The name 'Great Western Railway' immediately conjures up images of Stars, Castles and Kings, the legendary express passenger locomotives that were the envy of the world in their day. However, the Swindon empire also produced extensive fleets of all-purpose tank engines - everyday reliable workhorses and unsung heroes - which were also standout classics in their own right. The most distinctive and immediately recognizable type in terms of shape, all but unique to the GWR, was the six-coupled pannier tank. With hundreds of photographs throughout, Great Western Railway Pannier Tanks covers: the supremely innovative pannier tank designs of GWR chief mechanical engineer Charles Benjamin Collett and the appearance of the 5700 class in 1929 and the 5400, 6400, 7400 and 9400 classes. The demise of the panniers in British Railways service and the 5700s that marked the end of Western Region steam are discussed along with a second life beneath the streets - 5700 class panniers on London Underground. Finally, there is a section on panniers in preservation, plus cinema and TV roles and even a Royal Train duty.

The London Underground Electric Train tells the story of the development of electric traction on the London Underground railways. It combines technical knowledge, historical context and practical experiences. It covers the history of underground lines since the opening of the first deep-level underground rail system in the world in 1890: the City & South London Railway. The evolution of train design, including power, lighting, heating and design of the Underground cars is also covered along with the development of operational, engineering and safety devices on trains. Highly illustrated with period and new photography and technical diagrams, this book is a reference work for electric traction and underground rail enthusiasts.

From their origins, railways produced an intense competition between the two major continental systems in France and Germany. Fitting a new technology into existing political institutions and social habits, these two nations became inexorably involved in industrial and commercial rivalry that eventually escalated into the armed conflict of 1914. Based on many years of research in French and German archives, this study examines the adaptation of railroads and steam engines from Britain to the continent of Europe after the Napoleonic age. A fascinating example of how the same technology, borrowed at the same time from the same source, was assimilated differently by the two continental powers, this book offers a groundbreaking analysis of the crossroads of technology and politics during the first Industrial Revolution.

The British Rail corporate image and its Rail Blue livery was one of the longest-lived colour schemes carried by the trains of Britain in the forty-eight-year life of the nationalised railway network. Launched in 1965, after Beeching, the then new corporate image was an attempt by the BR design panel to raise the profile of the railway system countrywide and to sweep away the dull steam-era image as the swinging sixties got underway. By the mid-1970s, virtually all BR locomotives and multiple units were carrying Rail Blue livery, while most of the passenger coaches were in matching blue/grey. As the British Rail network was sectorised from the late 1980s in preparation for eventual privatisation, new bold, bright livery schemes for the fleet swept away the familiar, but by then somewhat jaded BR image. The BR blue era is now looked upon with affection as a golden age when the system was operated by an immense variety of locomotives and rolling stock, all now part of history in the same way that the steam era was viewed when the BR blue era ruled on Britain's railways.

In series with the main 'Southern Way' volumes, this 96 page book looks at things that went wrong on the railway - sometimes unavoidable, sometimes misfortune and sometimes just sheer bad luck. Nothing too macabre either, instead derailments, clear ups, and incident-causing delays, plus of course Bulleid's that got a bit hot under the casing! This primarily pictorial volume covers the period of both Southern Region and Southern Railway days plus a few earlier occurrences. The photographer sometimes unwittingly affording a glimpse of a background scene rarely seen elsewhere.

The cross-country Ruabon to Barmouth railway was originally built to fulfil the desire of connecting the town of Llangollen with the rest of the rapidly expanding network. The local Victorian promoters received the backing of the Great Western Railway, which had an ambitious plan to reach the Cambrian Coast and tap into the slate quarries around Snowdonia. As time was to prove, the GWR was to be temporarily thwarted by the construction of a branch inland from Barmouth by the rival Cambrian Railway, resulting in an end-on connection between the two railways in the market town of Dolgelly. The route developed into an important artery across rural Wales, bringing in its wake a revolution in agriculture, industry and daily life. Holiday traffic became big business, tapping into the big conurbations of Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. The route would ultimately succumb to the Beeching axe during the 1960s, but even this did not go to plan following severe flooding a few weeks prior! Volume One explores the eastern half of the route, encompassing the towns of Ruabon, Llangollen, Corwen and Bala, and a brief introduction to the fundamentals of railway travel. The perfect companion for anyone visiting the preserved Llangollen Railway.

The arrival of the railway was one of the most far reaching events in the history of the Victorian city. The present study, based upon detailed case histories of Britain's five largest cities (London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool), shows how the railways gave Victorian cities their compact shape, influenced topography and character of their central districts, and determines the nature of suburban expansion. This book was first published in 1969.