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Books > Sport & Leisure > Transport: general interest > Trains & railways: general interest
This work provides coverage of: Edinburgh and Leith; the East Coast
Main Line and the Waverley Route; the Forth Bridge and East Fife;
the West Fife and Clackmannan; and the West Lothian and Stirling to
Hilton Junction.
The formative years of Britain's railway network produced a host of
ideas, activities and characters, quite a few of which now seem not
only highly unusual, but sometimes little short of ridiculous.
Weird schemes and designs, extravagant behaviour, reckless
competition and larger-than-life characters all featured in the
genuine struggle of the railway system to evolve. While the dawning
of regulation and common sense brought about more uniform and
responsible practices, factors like the weather and the innate
complexity of railway operation continued to produce a stream of
nonstandard incidents and outcomes, from wild storms to unusual
equipment. This book, by ex-railwaymen Geoff and Ian Body, captures
over 150 entertaining snippets, stories, and strange and unusual
facts from an ample supply of railway curiosities.
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.
Almost immediately following the withdrawal of the passenger
service, the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Preservation
Society [KWVRPS] was formed with the object of reopening the line
for passenger traffic, and Haworth station was rented to serve as
Headquarters, museum site and depot. Being located near the vast
industrial conurbation of West Yorkshire, the preservation scheme
was ideally placed to attract large numbers of visitors eager to
witness steam's return to this 5 mile line set in the heart of the
Pennines, running as it does on steep gradients from industrial
Keighley to the moorland towns of Haworth, home of the Brontes, and
nearby Oxenhope. The aim of this series is to appeal to readers of
all ages, perhaps for different reasons...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.
From the Edwardian golden age of steam to the present, the railway
has captured the hearts and imaginations of the British people like
no other mode of travel. In wartime and peace, along major routes
and minor, steam, diesel and electric trains have carried commuters
to work, families to holiday destinations and provided the means to
myriad other adventures - the train a constant presence in an
ever-changing way of life. A Century of Railway Travel presents one
hundred years of the British passenger's story, using striking
full-page imagery with commentary from bestselling author Paul
Atterbury. From the open platforms of provincial stations before
the First World War to the modern throngs at Waterloo on Derby Day,
and from compartments that separated rich from poor and male from
female, to the rise to dominance of modern standard class, this
book depicts the rich tapestry of progress and heritage that has
been the last century of British train travel. The coloured card
ticket in your hand, the rough feel of the upholstered seats, and
the call of the whistle, the scenery begins to move across the
carriage windows of one of Britain's great steam-trains: with
full-page illustrations and text alive with insight and nostalgia,
this is a passenger's history of train travel in the last century.
Ottawa's Streetcars was authored by Ottawa native Bill McKeown,
after over fifty years of research. It details the history of the
Ottawa Electric Railway, its predecessors, and the Ottawa
Transportation Commission, all forerunners of today's OC
Transpo.The book contains 256 pages, with over 300 historical
photographs in large size-larger than post-card size, for more
interesting detail-with more than 40 photos in full colour.
- Details the history of the Ottawa Electric Railway, its
predecessors, and the Ottawa Transportation Commission.
- A magnificent historical record of Ottawa as it was at the end
of the 19th and during the first half of the 20th centuries. - A
dozen appendices include coverage of the new O-Train, the
restoration of OTC Streetcar 696, bibliography, trackage history,
recollections from a retired motorman, and much more.- Ten city,
trackage, and route maps including a large 1929 route map in full
colour.
- Extensively detailed 19-page roster of passenger and work
equipment. "I must say that this is a most attractive book. In fact
it is shaping up...as one of the best local streetcar histories I
have ever seen. And as the onetime owner of Interurban Press, I
published quite a few such books myself The author has a lively
writing style and shows diligent research. And that jacket -
absolutely marvellous. Red is my favorite color for streetcars." --
G. Mac Sebree, Vancouver, Washington
Gripping forensic tales explain how and why trains crash. Trains
are massive-with some weighing 15,000 tons or more. When these
metal monsters collide or go off the rails, their destructive power
becomes clear. In this book, George Bibel presents riveting tales
of trains gone wrong, the detective work of finding out why, and
the safety improvements that were born of tragedy. Train Wreck
details numerous crashes, including 17 in which more than 200
people were killed. Readers follow investigators as they sift
through the rubble and work with computerized event recorders to
figure out what happened. Using a mix of eyewitness accounts and
scientific explanations, Bibel draws us into a world of forensics
and human drama. Train Wreck is a fascinating exploration of *
runaway trains * bearing failures * metal fatigue * crash testing *
collision dynamics * bad rails
The East Kent Railway was one of Britain's less well known light
railways, a part of the Colonel Stephens group of lines, the East
Kent Railway was meant to open up the newly discovered Kent coal
field and help to make its shareholders wealthy, however things
took a different turn, when the projected colliery's along the line
did not materialise the way the promoters had first envisaged. The
only colliery to produce quantities of coal being Tilmanstone near
Shepherdswell, which opened in 1912. There were other pits started
along the formation of the line from Shepherdswell to Wingham, but
in the cases of the other pits, only the surface buildings or test
shafts were constructed, before the work was abandoned. This was
largely due to flooding and the poor calorific quality of East Kent
coal, which had to be mixed with other coal to be effectively used.
There were four colliery's completed in Kent, the East Kent Railway
only served one of them and this together with the other three
lasted until the latter part of the 20th century. The railway
operated a loss making passenger service to Wingham and for a few
years to Sandwich Road halt on the line to Richborough Port line,
however the service to Wingham Canterbury Road came to an end in
October 1948, after British Railways had taken control. The East
Kent Railway lasted through two world wars and was nationalised in
1948, becoming part of the Southern Region of British Railways, it
closed to traffic in 1984, during the coal strike.
The arrival of railroads in the Gulf Southwest marked a turning
point in America's last frontier. Although the railroads were not
the primary cause of westward expansion, they furnished the ways
and means for hardy and courageous people, some from distant lands,
to build and develop a vast new segment of a growing America. Then
Came the Railroads: The Century from Steam to Diesel in the
Southwest tells the story of these railroads and the people who
built and followed them. American Indians, the land, and even the
elements were hostile to the railroad builders, who laid thousands
of miles of shining rails from Kansas and Missouri to the Gulf and
from the Mississippi to the Rockies. Frontier settlers also faced
hostile conditions, and they did not always see eye to eye with the
railroads. But when faced with overwhelming odds, they joined
forces and worked together to make the Southwest what it is today.
The road was not easy. The railroads were torn by internal strife,
and settlers met seemingly insurmountable obstacles: droughts,
floods, and economic depression. Railroads and settlers depended on
each other for existence, and with that realization came the answer
to coexistence - friendly cooperation.
In the usual Railway Memories style, this bumper book is the
biggest yet in the series. I takes us back to a time when
Yorkshire's pre-1974 East Riding was served by a comprehensive
railway network. Starts with text describing the railways' growth,
their place in the varied landscape, their passenger and freight
services including coverage of the countless steam-hauled summer
Saturday expresses going to Butlins' holiday camp at Filey, and the
railways' decline, largely at the hand of Doctor Beeching, to a
point where only those around the perimeter survive. Along with the
286 photographs including those on the colour cover, is a wealth of
operating data, track plans, memories and anecdotes. This book does
not include Hull which although in East Yorkshire is not in the
East Riding - see our other book Kingston upon Hull. Images of a
Rich Transport Heritage. 9781871233308.
This title talks about: Barnt Green and Bromsgrove to Ashchurch;
The Langley, Stourbridge and Worcester line; Worcester to Evesham
and Honeybourne; Redditch to Evesham; Worcester to the Malverns and
the Bromyard branch; Old Hill to Rubery; and Stourbridge to Dudley.
For countless holiday-makers, a trip to the seaside resorts of the
West Country used to mean travelling on the network of lines
operated by the Great Western and the London and South Western
railways. Before the reshaping of British Railways following the
Beeching Report in 1963, a wide variety of trains operated in
Devon. This book chronicles these trains during a period of
dramatic change, as lines were closed down, steam traction was
phased out and the thundering express and the hard-working tank
disappeared. A wealth of these lost images can be found within this
evocative collection of over 200 photographs. Comprising the work
of both amateurs and professionals, the book also reveals glimpses
of the stations, the people who worked on the lines, and of the
high days and disasters. Brought together here as a collection,
they pay homage to the great days of steam.
Fifty years ago, main line steam in Britain ceased to exist, the
last official date being 11 August 1968. At the time, British
Railways' plan was that after this there would be no more steam
traction - although a special dispensation was given for Britannia
Class 4-6-2 No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell to travel under its own steam
into preservation on the 12th and 13th of that month. We now know
that this was not quite the case, and that steam locomotives would
eventually return to the main lines on highly popular 'specials'.
With over 200 never-before-seen photographs, paired with fond and
often amusing captions, this evocative book takes a look back at
those days and years that led up to the end of steam on Britain's
railways.
Norfolk has enjoyed loco-hauled passenger trains for many years,
with Great Yarmouth being a popular destination for summer holiday
services from London, the Midlands, and the North. While these
summer Saturday' services gained a significant following from
enthusiasts and lineside photographers alike, they have not been
the only workings to bring unusual traction to the area. The fleet
of diesel units based at Norwich Crown Point depot has often been
stretched, with augmentation required to cover services on the
Norfolk and Suffolk branches, and for special events. A wide range
of locomotives have been used over the years on local services to
Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. These culminated in the hugely
popular Greater Anglia short set', featuring daily workings from
DRS Class 37s. They finally ended in September 2019, with the
arrival of a large fleet of new Stadler units, and disability
regulations requiring the withdrawal of the outdated Mk2 coaches.
With 180 colour images, this title celebrates these workings from
inception in summer 1994 to their finale 25 years later.
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Class 70s
(Paperback)
Mark Pike
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In the late 2000s, Freightliner was looking to expand its
locomotive fleet towards more powerful and fuel-efficient
locomotives that were compliant with the various European Union
emission standards and rules. In a departure from the newest and
most common locomotives running on the network at the time, Class
66s built by General Motors, Freightliner looked to General
Electric to construct these new machines and opted to place an
initial order for 20 locomotives with an option for a further ten.
The new Class 70 was a 3,690bhp locomotive of a very different
design from the Class 66s, with a focus on reliability and
efficiency. Eventually, Freightliner declined to take up the option
of the further ten locos and instead they were taken on by Colas
Rail. Containing over 190 colour photographs, this book is a
collection of images showing every Class 70 locomotive, except the
ill-fated 70012, over the last decade or so that they have been in
service. It shows a variety of locations, mostly in the south of
England, where these impressive locomotives can be seen at work.
190 colour photographs
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