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Books > Sport & Leisure > Transport: general interest > Trains & railways: general interest
The seminal and pioneering London Underground is more than a mass
transportation network - it is a style icon, its history involving
some of the most important architects and artists of their time.
Exploring Frank Pick's vision through the development of Metroland
to Holden's innovative designs, David Long expertly weaves the
story of the Underground - its abundance of characters (some good,
some not so good), design firsts and brand identity - with Jane
Magarigal's atmospheric photography. From suburban expansion to
Blitz bombings and Soviet adulation, this book celebrates what
remains a magnificent engineering and aesthetic achievement while
providing an affectionate if slightly elegiac portrait of a London
which is now gone for good.
Following the success of previous standard edition Past &
Present volumes on preserved and heritage lines and the healthyon
going demand we are pleased to announce this brand ne volume.
Considerable further rare and interesting past images have come to
light since the publication of the earlier Past & Present
volume on the line from Snow Hill to Cheltenham in the series by
Roger Siviter (now long out of print), and John Whitehouse has been
persuaded to venture forth armed with a new selection of past
images to capture the present day scene. Many new locations have
been visited and once again responding to popular demand the
preserved line from Cheltenham Racecourse to the newly opened
Broadway station forms the core of this brand new offering. This
wonderful record of the popular preserved railway is sure to be in
great demand among not just hard core railway enthusiasts but also
to the many thousands of nostalgia enthused vistors who travel over
the line. With the opening of the new station at Broadway, this
year promises to be the most succesful in the line's long and
interesting history.
Whether you're on the Orient Express or the Inverness to Wick and
Thurso route traversing some of the wildest country in Britain,
train travel affords a vision of the world like no other. From the
modest line through North Yorkshire's Esk Valley to the
Trans-Siberian; from a narrow-gauge web of lines in the Harz
Mountains to the coast-tocoast journey through the mountains of
Corsica, acclaimed travel writer Anthony Lambert presents an
unmissable selection for any traveller who loves the journey as
much as the destination. Here is a carefully chosen, wide-ranging
selection of train journeys with character, sublime scenery and a
real sense of history.
Tom Hicks story begins when he joins the LMS straight from school
and follows his early life on the railways in the 1930s, through
enlistment, training as a paratrooper, wartime service,
imprisonment and his return to the LMS as an engine driver. Tom
volunteered for war service in 1939 and was initially placed in the
military railway of the Royal Engineers. In search of adventure, he
successfully applied to join the newly formed 1st Parachute
Squadron of the Royal Engineers. The intensity and rigours of
parachute training are described in detail, as are the comradeship
and humour that came to the fore as this small 150-man unit fought
throughout the Second World War as part of the 1st Parachute
Brigade. The excitement of the first parachute jumps are relived
together with the parachute operations in North Africa, Sicily and
the Battle of Arnhem. It was here after nine days fighting with his
mates falling around him that Tom was wounded and taken prisoner.
Following the battle, Tom was transported in a cattle truck to
Germany where he was used as forced labour in a lead mine until
being liberated by the Americans in 1945. With insightful
commentary from Toms son Norman, this is the story of an ordinary
soldier, who was motivated by pride in his unit. It was this that
would not let him leave the army when he was twice given the
opportunity to return home to support the struggling railway
system. Tom has recounted his experiences with a keen eye and the
sense of humour that has always enabled him to triumph in the face
of adversity.
At its peak, the South Wales railway network was one of the most
complex in the world. Its primary purpose was to transport Coal
from source to point of consumption or export via the various
docks. To this was added the other raw materials necessary for
making Iron and ultimately Steel, together with the respective
products of that industry. True, there was no glory in this day to
day phenomenon and as a consequence, the area has been poorly
represented in the annals of the British railway network. Even that
paragon of railway publicity the Great Western, found easier plums
to pick elsewhere on its system. However, in addition to the GW,
the area was a magnet for the London & North Western, the
Midland Railway and not to be forgotten, the 15 indigenous
companies. Yet, in terms of traffic, engineering enterprise,
operating practices and locomotive types, the area boasted an
unequalled variety which this book attempts to reflect. Many of the
photographs have not been published before and capture an essence
of the variety to be found. The captions contain extensive details
to supplement the photographic record enabling a more comprehensive
appreciation and understanding of what was involved. It is
difficult to appreciate the railway was once a Common Carrier
obliged to convey any consignment offered. Even though Coal was
predominant other traffic, including the more unusual, are also
featured; Although of secondary importance in regard to revenue,
Passenger services were carefully dovetailed into the intensive
freight operation and matched any other location's provision. After
the 1923 Grouping, the GW became the major player in South Wales.
It absorbed all 15 of the independent companies and further
extended its policy of standardisation. Nevertheless, where the
smaller companies demonstrated good practices, these were embraced.
The L&NW and MR elements became LMSR but still remained far
flung tentacles from the parent. All this is recognised here albeit
in proportion. The Gallery aims to provide a flavour of what the
railways of South Wales had to offer and enlighten the reader as to
its major part in the national network.
The Great Western Castles were one of the most successful
locomotive designs of the twentieth century in terms of both
performance and efficiency. Designed by Charles Collett in 1923,
based on the 1907 Churchward Star' class, 155 were constructed
almost continuously, apart from the war years, between 1923 and
1950, in addition to fifteen rebuilt Stars' and one rebuilt from
the Great Bear pacific. Many were modernised with increased
superheat and double-chimneys in the late 1950s and the class
continued to be the mainstay of all Western Region express
passenger services to the West Country, South Wales,
Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and the West Midlands until replaced
by the WR diesel hydraulic fleet in the early 1960s. This book
covers their design in a chapter written by Bob Meanley, who
masterminded the restoration at Tyseley Works of the Castles Earl
of Mount Edgcumbe and Clun Castle, and their history, operation and
performance from the high speed of the 1930s through to their
rejuvenation in the 1950s, leaving experience of their last years
and preservation to another volume. David Maidment had close
experience of the class when working at Old Oak Common between 1957
and 1962 and includes his personal experiences there and on the
road from his first encounter with one as a six-year old boy. The
book includes 350 photographs, some 40 in colour, and 23 detailed
Swindon technical drawings.
This book provides a comprehensive study of the planning and
building of railways in London's Docklands, reflecting on the past
180 years of railway development. It describes the creation of the
enclosed working docks at the start of the 19th Century and the
introduction of railways in the middle of the century. By the
1970's the decline of the working docks led to a plethora of plans
to regenerate the area, but with little agreement on what should be
done. The setting up of the London Docklands Development
Corporation by the former Secretary of State for the Environment
Lord Heseltine was a significant landmark, expediting the Canary
Wharf development. The book describes in detail the modern railway
projects, created to support the subsequent growing employment and
population of the area, including the Docklands Light Railway with
its multiple extensions, the Jubilee Line extension and
Crossrail/Elizabeth Line. The book will appeal to a wide audience.
To railway enthusiasts who wish to learn more about the why and the
how such projects are approved and built and to transport and
planning professionals who wish to understand more about the ups
and downs of the relationship between transport and development and
the decision making processes. within changing political, economic
and employment scenarios. The end result has provided Docklands
with a comprehensive hierarchy of quality transport services, to
match anyway in the world.
Although goods traffic accounted in many cases for a higher
proportion of railway companies' revenue than passengers, the
buildings associated with it have received very little attention in
comparison to their passenger counterparts. They once played as
important a role in distribution as the 'big sheds' near motorway
junctions do today. The book shows how the basic design of goods
sheds evolved early in the history of railways, and how the form of
goods sheds reflected the function they performed. Although goods
sheds largely functioned in the same way, there was considerable
scope for variety of architectural expression in their external
design. The book brings out how they varied considerably in size
from small timber huts to the massive warehouses seen in major
cities. It also looks at how many railway companies developed
standard designs for these buildings towards the end of the 19th
century and at how traditional materials such as timber, brick and
stone gave way to steel and concrete in the 20th This building type
is subject to a high level of threat with development pressure in
urban and suburban areas for both car parking and housing having
already accounted for the demise of many of these buildings.
Despite this, some 600 have been identified as still extant and the
book will, for the first time, provide a comprehensive gazetteer of
the surviving examples.
In 1963 comic duo Flanders and Swann composed Slow Train - a lament
for some of the many railway lines proposed for closure by Dr
Beeching. Among the destinations listed in their song is the
refrain from St Erth to St Ives . Constructed in 1877 as the last
broad gauge line to be built in the UK, the St Ives branch did not
close in the 1960s and survives to this day - now widely regarded
as one of the most scenic railways in Europe. How did it escape
closure, and how did it come to be built in the first place? Why
did the war departments of the world have their eyes on St Ives in
the years before the First World War? How did a town once renowned
for the inescapable smell of fish become one of the most popular
tourist resorts in the UK? Did the Great Western Railway invent the
Cornish Riviera? Why was a heliport proposed for St Erth? Where did
a 32-ton ballast digger end-up in 2008? And how did two young men
find themselves four miles from the nearest station in 1860 ?
Containing over 100 images, mostly in colour and many never
published before, this book sets out to answer these and many more
questions.
Whitland to Pembroke Dock is the latest book in the West Wales
Railways series which continues the previous South Wales Main Line
series covering the line from the Severn Tunnel through to ends of
the main line in West Wales. This volume covers the section from
Whitland to Pembroke Dock, a largely agricultural and holiday line,
centring on Tenby and Pembroke. The line was worked by Whitland
depot which was a steam sub-shed of Neyland, with its own
allocation, mainly of tank engines. These worked the Cardigan and
Pembroke Dock branches until the former was closed under the
Beeching closures of the mid-1960s, when the engine shed was closed
under dieselisation in 1964\. The volume of freight traffic was
radically affected by the withdrawal of goods sundries and parcels
traffic, but especially by the withdrawal of wagon load freight
traffic in 1976, which had brought much Animal Feed and Farming
traffic to the line. Like much of South Wales, the traffic is now
purely passenger with DMUs though Summer Saturdays still sees a
through train now with IETs to and from Paddington, carrying on the
service from HSTs. The previous Pembroke Coast Express in steam and
early diesel days was the prime train on the branch running to and
from Paddington and is still reproduced in the modern preserved
steam special workings.
This book covers the design, construction, operation and
performance of Sir William Stanier's masterpiece, the Princess
Coronation pacific locomotives, better known as the Duchesses'.
Included are pen portraits of the LMS engineers, a chapter on the
express locomotives of the early LMS period that preceded their
introduction and the internal rivalries and politics that Stanier
was brought in to resolve. Chapters and photographs cover the
streamline era, the war years and aftermath, the early years of
nationalisation including the 1948 locomotive exchanges and the
recovery of performance in the mid-1950s. The author includes some
of his own experiences and photographs. The book includes 200
photographs including a few in colour from the LMS era, and an
appendix with weight diagrams, and statistics of the locomotive
construction and withdrawal, names, liveries, allocations and
mileages.
Have you ever watched wagon after wagon of a goods train thunder
past and wondered where it is heading, what it is carrying, and how
it works its way between the passenger services? While goods
services now tend to be shrouded in anonymity, in past times they
were celebrated, prominently advertised, and in many cases were the
raisons d'etre for a rail route. Throughout the nineteenth and much
of the twentieth century, goods trains were the lifeblood of the
nation, transporting precious raw materials, construction and
industrial items, and fresh produce from coastal areas and farms
into the centres of bustling cities. This informative illustrated
history shows how rail freight has been carried since Victorian
times, and how systems have been organized, from the train itself
to the sidings, railway clearing houses, goods sheds and final
destinations - whether villages, towns, cities, factories or docks.
It also examines the basic rolling stock of these trains, from the
humble coal wagon to today's hi-tech containers.
Japan is steeped in legend and myth, perhaps the greatest of which
is the popular misconception that the country is simply too
expensive to visit. The truth is that flights to Japan are cheaper
than they've ever been, accommodation can be great value, while the
warm hospitality which awaits every visitor costs nothing at all.
The real secret to travelling around the country on a budget,
however, is the Japan Rail Pass. Use this comprehensive guide in
conjunction with a rail pass to get the most out of a trip to
Japan. * Practical information - planning your trip; when to go;
suggested itineraries; what to take; festivals and events. * City
guides and maps - where to stay, where to eat, what to see in 30
towns and cities; historical and cultural background. *
Kilometre-by-kilometre route guides - covering train journeys from
the coast into the mountains, from temple retreat to sprawling
metropolis and from sulphurous volcano to windswept desert; 33
route maps. * Japan Rail service schedules - Bullet trains and main
routes in this guide. * Customs, etiquette, Japanese words and
phrases - with kanji- With kanji/hiragana/katakana for all place
name text - readers can point to the text when asking Japanese
speakers for directions. * Extended Highlights - extra colour
sections make this book even more user-friendly and attractive.
What's new in this fully-updated 5th edition? * Greater coverage of
Tokyo with additional mapping following post-Olympic interest in
the capital and the country * More hot-spring resorts added
(including Kinosaki, Kinugawa and Nyuto) * More information about
areas off the beaten track including the wood-carving town of
Inami, Yanagawa where you can ride in a 'gondola' along its canals,
Tomioka Silk Mill (where silk production was first mechanised),
Okunoshima island (notorious for its WWII poison gas factory) * New
Style Trailblazer guide with twin-colour layout and restyled maps *
Expanded colour section with 'Best' lists to help plan a trip *
Kanji and katakana are now included for all place names * Fully
updated post Covid outbreak.
Originally published during the early part of the twentieth
century, the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature were
designed to provide concise introductions to a broad range of
topics. They were written by experts for the general reader and
combined a comprehensive approach to knowledge with an emphasis on
accessibility. C. Edgar Allen's The Modern Locomotive was first
published in 1912. Intended as a work for non-specialists, it looks
at the development, design and working of a typical early
twentieth-century locomotive.
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