The Definitive Guide to Trams (including Funiculars) in the British Isles Voice • £20.00 • (E) Highly detailed guide to trams in Britain; I cannot imagine that any tram has escaped the author’s notice. Sections cover: Operating Tramways & Funiculars, Tramway Museums and Heritage Tramways, Listing of Historic Tramcars, Tramway Magazines, Tramway & Model Tramway Societies, Model Tramways, Model Tramway Suppliers, Selected Booksellers (not us!). Clear, very well produced and highly recommended. 184 pages, around 80 photos, plus maps. Paperback. Adam Gordon Add to shopping basket

A History of the British Steam Tram Vol. 1 Gladwin • £40.00 • (A) First volume of what looks like being an exhaustive history of the British steam tram, this is also an enjoyable read and contains numerous wonderful modelling possibilities. This volume concentrates on the technical side of the subject - the permanent way, motive power, rolling stock, etc., etc., and is jam pack with information, including many good archive photos, and loads of drawings. Highly recommended, and not just for modellers! 180 page, profusely illustrated, hardback. Adam Gordon. Very limited print run, so don’t delay if this appeals. Add to shopping basket

A History of the British Steam Tram Vol. 2 Gladwin • £40.00 • (A) Another monumental tome from David Gladwin on the British steam tram, this one dealing with tramways that actually used them - and only those whose titles started with an A or a B! The major systems here are those of Birmingham, Blackburn, Bradford and Burnley, but also covered are those of Accrington, Alford & Sutton, Barrow-in-Furness, Brighton and Bristol. There is a mind-boggling amount of information here with loads of maps, sketches, catalogue pages, advertisements, as well as photographs and a good text, all combining to bring a long gone era to life. 256 page larger format hardback. Adam Gordon Add to shopping basket

A History of the British Steam Tram Vol. 3 Gladwin • £45.00 • (A) Perhaps the first two volumes are throwing-up more material but, for whatever reason, this series just keeps getting better. In the main this volume covers some Midlands and East Anglian systems - Coventry, Leicester, Dudley and Great Yarmouth, plus north eastern ones - Leeds, Huddersfield, Hartlepools etc. But as with the other volumes, it also has wonderful Appendices, here examining tickets and ticket machines Kerr Stuart Geared locomotives, and one of their 'specials' for a New Zealand tramway, the 'Perrett' combined car, the 'Dreaded Caustic Soda Boiler' and more. Tremendous! 237 pages full of maps, drawings and B&W photos. Larger format hardback. Adam Gordon Add to shopping basket

The Regenerative Braking Story Robertson & Markham • £30.00 • (A) The principles of regenerative braking, and the economic benefit of the motors of coasting trams generating current which was fed back into the overhead, was recognised very quickly; getting it to work reliably was another matter. The first car so fitted, in 1903, was on the flat Southport Tramways, but thereafter the story tends to move to the hilly Pennine systems where, a series of accidents led to the dropping of the idea. Interestingly, it was the successful use of regenerative braking on trolleybuses which led to its reintroduction on trams in the 1930s. This is largely a British story, although overseas users are covered, especially in the modern era. The use of regenerative braking on railways is not covered. 207 well produced and heavily illustrated pages. Hardbound. VPL & STTS Add to shopping basket

The Development of the Modern Tram Patton • £40.00 • (A) This mind-blowing book is effectively the history of the tramcar from the early 20th century up to the present. The subject is covered by chapters on each tram type, each being subdivided as appropriate into country and then system, so this covers the subject world wide. This is a large format, 206 page, book, and it is absolutely heaving with around 700 photographs, the bulk in colour, as well a detailed text. A ‘must’ for the bookshelf of anyone interested in the subject. Hardbound. Adam Gordon. Add to shopping basket

The Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Electric Tramway Turner • £11.95 • (F) This is a second and updated edition of this book, published to mark the Centenary of the opening of the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Electric Tramway. This was unusual in a number of ways, being the longest system in the area, with the largest fleet, and was long lived, not closing until 1955. As a seaside line it had Toastrack, and open-topped double-deckers till the end, some of the latter having come from Bournemouth, plus single-deckers, some from Accrington, and just two (modern) enclosed double-deckers which had come from Darwen. On an almost 'interurban' section over the Little Orme it also had a section with a gradient of 1 in 11.5, so it was hardly your standard tramway system. Very good history with around 150 B&W photos, plus maps, and a good text. Paperback. The Oakwood Press Add to shopping basket

Tramways of the East Midlands Wiseman • £ 9.50 • (F) Nice review of the tramway systems that once ran in Burton, Derby, Chesterfield, Ilkeston, Leicester, Lincoln, Mansfield, Matlock and Nottingham, and still ran at Crich Tramway Village and on the new Nottingham Express Transit, with potted histories, maps and fleet lists. 88 pages. 109 photos, inc some in colour. Softcover. LRTA Add to shopping basket

Nottingham's New Trams - the NET success story Skelsey & Cobley • £ 9.95 • (F) Since it opened in 2004, Nottingham Express Transit has been extremely successful; this book looks at the history of trams, buses and railways around the city, why NET was planned, how it was built and how it runs. In 64 pages, even if they are larger format, it cannot be all embracing, but as an introduction to 'how to build a modern tramway' it is pretty good. Maps, diagrams and loads of photos, nearly all in colour. Paperback. LRTA Add to shopping basket

Edinburgh’s Trams, The Last Years Vol. 1 - The North Wiseman • £ 7.99 • (G) Add to shopping basket

Edinburgh’s Trams, The Last Years Vol. 2 - The South Wiseman • £ 7.99 • (G) Add to shopping basket

Edinburgh’s Trams, The Last Years Vol. 3 - The West Wiseman • £ 7.99 • (G) Add to shopping basket

Edinburgh’s Trams, The Last Years Vol. 4 - The East Wiseman • £ 7.99 • (G) These four titles look at the trams of Scotland’s capital city during the 1950s, as they headed for their final run in November 1956. The Edinburgh system hasn’t been covered as much as others, so these nicely done books are welcome. The dividing line between them is Princes Street, and each volume has around 55 b & w photos, the majority full (landscape) page. The scenes of life in the 50s are interesting as well - were the roads really that empty! Each volume is a 48 page paperback. Stenlake Publishing. Add to shopping basket

The Continental Steam Tram Baddeley • £ 7.00 • (D) This has been around since the year 'dot' - well 1980 actually, but it remains the only guide to the incredible number of steam trams to be found all over Europe, a surprising number of which lasted into the late 1940s. Whilst there is a lot on the types of locomotives, this is really a gazetteer, so has as much detail as possible on each individual system. 280 well illustrated pages, with numerous maps. Paperback. LRTA. Add to shopping basket

The Vicinal Story Davies • £29.95 • (A) At last we have a book in English on the Vicinaux. Subtitled 'Light Railways in Belgium 1885-1991', here is the history of the SNCV and its predecessors up until privatisation. It covers every one of the organisation's lines, be they standard or metre gauge, electric, IC or steam powered. Keith Davies really has done a superb job and there is an extraordinary amount of information in this book's 240 pages, including 30 maps (10 in colour) and 220 B&W photos, plus 24 in colour. Hardbound. LRTA Add to shopping basket

Balade Vicinale en Belgique - Tramreis door België Cappiau, Geerinck & Mertens • £35.95 • (A) Given that we have already offered a number of books on the Vicinaux, why are we offering another on this concern? Needless to say, the reason is that this one is distinctly different. This is because a many of the photographs in this book date from the very early fifties and pre-date the considerable “rationalisation” of the whole system which started in 1952 - a glance at the map in this book brings home how many lines there once were throughout Belgium. The result is that whilst well known and still extant lines are featured, there are loads of photographs taken on long shut lines, often featuring the IC powered autorail/tracteurs at the head of mixed trains, or long rakes of goods wagons, often loaded to the gunnels with timber. Additionally, because many of these lines were in the Ardennes, there is rather more scenery and pictures of trams scrambling round steeply graded curves. There are well over 300 B & W photos, one national, and numerous area, maps plus 24 colour photos. All in a 175 page hardback book from Les Editions du Cabri. This is good! Add to shopping basket

En “type S” sur les rails du Hainaut 1970 – 2006 Dandois & Geerinck • £30.95 • (A) Introduced between 1953 & 1959, the ‘S’ type double-ended motor trams were the mainstay of Vicinal services from then on. Despite their introduction, the rural Vicinal lines were inexorably closed, and the cars were moved to the remaining Vicinal lines in the Hainaut region between Charleroi and Mons. This pictorial book records the types faithful service in the area from 1970 up to the present , when some remain in maintenance service. 200 B & W and 60 colour photos. 144 large format pages. Hardback. Les Editions du Cabri Add to shopping basket

Tramways and Light Railways of Switzerland and Austria Buckley • £12.50 • (E) This is an excellent gazetteer to the tramways and (electrified) light railways of Switzerland and Austria, and includes brief descriptions and rolling stock details of all urban tramways, light rail systems and museums. Route maps are included of the operational lines plus regional maps showing each location. 180 pages and 20 maps, plus 27 B&W photographs. Paperback. LRTA Add to shopping basket

Le tramway à Paris et en Ile-de-France Tricoire • £33.95 • (A) Fifty-four years after they disappeared in 1938, trams made a triumphal return to the région Parisienne, and continue to expand. The first 53 pages of this glorious book contain a potted, and mainly pictorial, history of the tramways of Paris up to 1938; a distinctly complicated business, involving a number of separate companies not to mention a wonderful assortment of systems and methods of propulsion. The remaining 90 pages look in detail at the new lines T1 to T4, and the future projects. A huge amount of information, social and technical, and vast numbers of excellent photographs, all colour for the modern routes, maps and drawings. Hardbound. Eds La Vie du Rail Add to shopping basket

Le Tramway en France Tricoire • £36.50 • (A) At the height of the first tramway era, France had around 50 tramway systems, but only 3 remained by the era's end - Lille-Roubaix-Tourcoing, Marseille and Saint-Etienne. This book looks at these systems today, plus 11 other new systems, all outside the Paris area, including Clermont-Ferrand's unique single-rail arrangement. Superbly presented, with mainly colour photographs and maps, this book also covers details of 5 other towns whose systems are near completion - in fact open in the case of Nice. 160 very well illustrated pages. Hardbound. Eds La Vie du Rail Add to shopping basket

Nice au fil du Tram Vol. 1: l’histoire Banaudo • £30.95 • (A) Partially occasioned by the fact that Nice is yet another city returning to the tram, this book is really a celebration of a large and spectacular system which served not just Nice, but connected this city to Antibes in the west, and ran east through Monaco to Menton, from when a highly spectacular line climbed a thousand feet up a valley to Sospel. Covered here are the system’s beginnings as a series of unconnected horse trams, their conversion to electric power, and amalgamation and their run down and ultimate closure in January 1953. PLUS there are details of the replacement trolleybuses, and the new system. Huge numbers of photos - the “Belle Epoque” won’t get any beller! 175 pages, including 16 of colour illustrations. Hardbound. Eds du Cabri. Add to shopping basket

Nice au fil du Tram Vol. 2: les hommes, les techniques Banaudo • £45.75 • (A) Second volume on the tramways of Nice, this looking at the urban lines, those along the coast, and those into the country behind Nice. The last two had strong interurban characteristics, and in the last section, mountain climbing ones, notably the line from Menton to Sospel which included the spectacular viaduct of Caramel. Additionally there are chapters covering the running of the whole system, and the personnel who did this, the industrial branch lines and the locotracteurs used on them, the infrastructure, the rolling stock and 66 pages on the trolleybuses and buses which followed the tramway. The Nice system was big, but taken together the two volumes here must be the most comprehensive history of any tramway system anywhere. Like Vol. 1, this is a real ‘corker’! 319 large format pages. Over 800 B & W photos and drawings. Hardbound. Eds du Cabri. Add to shopping basket

The Tramways of Portugal King & Price • £ 9.95 • (G) Very useful pocket size guide to the systems of Lisbon, Porto and Sintra, plus the closed Coimbra and Braga systems, as well as other rail transport and museums. Also included are full details of latest rolling stock acquisitions for Lisbon. 92 pages. 12 maps, and around 100 B&W photos. Paperback. LRTA Add to shopping basket

Die Stadtbahnwagen der Typen M und N Kochems • £14.95 • (C) For over 30 years, the three and five bogie tram designs of types M & N from Düwag have been the standard on many German systems, as well as a few in neighbouring countries. The first 50 pages of this book look at the technical development of the designs, whilst the rest is devoted to descriptions of the variants used on 14 different systems, and their service on each. German text. Very high quality. 126 photos, 113 in colour, 12 drawings. 160 pages. Hardbound. TransPress Add to shopping basket

Baltimore-Washington Trolleys in Color King • £35.75 • (B) The four systems featured here all ceased electric operations between 1950 and 1963, but here you have wonderful scenes on Capital Transit/DC Transit, Baltimore Transit, Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad, and the Hagerstown and Frederick Railroad. A wide range of trolleys are seen, of varying vintages but, perhaps not surprisingly, PCC cars are in the majority. 129 pages and around 200 colour photographs. Hardbound. Morning Sun Add to shopping basket

Ohio Valley Trolleys in Color Ridolph • £35.75 • (B) Covered here are eleven systems along the Ohio valley one of which, the Pittsburgh Railways Co., lasted till 1970. Earlier closures were the Cincinnati Street Railway, which had an incline railway carrying trolleys up 270 feet on one line, and the Indiana Railroad, whose last services in 1941 just scrape into this excellent book. 129 pages and around 200 colour photographs. Hardbound. Morning Sun Add to shopping basket

Le Train Bleu Clavaud, Perenon & Chapplet • £36.75 • (A) Glorious French language book recounting the history of La Cie du T.L.N., which ran some 10 miles from the centre of Lyon north to the suburbs of Fontaines and Neuville, and for some 66 years, gave the workers of the city a chance to visit the country and the ‘plage’ on the Saône. This system was unusual in that for its first 40 years it was a standard gauge steam tram, before re-emerging in 1932 as an electrified metre gauge line, which made it compatible in gauge with Lyon’s tramways. During both eras long trains were run, the maximum electric ‘tram’ being a motrice plus 6 trailers giving a length of over 100 metres, which combined with the paint scheme, gave rise to the nickname of “Le Train Bleu” - and may also explain why, by the mid 50s, the city was keen to shut the system down. The full history of this interesting tramway is in this attractive and recommended book, which also covers the buses and trolleybuses which replaced it. 199 large format pages, full of B & W and colour photos, maps, diagrams and drawings. Hardbound. Eds du Cabri Add to shopping basket

Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway in Color Vol. 1 Doughty • £35.75 • (B) Connecting the centres of Chicago and Milwaukee, the North Shore had many railway attributes, including hauling some freight, but also indulged in considerable stretches of road running, so was a true interurban. By the time it closed in 1963 it was an anachronism, and almost the last of its type. This volume looks at its operations up to 1955, and includes a succinct text, which describes how it managed to keep going against the odds. It also records the line’s famed 4 coach streamlined ‘Electroliners’ which contributed to its survival. 128 pages with around 300 glorious and evocative colour photos. If you like trams/interurbans/electric trains you will LOVE this - honest! Hardbound. Morning Sun. Add to shopping basket

Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway in Color Vol. 2 Doughty • £35.75 • (B) Connecting the centres of Chicago and Milwaukee, the North Shore had many railway attributes, including hauling some freight, but also indulged in considerable stretches of road running, so was a true interurban. By the time it closed in 1963 it was an anachronism, and almost the last of its type. Vol. 1 looks at its operations up to 1955, and includes a succinct text which describes how it managed to keep going against the odds. It also records the line’s famed 4 coach streamlined ‘Electroliners’ which contributed to its survival. Vol. 2 describes the line’s last 5 years and closure, looking closely at exactly what led to the inescapable decision to cease operations, and the attempts to keep at least part of the system operational. Each book 128 pages with around 300 beautiful colour photos. If you like trams/interurbans/electric trains you will LOVE these - honest! Hardbound. Morning Sun. Add to shopping basket

Key System Streetcars Sappers • £43.95 • (A) Horse-car service started on the first segment of what was to become the Key System, along the east shore of San Francisco Bay, in 1869; subsequent cable and electric segments were eventually gathered into one very large system, the last line of which closed in 1951. The history of the system, and the interplay with real estate development in the area, is covered in considerable detail in this monumental, and very well produced book, which is especially good on infrastructure and rolling stock. 480 pages. 778 photos (45 in colour) 47 maps. Hardbound. Signature Press Add to shopping basket

FILMS

The Dublin Luas App 104 mins • DVD £17.95 Like much else in today’s Ireland, Dublin’s Luas light rail system is both modern and impressive. This film was shot on two visits, in October 2004, shortly after the opening, and in June 2006, and both the Red and Green lines are covered in some detail. There is a tad too many ‘over the driver’s shoulder’ shots for my tastes, especially in the 2004 footage but if you want to see what a light rail system looks like if money is no object, this is it. What effect Luas is having on Dublin’s congestion is apparently open to doubt, with the tour bus drivers claiming its only impact is on other vehicles, but such scenes are not in this DVD! Add to shopping basket

Calcutta’s Trams 52 mins • DVD £19.95 From Railstuff in Australia comes this lovely video showing operations on the last tramway system operational in India. Despite being seriously underfunded, it still provides a very useful service in one of the most densely inhabited cities of the world, using articulated trams rebuilt with considerable ingenuity from older stocks. Limited commentary, mostly confined to historic details, and stills, but with sound recorded on location, this is a most interesting video showing not just the trams, but the fascinating city they serve. Highly recommended. Add to shopping basket

Please click on the DVD cover picture to watch a sample of the film

Melbourne’s Tramways • 110 mins • DVD • £21.95 The latest film from Railstuff, and shot on their ‘home turf’, this is a detail look at the very large, thriving and expanding tramway system of Melbourne, the bulk of which is still street running, although there is some reserved track, and new Light Rail sections on old railway lines. Certainly shows how you can move large numbers of people quickly in the rush hours although curiously, but perhaps for the cameraman’s safety, quite a lot of this excellent quality film appears to have been shot at quiet periods. Starts with a history of the system, and the various types of trams used, and then has a line-by-line look at the whole system. Add to shopping basket

Please click on the DVD cover picture to watch a sample of the film

Lisbon's Trams Past & Present • 100 mins • DVD • £17.95 Interesting and well made film showing the 5 tram routes which survive in Lisbon today, plus somewhat older film showing most of the lines that have passed into history as the Metro has expanded. Plus you have see the 3 street funiculars, which seem to embody a lot of tram parts, the tourist trams, the works and the tram museum. One of the many attractions of the Lisbon system is that, whilst one of the present lines is mainly served by modern articulated cars, the rest, and especially the 'hill' lines, appear to be served by much older cars, but they are not quite what they seem! Add to shopping basket

TRAMWAY Un tour d'horizon des trams en Europe • 51mins • DVD • £24.40 Exceptionally enjoyable, broadcast quality, film purporting to look at the role of trams in modern Europe and, to an extent, the reasons they originally fell from grace. In reality it is largely about the French tramway revival, modern Europe being represented by Lisbon and a very short sequence on Brussels, plus archive (1950s on) sequences from Luxembourg, Bale, Berne, Milan and Karlsruhe. The film starts with a long sequence of Paris tramways in the early 1930s, possibly shot as propaganda in favour of buses, and including sequences of the changing of the underground collectors and coupling up, as well as running through the streets. This is followed by a lengthy modern sequence on Lisbon's line 28, with extraordinary shots of the trams squeezing their way up and down the line between the Upper and Lower City, archive film from Nice & Marseille, plus shots of the new trams, then sequences showing the modern tramways at Nantes, Bordeaux, Montpellier Lille and Paris. Commentary and comments in French, but even the wife enjoyed this - to her great amazement (and she doesn't really speak French)! Add to shopping basket

Tram de Paris... il est là! 30 mins • DVD • £18.35 Another highly professional film looking at events in the run-up to the opening of more new lines in Paris on the 16th December 2006, especially the laying of the tracks, the arrival and preparation of the trams, the workshops and how the sets are maintained, the training of the drivers (wattmen), the opening, and how the trams integrate with the Métro, buses and the RER. French commentary, Very good with some stunning images. Add to shopping basket

Bruxelles en tram 65 mins • DVD • £24.40 Highly professional film looking at the vast tramway system in and around Brussels operated by the STIB. The first part takes you round most of the system on cars 7028 and 7777. This is followed by a visit to the works, and the last section looks at the development of the rolling stock from early days, up to the entirely new tram 3000 introduced in 2006; seen here are many of the fully operational vehicles of the Museé du Transport Urbain Bruxellois in full flight. French commentary. Add to shopping basket