In one of the greatest engineering feats of his time, Claudius Crozet led the completion of Virginia's Blue Ridge Tunnel in 1858. Two centuries later, the National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark still proudly stands, but the stories and lives of those who built it are the true lasting triumph. Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Hunger poured into America resolute for something to call their own. They would persevere through life in overcrowded shanties and years of blasting through rock to see the tunnel to completion. Prolific author Mary E. Lyons follows three Irish families in their struggle to build Crozet's famed tunnel and their American dream.

The DeAutremont brothers were looking for a big score. They brought dynamite, guns and a getaway car. On October 11, 1923, at the summit of the Siskiyou Mountains in southern Oregon, the three young men held up a passenger train, with disastrous consequences. Their rash actions resulted in the tragic deaths of three Southern Pacific trainmen and one U.S. Mail clerk, unleashing a public outcry that still rings through Oregon's history. In this riveting account, rail historian Scott Mangold draws on interviews, in-depth research and previously unpublished maps and photographs to document the events at Tunnel 13. Join Mangold as he chronicles the resulting four-year manhunt and eventual conviction of the DeAutremonts and provides insight into the lives derailed by the robbery's bitter legacy.

`The Last Years of Steam Across Somerset and Dorset' gives an excellent photographic study of yesteryear and the iconic steam locomotive at work. The renowned Somerset & Dorset Railway is covered in detail as are other railway locations across the two counties such as Bath, Bournemouth, Bridgwater, Bristol, Burnham, Chard, Clevedon, Dorchester, Dulverton, Evercreech Junction, Frome, Radstock, Shepton Mallet, Swanage, Taunton, Templecombe, Wells, Weymouth, Yatton and Yeovil. A captivating time capsule from the author's private collection from the mid-1950s to the end of steam in the 1960s. The Last Years of Steam Across Somerset and Dorset contains many previously unpublished photographs by an internationally renowned authoritarian figure on steam locomotives and their history.

Since the mid-nineteenth century the East Coast Main Line has been one of the major routes from London to northern England and to Scotland. It has seen some of the greatest achievements in the railways, most notably the 'Flying Scotsman' becoming, in 1934, the first locomotive in the world to exceed 100mph and the 'Mallard' in 1938 claiming the as-yet-unbroken world speed record for steam locomotives of 126mph. The East Coast Main Line not only made history by facilitating an ever-faster link between two capital cities, it also provided an international stage for Britain's engineering marvels, inspiring many generations of schoolboys and adults alike. That was to continue after the end of the steam era on British Railways, with diesel and then electric traction setting a series of new records over the route. This new book looks at how the London-Edinburgh line became the world's fastest steam railway and how its proud and unique heritage is appreciated and celebrated today more than ever before.

The Blue Diesel years covered in this book started in 1964 when British Railways steam still had another four years to go. The blue - in a slightly lighter shade than that which became standard - first appeared on a demonstration train of new Mk1 coaches with a repainted Brush Type 4 loco. It was the start of around 20 years of the blue era, regarded by many as a less interesting time in BR history. However, what the railway may have lacked in colour it made up for in the variety of locomotive classes, the great majority of which are illustrated in this attractive new album from Gavin Morrison.

On June 27, 1835, New Hampshire chartered the Boston & Maine Railroad, and a juggernaut was born. By 1900, the B&M operated some 2,300 miles of track in northern New England, having taken over an astonishing forty-seven different railroads since its inception. The B&M loomed particularly large in the Granite State, where it controlled 96 percent of all tracks and was the primary conveyance through the rugged heart of New England s most formidable mountain range.

From the gravity-defying Mount Washington Cog Railway to logging transport trains to the famous Depression-era Snow Train, "A History of the Boston & Maine Railroad" traces the fascinating history of New England's most renowned railway.

The District Railway was designed by a committee with impractical aspirations. A banking crisis and collapse of one of its contractors during construction created long term financial difficulties. It was complicit in completing the long hoped for `inner circle' railway that was a financial disaster and very difficult to operate. Its directors were for many years ineffectual and its managing director, though getting off to a good start, became complacent and distracted and failed to pursue with vigour the policies that were needed. Even the American entrepreneurs, who arrived with the twentieth century, had their work cut out trying to make something of a line that rarely paid dividends and had never been far from bankruptcy. In all this, the railway and its operational staff provided good and useful services to important parts of London or the suburbs it helped to shape. Why a railway like this found itself in such a sorry state is part of the story covered in this definitive volume. Well illustrated in colour and black and white.

The book takes an in-depth look at the East Coast Main Line-King's Cross to Edinburgh-between 1939 and 1959. This is carried out in a series of chapters. In the first one a picture is painted of the state of the network in the late 1930s. It is followed by an account of the historical context of the changes on the ECML over the subject years. This includes wartime 1939-1945 and the fortunes of British Railways in the post-war period until the end of the 1950s; then follows an account of passenger services on the ECML in the summer of 1939 and in the war and changes thereafter. Towards the end of the book there are smaller chapters of specific interest. Amongst these are military and other government installations served by the ECML during WWII; specific wartime locomotive workings; the impact of war on the ECML at various locations along the line; accidents on the ECML September-December 1959 and snow and floods on the ECML in the 1940s and 1950s. The period covered is a crucial one in the history of the line and it is presented in an erudite yet readable manner.

A commemorative history of the railways of the beautiful Oxfordshire district 'Vale of the White Horse', running twenty-seven miles from Steventon to Wootton Bassett. The book spans the history of the route from the opening in 1840 until 1965, when British Rail withdrew all the local passenger services between Didcot and Swindon and all the intermediate stations were closed. With personal insight and images from railway historian Adrian Vaughan, the book covers the Great Western Railway's development of the route, as part of Brunel's 'Bristol Railway' and shows the original correspondence between Brunel and his staff. Fully illustrated with hundreds of historical photographs and detailed track diagrams, Railways Through the Vale of the White Horse is an ideal resource for anyone with an interest in this scenic railway route and a nostalgia for the early days of railways in Britain.

As we recall the recent forty-fifth anniversary of the end of steam working on British Rail, Steam North West is a fascinating journey along the West Coast mainline from Crewe to Carlisle, also visiting a number of lines which made a junction with this vital railway artery. Set in the final two years of steam working in North West England, we call in at well known places such as Preston and some less well known like Heysham and Barrow. Also included are visits to the last remaining steam sheds and infrastructure of the steam railway. Views range from the industrial and suburban scene to the beauty of the Northern Fells. Steam North West concludes with a look at the very end of steam working on British Rail in August 1968 with the very last workings recalled with a final tribute to the steam era by night. Many memories are remembered with a wealth of colour material, mostly previously unpublished and nearly all taken from the author's private collection.

The two decades following the end of the Second World War was a period of great change in Britain. One of the most noticeable changes, apparent throughout the towns and countryside, was the switch from steam to diesel traction. It transformed the character of the railways, not only in the replacement of locomotives, but also in the enormous upheaval of infrastructure. Bill Reed's photographs capture all of this. The sight of grimy steam locomotives on turntables, trundling along branch lines, pausing in sleepy stations, waiting to be watered or coaled, and on the scrap lines, is now only to be witnessed in photographic archives such as this. Bill took the pictures when it was a privilege, not to mention a rarity, to have a decent camera. He also took them at time when it was not frowned upon, like it is today, to be interested in railways, and take pictures of locomotives. It was only natural for young lads to have a desire to gaze at the vast, almost human engines with awe, because maybe their dads, granddads or even great granddads had been part of building or working them. Looking back now, it is a shame that more locomotives and more pieces of infrastructure were not saved. Yet the 1950s and '60s was not a time for nostalgia and reflection; it was one, supposedly, for moving forward and embracing the new. But for those of us with an interest in Britain's great industrial and transport heritage, we have people like Bill Reed to thank for giving us a glimpse into the last years of this extraordinary era.

This true story is of two boys in their later teens who have saved up like mad to buy seven-day Railrovers and go on their train spotting trip of a lifetime. Their Railrovers give unlimited travel for one designated week on the London Midland Region of British Rail. It is the first week of August 1965. Around 4,000 steam engines are still alive and kicking but there would be just over three years more before steam would be finally gone from British Rail. The week is planned in advance with rigorous research and military precision. the actual visit encapsulates eight days (seven by London Midland Region Railrover) of total frenetic excitement. Although the Railrover covered only the London Midland Region a necessary pilgrimage was made to Barry Docks. Rewinds and fast forwards to other trips are also made where appropriate. There are frequent scarcely credible brushes with shed masters and railway police. Visits to railway sheds are packed into every available daylight minute and early starts are ensured through planned overnight stays on railway platform waiting rooms etc. predictably a lot of the week did not go according to the planned timetable and the unforeseen consequences of this add to the overall enjoyment of the tale. Every single engine observed (on and off shed) is recorded in detail, together with the itineraries and in-depth commentaries on all the amusing incidents that took place. This work therefore provides a camera shot of one week in the declining years of steam on British Rail.