The Crimean War, fought by the alliance of Great Britain, France, and the tiny Italian Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia alongside Turkey against Tsarist Russia, was the first 'modern' war, not only for its vast scale (France mobilised a million men) but also the technologies involved, from iron-clad battleships to rifled artillery, the electric telegraph and steam. Best known for the blunder of the Charge of the Light Brigade, the fearful conditions in the trenches at the front, and the quiet heroism of Florence Nightingale, the Crimean War saw the railway go to war for the first time. The Grand Crimean Central Railway was the brainchild of two Victorian railway magnates, Samuel Morton Peto and Thomas Brassey; in order to alleviate the suffering at the front, they volunteered to build at cost a steam railway linking the Allied camps at Sevastopol to their supply base at Balaclava. In the face of much official opposition, the railway was built and operational in a matter of months, supplying hundreds of tons of food, clothing and materiel to the starving and freezing men in their trenches. Largely worked by civilian auxiliaries, the Grand Crimean Central Railway saw the railway transformed into a war-winning weapon, saving countless thousands of lives as it did so.

The Tarka Line threads through beautiful Devon countryside from the city of Exeter to the ancient market town of Barnstaple. The Dartmoor Line leaves the Tarka Line near Crediton, and runs along the northern edge of the Moor to Okehampton and Meldon. First published in 1998, this book has been fully revised and updated, with many photographs and now in colour. It features a wealth of locations along the two routes, seen both yesterday and today, and the comparisons will be of absorbing interest to anyone who uses the line, passengers, rail enthusiasts, cyclists and walkers alike.

Arthur Henry Peppercorn, OBE (29 January 1889 - 3 March 1951) was the last Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Railway. Peppercorn finished several projects which were started by his predecessor Edward Thompson, but most popular were his LNER Peppercorn Class A1 and the LNER Peppercorn Class A2 . These were known as some of the best British steam locomotives ever in service. Upon nationalisation and the foundation of British Railways, he continued in essentially the same job, now titled "Chief Mechanical Engineer, Eastern and North Eastern Regions"; he retired at the end of 1949, two years after nationalisation. Only one of his famous Pacific locomotives, a LNER Peppercorn Class A2, 60532 Blue Peter, was preserved, but none of the LNER Peppercorn Class A1. However, a brand new A1, 60163 Tornado, built as the next in the class, has been constructed. It moved under its own steam for the first time in August 2008. The book will detail Peppercorn's life with as many personal pictures as possible. It will include black and white and colour pictures of 49 of his A1 locomotives and 15 of his A2 locomotives. The pictures will show the locomotives under construction, from the lineside and on shed.

Todays beautifully scenic LLangollen Railway runs over a ten mile section of the former Ruabon Junction to Barmouth route that was absorbed into the Great Western Railway in 1877. The line originally opened to freight traffic as far as Llangollen in December 1861, with passenger train services commencing early in June the following year. The current day section of the heritage line to Corwen, was opened to traffic on 1st May 1865, by which time a larger and more centrally located station had been constructed in Llangollen. Closure by British Railways came about in 1964 as a result of the infamous report of Dr Beeching which had been commissioned by the government of the day in order to study potential rationalisation of the rail network in Britain. In the early 1960s standard gauge railway preservation was very much in its infancy in Britain although there were a number of narrow gauge preservation concerns up and running in Wales, so the idea of a dedicated band of enthusiasts restoring and operating services along no longer commercially viable stretches of line had already become established. The beginnings of a Preservation Society in this corner of Wales came about in 1975 when the whole process, which has eventually resulted in what exists today, started with the humble presence of a band of enthusiastic volunteers taking over the occupancy of Llangollen Station in order to start the process of restoration and reconstruction. Over the ensuing years progress was made with the gradual extension of the line, from initial running within the station limits at Llangollen, to Corwen, where a temporary station is currently in use whilst a new purpose built station is constructed. The position of the Llangollen Railway as one of Britain's leading heritage lines is clear to see from the images included in this edition of the Recollections series of publications, which captures the character of this preserved section of the former Great Western Railway in Wales.

Just mention Colorado to the avid rail fan and you have their interest; add the term 'narrow gauge' and you have their undivided attention. Why this special interest in the Centennial State's railroads which span 120 years? One reason is Colorado's geography -- relatively flat plains in the eastern third of the state, the rugged Rocky Mountains in the central and southwest areas. Colorado's railroads traverse all these regions -- from a 2285 foot elevation to the heights of 14,000 foot peaks. This geographical configuration makes Colorado railroading second to none.

John Fletcher began his railway career at the age of 15 at Lostock Hall loco shed near Preston in 1962. He soon progressed to became a fireman, working around the shed and on the footplate in the twilight years of steam in the North of England. Following involvement in the last BR steam runs in August 1968, he decided that the new railway was not for him, so left to pursue a different career, before returning to the railway until 1974. However, it wasn't long before his skills were in demand on heritage railways, and he found himself once more on the footplate, firing on preserved locos on the West Somerset Railway and in particular the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, eventually making his home in Grosmont. From there he progressed to firing on main-line-registered steam locomotives on the national network, taking him all over the country, from Plymouth to Inverness, and Norwich to Newport. John is a natural story-teller, and his fascinating and lively 'tales of the rails' not only explain the techniques of firing steam locomotives of many different classes, but vividly convey the hard work, the challenges and the sheer exhilaration of being 'on the shovel' when man and machine are working together out on the line. These lively and varied tales include a stint on Hogwarts Castle on Glenfinnan Viaduct for one of the 'Harry Potter' films, and journeys aboard a wide variety of engines from the 'Big Four' and beyond, including among many others the LMS's No 6233 Duchess of Sutherland, LNER 'A4' Sir Nigel Gresley, SR No 34067 Tangmere, GWR No 6024 King Edward I and the unique BR 'Pacific' No 71000 Duke of Gloucester.

The aim of this series is to appeal to readers of all ages, perhaps for different reasons...In this volume: We travel back to the year 1969 For the younger reader there are wonderful pictures of trains, real trains. There will, for example, be tank engines, steam engines, electric trains and multiple units and many more varieties besides! Some will be recognised from train sets, model railways and books, while others will be seen for the first time. For the older reader the books are designed to build into a collection placing the railway in the context of key events thus providing an historical perspective of travel in times past. For those old enough to remember the years depicted, the series will, we hope, provide reminders for many of school days, time perhaps spent train-spotting, shed bashing and generally gricing! The books also make ideal theme gifts for the year of birth, marriage, retirement, starting work and other such events in life.

Using well over 200 pin sharp photographs and informative text, the book will feature many aspects of railway development in Yorkshire prior to the Grouping of railways in 1923 as well as the years afterwards, up to 1948, and the establishment of British Railways. There is an impressive geographical spread across the region, including the West, East and North Ridings. Included is an outstanding collection of photographs gathered from postcards, original prints, and from glass plate negatives. The captions are well researched and written in a non railway jargon manner, for the enjoyment of a wide audience. The pictures should be of interest well beyond the average railway enthusiast as they form strong social history in portraying such themes as contemporary life, changing fashion in dress (male and female), advertising slogans of the period and excessive numbers of railway staff at many stations. They also show the varied styles of station, bridge and viaduct architecture as well as the way communities have changed. - A lavish reasonably-priced, hardback book, roughly covering the railway period in Yorkshire 1900- 1948 - Besides locomotives, stations, bridges, viaducts and other railway subjects are illustrated - Nothing has been gathered together in such a large sized book hitherto - Over 200 pin sharp photographs beautifully printed - A wealth of facts and figures useful to social historians and railway enthusiasts alike - A fantastic glimpse into Yorkshire's railway world in the first half of the 20th century.

The Waterloo-Bournemouth Line has often been referred to as 'Britain's last steam-worked main line' and at the start of summer 1966 it remained steam-worked Monday-Friday, with the weekends taken over by Crompton Type 3 diesels. From here on, however, there was a steady decline in steam services and the final end came on Sunday 9 July 1967. This book charts the beginning of the end of Southern Region steam from summer 1966 to July 1967. The author provides an overall account of the South Western Division steam locomotives sheds at the time, describing locomotive transfer and withdrawal dates using the original official notices issued by the General Manager's Office, Waterloo - the most reliable source available. The book then explains SR diagramming practice and with the help from the original notes of many contributors, provides a considerable database of train sightings for the period to provide an actual comparison with the locomotive diagrams. The sightings also reveal, among many things, that steam locomotives were often called upon to provide coverage for the failures of the emerging new motive power. The final chapter is devoted to the last four weeks of steam working and includes extracts from a number of SR documents that explain the plan behind the steam workings. A wealth of memorable photographs illustrate the detailed text, and provide an uplifting and lasting memory of the final days of steam on the Southern.

The abc Rail Guide has become quickly established as a must-have annual publication for the current scene railway enthusiast and is a traditional combined volume for the modern age. Listings are by user, with details of every locomotive and carriage used by that operator. Included are running numbers, depot, livery, owner, operator and name (if it carries one). Chapters cover the following areas: * TOCs * FOCs * Infrastructure companies * Train engineering companies * Train builders * Rolling stock hire companies * Private train operators * Off lease rolling stock * Preserved motive power * US power exported * New train orders * TOPS numbered steam * Ex-BR industrial locomotives * Light railway operators * Tables of codes used * Index of running numbers and where to find them in the book Author Colin Marsden constantly revises the content and presentation in the light of comments from readers and users. The 2017 edition is completely updated with a wholly new illustrative selection of colour photographs and maps.

Nigel Gresley built his Pacific class of locomotives to deal with increasing demands from passenger traffic. Some Pacifics started as Class A1s but were eventually rebuilt to Class A3 specifications. Others were built as A3s from the outset. Suffice to say the A3s underwent a number of significant alterations during their lifetime extending from 1922 to the mid 1960s. Gresley's A3s documents many members of the class in well-researched captions. These are set against photographs which appear in a chronological sequence. We learn how many different tenders were coupled to a locomotive; how they were converted from right hand to left hand drive; the many colour schemes employed; and latterly how trough deflectors were fitted to a number of engines. A finale to book is a section on the Flying Scotsman - a world-renowned engine that started as an A1 but was subsequently converted to A3. The engine has recently undergone a major overhaul and brought crowds out in their thousands when it appeared on an inaugural run. This is surely testament to the longevity of Gresley's great locomotives. - Many of these great locomotives were built and maintained in Yorkshire at Doncaster Works - A large number of colour photographs not hitherto seen previously - Evocative black and white pictures - The locomotives are seen all along the East Coast Main line, travelling on Scottish routes and the old Great Central line hauling many named trains. They are also depicted on shed and in works. - A lavish and aptly sized book that does justice to these much revered and sadly missed locomotives