The London Midland Region covered a huge part of England from London to the north and north west, from the Scottish borders into the south west. It served huge metropolitan cities and towns, supported heavy industry, and ran through areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the Peak District and Lake District. Modelling the Midland Region from 1948 is an essential guide to creating your own model based on the London Midland Region of the British Railways era. It covers the history of the London Midland Region; British Rail and LMS locomotives; passenger and goods rolling stock; structures and scenery unique to the region, and signalling and electrification. The authors of this book are trustees of the charity Famous Trains model railway and directors of its operating company Famous Trains Ltd.

Greater Manchester covers an area of 493 square miles and is a diverse part of North West England, it is home to 2.8 million people. At its heart is the vibrant and ever-changing City of Manchester, the large conurbation having borders with Lancashire, West Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire and Merseyside. It has a complex, varied and historic heavy rail network that contains ninety-six stations on a 142 mile network, part of which was the first passenger railway in the World. Greater Manchester is also home to the largest light rail system in the UK - The Metrolink Tram system has a current network of 57 miles and 93 stops, its expansion has aided some traffic reduction in an area that has the highest percentage of Motorway network than any other county in the UK. Network Greater Manchester is a detailed photographic journey over the system that chronicles the constantly changing scene since the late 1970's to the present day and illustrates how the services, rolling stock and infrastructure have changed with the passage of time.

In mid-1964, Keith Widdowson got wind that the Western Region was hell-bent on being the first to eliminate the steam locomotive on its tracks by December 1965. The 17-year-old hurriedly homed in on train services still in the hands of GWR steam power, aiming to catch runs with the last examples before their premature annihilation. The Great Western Steam Retreat recalls Widdowson's teenage exploits, soundtracked by hits from the Beatles, the Kinks and the Rolling Stones, throughout the Western Region and former Great Western Railway lines. He documents the extreme disorder that resulted from that decision, paying tribute to the train crews who managed to meet demanding timings in the face of declining cleanliness, the poor quality of coal and the major problem of recruiting both footplate and shed staff. This book completes the author's Steam Chase series and provides a snapshot into the comradery that characterised the final years of steam alongside the long-gone journeys that can never be recreated.

Bringing together around 5,000 square miles of land, the West Midlands region boasted a diverse system of railways. These ranged from the main lines connecting the north and south of Britain to small branches, as well as cross-country routes and local lines. The Last Years of West Midlands Steam records this area in the 1948-1967 period - using nearly 250 superb colour and black-and-white images - when the days of steam reached their peak. The book covers the smaller West Midlands county, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Several cities in the area appear: Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester. There are also a number of large towns included, such as: Burton-upon-Trent, Dudley, Kidderminster, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Stourbridge, Tamworth, Uttoxeter, etc. With lines formerly operated by the London Midland & Scottish Railway and Great Western Railway, many locomotives of these companies are present, alongside the Standard Classes of British Railways. With a rich industrial heritage in the region, a number of privately owned locomotives appear at work on several sites, such as breweries and collieries. The West Midlands was a bustling and vibrant place for steam enthusiasts to observe and record locomotives at work. In doing so, a lost era has been captured and this collection has been assembled to celebrate those bygone days.

Andrew Grant Forsyth's photographs show the changing locomotive scene throughout Scotland after the nationalisation of the railways in 1948. Forsyth visited Scotland almost every year, and between 1948 and 1966 he was fortunate to be able to photograph the graceful-looking ex-Great North of Scotland 4-4-0s, the ex-North British Railway 'Glen' and 'Scott' 4-4-0s, the Caledonian 4-4-0s and numerous 0-6-0 and tank locomotive classes remaining from both those companies. Also reproduced are many examples of the London and North Eastern Railway express locomotive fleet, together with locomotives of former London Midland and Scottish Railway and examples of the post-nationalisation Standard locomotives of British Railways. Scottish Steam 1948-1966 is a stunning collection of Andrew Grant Forsyth's photographs, providing a unique insight into a shifting time.

The author came to London from Lancashire as a nine-year old having developed an interest in his local buses and Blackpool trams at a very early age. He remained in south-west London living in the Wandsworth and Wimbledon areas for the next 45 years. As a young teenager he took up locospotting joining a small group of fellow enthusiasts who met regularly by the lineside just west of Clapham Junction and for roughly ten years avidly followed his hobby. For the first half of that decade, his hobby was centred largely close to London because of age and money restrictions except for rare trips often family visits - further afield. In this second book, he describes his experiences from about 1960: visiting stations; lineside observations; and more official trips to depots and works, often with the RCTS. He gives us a spotters-eye view of the changes to British Railways at the time: the final steam locomotives arriving; the increasing impact of the Modernisation Plan; seeing elderly locomotives at work or at the end of their service life on scrap lines. After 1958, when he acquired his first camera it was used regularly to build up a library of photographs as finances allowed. Some of these, taken at a later date, have been used to illustrate his travels and exploits in the earlier years of his hobby and later, colour views are used to cover the preservation era.

A facsimile edition of Bradshaw's fascinating guide to Europe's rail network. Bradshaw's descriptive railway handbook of Europe was originally published in 1913 and was the inspiration behind Michael Portillo's BBC television series 'Great Continental Railway Journeys'. It is divided into three sections: timetables for services covering the continent; short guides to the best places to see and to stay in each city; and a wealth of advertisements and ephemeral materials concerning hotels, restaurants and services that might be required by the early twentieth century rail traveller. This beautifully illustrated facsimile edition offers a fascinating glimpse of Europe and of a transport network that was shortly devastated by the greatest war the world had ever seen.

The story of electric rail transportation in Schenectady mirrors the development of urban transportation throughout America in many ways, but it also has its own peculiar local characteristics. Most notably, Schenectady had some of the finest amenities for street railway passengers in the nation, including a Beaux-Arts waiting room with 45-foot-tall ceilings, the longest trolley bridge in the world, and Bullet cars capable of traveling at 90 mph. These amenities helped make Schenectady the hub of a regional interurban trolley network, with hourly service or better to the region's other urban centers. With two major factory complexes employing a significant percentage of the city's population, Schenectady also had some of the most concentrated rush hour traffic found anywhere. This book focuses on the chronology and location of the streetcar and interurban routes partially or wholly in Schenectady. It is hoped that this book can also provide the reader with a brief overview of the geographic development of the City That Lights and Hauls the World. Much of this development took place in tandem with the growth of the street railway system.

In the 1800s, railroad development was instrumental in enabling Cleveland to become an industrial center. By 1920, Cleveland was the nation's fifth-largest city, with an economy dependent on the iron and steel, petroleum-refining, automotive, and chemical industries. It was second only to Detroit among American cities in the percentage of the population employed by industry. Railroads brought raw materials needed for manufacturing and carried the finished products to markets everywhere. The mainline railroads serving Cleveland included the Baltimore & Ohio, the Erie, the New York Central, the Nickel Plate Road, the Pennsylvania, and the Wheeling & Lake Erie. Images of Rail: Cleveland Mainline Railroads describes how these six railroads developed and what freight and passenger markets they served through the 1960s, a period during which railroads were the primary carriers of goods and passengers to Cleveland. Industry changed following World War II, leading to the consolidation and abandonment of railroad routes in northeast Ohio.

Reveals the legacy of the train as a critical site of race in the United States Despite the seeming supremacy of car culture in the United States, the train has long been and continues to be a potent symbol of American exceptionalism, ingenuity, and vastness. For almost two centuries, the train has served as the literal and symbolic vehicle for American national identity, manifest destiny, and imperial ambitions. It's no surprise, then, that the train continues to endure in depictions across literature, film, ad music. The Racial Railroad highlights the surprisingly central role that the railroad has played-and continues to play-in the formation and perception of racial identity and difference in the United States. Julia H. Lee argues that the train is frequently used as the setting for stories of race because it operates across multiple registers and scales of experience and meaning, both as an invocation of and a depository for all manner of social, historical, and political narratives. Lee demonstrates how, through legacies of racialized labor and disenfranchisement-from the Chinese American construction of the Transcontinental Railroad and the depictions of Native Americans in landscape and advertising, to the underground railroad and Jim Crow segregation-the train becomes one of the exemplary spaces through which American cultural works explore questions of racial subjectivity, community, and conflict. By considering the train through various lenses, The Racial Railroad tracks how racial formations and conflicts are constituted in significant and contradictory ways by the spaces in which they occur.

Explore Britain's remaining historic lines with railway expert Julian Holland. The essential guide to exploring Britain's last remaining historic lines, Britain's Heritage Railways is ideal for anyone planning or looking for a nostalgic railway trip. From bestselling railway author Julian Holland. More than 100 locations, the majority steam operated, featured all over Britain. Highly illustrated with maps and old and new photographs. Historic lines include; * Bodmin & Wenford Railway - two rural branch lines with a rich industrial history tucked away in Cornwall * West Somerset Railway - the longest heritage railway in England with views of the Quantock Hills and the sea * Bluebell Railway - a Victorian steam railway deep in rural Mid Sussex * North Norfolk Railway - a delightful journey through heathland with views of the sea * Dean Forest Railway - with a rich industrial history this heritage railway takes passengers into the ancient Forest of Dean * Ffestiniog Railway - a steam operated Victorian narrow gauge slate railway clinging to steep hillsides * Wensleydale Railway - a long heritage railway in the unspoilt Yorkshire Dales * Speyside Railway - a Highland line with views of the Cairngorm Mountains

The story of the Orange Line is the story of Boston: always in flux but trailed by its long history. Since 1901, this rail line's configuration has evolved in response to changes in the city, society, and technology. Hazardous sections have been eliminated, ownership has transitioned from private to public, and the line has been rerouted to serve growing suburbs and to use land cleared for the failed Inner Belt. Both its northern terminus, which shifted from Everett to Malden, and the southern route, realigned from Washington Street to the Southwest Corridor, have seen dramatic transformations that have in turn changed riders' lives. Today, the line's 10 miles of track curve through many Greater Boston communities, serving thousands along the way.

Thomas Hackworth (1797-1877) has been overlooked by history. He had both the fortune and misfortune to be the brother of a renowned railway engineer. His fortune lay in that he was party to some of the most famous early railway experiments. He was there at the birth of Puffing Billy and Wylam Dilly and built some of the first locomotives used on the Stockton and Darlington Railway. He was still building steam locomotives long after railways had become the dominant form of transport in the world. He was a major contributor to the growth of the north-east towns of both Shildon and Stockton-on-Tees, which would not be what they are without his acumen and engineering expertise. In respect of Stockton, he was also responsible for establishing one of the world's leading marine engineering companies. His misfortune was that his life was eclipsed by the fame and genius of an older brother. It was brother Timothy who once referred to Thomas Hackworth as 'Poor Tom' when Tom was made the scapegoat for a series of problems at Shildon. As a consequence Tom lost both job and home, was subsequently exploited by his business partner, and saw his young family was devastated by cholera.Despite this, he built a hundred steam locomotives, operated some of the earliest railways and produced engines that powered the first steam ships It is time for Tom Hackworth's story to be told.

Thomas is ready for the adventure of a lifetime! Thomas is excited to join Nia on safari in Kenya. But when he gets scared by the wild animals, Nia must teach him how useful they can be! Will Thomas be brave and make some new friends along the way? A beautifully-illustrated picture book with an action-packed adventure for Thomas and his friends. Thomas has been teaching children lessons about life and friendship for 75 years. He ranks alongside other beloved characters such as Paddington Bear, Winnie the Pooh and Peter Rabbit as and essential part of our literary heritage. Also available: Thomas the Hero 9781405296755 The Story of Thomas 9781405297448 Happy Birthday, Thomas 9781405297240

In 1963, Norman Clark officially opened Roaring Camp to the public. Since then, it has become a popular and well-known destination for tourists and rail buffs from around the world who wish to visit and ride on its 100-year-old steam trains. Isaac Graham, who constructed the first powered sawmill and the first whiskey distillery in the American West, settled the area in the 1840s. Graham was notorious for his boisterous antics, and his settlement became known as a "wild and roaring camp." Clark arrived in the area in the mid-1950s with $25 in his pocket and the dream of preserving a piece of early California. Clark's dream included a plan to construct an 1880s railroad town, complete with an authentic narrow-gauge logging railway. Over the last 50 years, Clark's dream has been continued and expanded, now incorporating two railroads, one of which dates to 1875.

The Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad laid track from Alexandria through Fairfax County and into Loudoun County towards the coalfields of West Virginia. In 1900, the Southern Railway, which had taken over the line, extended the railroad into Bluemont on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Washington & Old Dominion Railway leased the Southern Railway's line in 1912, went into receivership in 1932, and was reorganized into the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad in 1935. The employees excavated the roadbed by hand, built stations and electric locomotives, reconfigured passenger cars, replaced diesel motors, and rebuilt bridges. Eventually, public roads and a lack of shipping and receiving industries forced the railroad into abandonment. Through old photographs, Washington & Old Dominion Railroad explores the efforts that went into building, operating, and maintaining the railroad whose right-of-way has now become the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority's Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park.

At the end of the 19th century, Portland led the nation in the development of interurban electric railways. The city became the hub of an electric rail network that spread throughout the Willamette Valley. This is the story of the pioneering local railways that started it all as they built south along the Willamette River to Oregon City and east to Estacada and Bull Run in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. More than 200 historic images illustrate Portland's Interurban Railway from its rudimentary beginnings through the peak years, when passengers rode aboard the finest examples of the car builders' art, to the sudden end in 1958.

There are more than 400 miniature railways in Britain. Some are hidden away and privately owned, others are parkland attractions, and some - such as the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch - are large commercial enterprises. They come in an array of gauges (from 5 inches up to 15 inches and sometimes beyond), but their most definitive characteristic is that they can carry passengers, whether sitting astride the rolling stock or inside enclosed carriages. In this colourfully illustrated guide, David Henshaw offers a concise history of miniature railways from the nineteenth century to the modern day, including a whistle-stop tour of the most notable examples open to the public - including the Ravenglass & Eskdale and Eastleigh Lakeside railways - exploring their layouts, engineering and rolling stock.

New York's railroads were born of the cutthroat conflict of rate wars, bloody strikes and even federal graft. The railroad wars began as soon as the first line was chartered between Albany and Schenectady when supporters of the Erie Canal tried to block the new technology that would render their waterway obsolete. After the first primitive railroads overcame that hurdle, they began battling with one another in a series of rate wars to gain market share. Attracted by the success of the rails, the most powerful and cunning capitalists in the country--Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, Daniel Drew and other robber barons--joined the fray. Timothy Starr's account of New York's railroad wars steams through the nineteenth century with stories of rate pools, labor strikes, stock corners, legislative bribery and treasury plundering the likes of which the world had never seen.

"Krist does wonders . . . [He] describes the frantic rescue efforts . . . and the malevolent, unending storm. In a thrilling, climactic chapter, he conjures forth the avalanche.""--The New York Times" In February 1910, a monstrous, record-breaking blizzard hit the Northwest. Nowhere was the danger more terrifying than near a tiny town called Wellington, perched high in the Cascade Mountains, where a desperate situation evolved: two trainloads of cold, hungry passengers and their crews found themselves marooned. For days, an army of the Great Northern Railroad's most dedicated men worked to rescue the trains, but just when escape seemed possible, the unthinkable occurred--a colossal avalanche tumbled down, sweeping the trains over the steep slope and down the mountainside. Centered on the astonishing spectacle of our nation's deadliest avalanche, "The White Cascade "is the masterfully told story of a never-before-documented tragedy.