running shots, specials including triple heading and other joys. (The video is about 60 mins, the DVD has extras taking it to 85 minutes) Add to shopping basket

The Bure Valley Railway App 60 mins • DVD £19.99 Operations on Norfolk's 15" gauge Bure Valley railway, as seen by Graham Whistler and Gordon Rushton. The whole length of the line is seen, as are its four steam locomotives, and one diesel, plus some visiting engines on a Gala Day. Well up to the high standards one expects from this producer. Add to shopping basket

How to Drive Steam Locomotives App 60 mins • DVD £19.99 See main review in the "Semi-Technical" section. The writer and presenter of this video is Peter van Zeller the regular driver of River Esk on the R & ER, and shots of the engine and the railway are included in this video. Add to shopping basket