The 'Golden Valley Line' - is so called due to the descent from the summit of the line at Sapperton Tunnel to Gloucester being cut through a yellow/golden limestone ridge - between Swindon, on the Great Western main line and Standish Junction, on the Birmingham-Bristol main line. Opened from Gloucester Junction, immediately to the west of Swindon, to Cirencester on 31 May 1841, under the auspices of the Cheltenham & Great Western Union Railway Act of 1936, the extension to Gloucester, via Kemble (though without a station there initially) was completed on 12 May 1845. Laid to Brunel's 7ft 0 ins gauge, the line was bought by the Great Western Railway and grandly called the 'South Wales Main Line'. It was converted to standard gauge on 26 May 1872. What had now become the Cirencester branch from Kemble closed to passengers from 6 April 1964 and freight on 4 October the following year. A branch from Kemble to Tetbury was opened on 2 December 1889 - originally planned to extend to Nailsworth - and closed to passengers on the same date as the route to Cirencester, with freight going earlier this time, on 5 August 1963.The route has seen a wide variety of services, from 'main line' trains to London to the much more humble Railmotor services that ran for many years between Gloucester/Stonehouse-Chalford/Kemble. The latter ended on 2 November 1964, leaving the services to run Swindon-Gloucester as locals, with occasional through trains from/to London. In steam days it was home to the world famous 'Cheltenham Spa Express', giving the fastest journey to London. The 12-mile section from Swindon to Kemble was singled by BR to save costs but this has meant restrictions on traffic, with many services being negatively affected and preventing growth of patronage. To ease this situation and to prepare for the forthcoming electrification of the Great Western mainline, when a diversion will be required around the Severn Tunnel, the route is to be re-doubled by Network Rail over the period 2013/4. This volume, extending the compass to Gloucester, looks at both the old days, with comparisons with the present day scene and also features the doubling work, in conjunction with Network Rail. Men and machines at work give a variety of illustrations and the whole is a fascinating exposition of the transformation of this once sleepy by-way.

Why is the Victoria Line so hot? What is an Electrical Multiple Unit? Is it really possible to ride from King's Cross to King's Cross on the Circle line? The London Underground is the oldest, most sprawling and illogical metropolitan transport system in the world, the result of a series of botch-jobs and improvisations.Yet it transports over one billion passengers every year - and this figure is rising. It is iconic, recognised the world over, and loved and despised by Londoners in equal measure. Blending reportage, humour and personal encounters, Andrew Martin embarks on a wonderfully engaging social history of London's underground railway system (which despite its name, is in fact fifty-five per cent overground). Underground, Overground is a highly enjoyable, witty and informative history of everything you need to know about the Tube.

In 1957 the Western Region of BR identified a need for 400 Type 1 diesel locomotives for short-haul freight duties but it was 1964 before the first was introduced. General-purpose Type 1s were being delivered elsewhere but WR management regarded these as too expensive for their requirements. After completion of design work on the Western' locomotives, Swindon turned to creating a cheap no-frills' Type 1\. At 65% of the cost of the Bo-Bo alternative, the Swindon 0-6-0 represented a better fit' for the trip-freight niche. Since 1957 the privatised road-haulage industry had decimated BR's wagon-load sector; whilst the 1962 Transport Act released BR from its financially-debilitating public-service obligations, the damage had been done, and the 1963 Beeching Plan focused on closing unprofitable routes and associated services. By 1963 the original requirement for 400 Type 1s had been massively reduced. Fifty-six locomotives were constructed in 1964/65\. Continuing traffic losses resulted in the whole class becoming redundant by 1969\. Fortuitously, a demand for high-powered diesels on the larger industrial railway systems saw the bulk of the locomotives finding useful employment for a further twenty years. This book covers the life of these locomotives on British Railways; a companion volume will provide an extensive appraisal of "Their Life in Industry" for the forty-eight locomotives which made the successful transition after withdrawal from BR

Chicago's South Shore Line is a photographic essay of the last interurban electric railroad operating in the United States. Completed as the Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend Railway (CLS&SBR) connecting South Bend, Indiana, with Pullman, Illinois, in 1909, the line went into receivership in 1925. It reorganized as the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad (CSS&SBR) which rebuilt the railroad and provided direct passenger service from South Bend to downtown Chicago. The Great Depression forced the railroad into bankruptcy in 1933 but reorganized in 1938 and handled record ridership during World War II. After the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad acquired the railroad in 1970, the electric freight service was dieselized. Soaring passenger deficits resulted in the formation of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICDT). Beginning in 1984, the Venango River Corporation operated the line until it went bankrupt in 1988. The Anacostia & Pacific Company began operating the freight service in 1990, and NICDT handles passenger service. Chicago's South Shore Line documents the history of this railway that has survived obstacles to maintain passenger service over its original route.

In the prelude to the privatisation of BR the Provincial Sector (later Regional Railways) became responsible for local / secondary train services and initiated the refurbishment of 31 Class 37 locomotives, fitted with train heating equipment - hence designated Class 37/4 - to support the shortfall of DMU trainsets. Their initial task was to work services on Scottish lines radiating from Inverness to points north and Glasgow to service the West Highland Line with a small batch based in South Wales to service Cambrian Line services and services from Cardiff traversing the Marches Line to serve Liverpool. These services were soon replaced by Sprinter trainsets thus releasing the fleet to other duties including freight operators hence, at privatisation in April 1994, the fleet became owned by freight companies who subsequently hired locomotives to both other freight companies and passenger operators. Throughout their working life the fleet members have proved invaluable and capable of powering a variety of services whose history confirms both the locomotives' adaptability and prowess in handling the duties allocated to them. Fred Kerr's book seeks to show this adaptability by detailing the reason for their initial creation and the tasks successfully undertaken once released from their initial roles as support for the shortage of DMU trainsets. The advent of privatisation saw an increased demand for their go-anywhere do anything' ability which is also displayed by the range of photographs that illustrate the wide range of duties performed by class members. Once withdrawn from service some class members were purchased for preservation and - such was their adaptability - that preserved examples were hired by train operators to cover duties that no other class of diesel locomotive was capable of achieving.

This new book is the third by Wolfgang Sawodny on German armored trains in World War II, and presents all new information not previously discussed in his first two highly successful volumes. The main emphasis here is on the operational history of German armored train units on the Russian front, and includes many previously unpublished photographs.

George Stephenson is among the most famous engineers of all time. His rise from 'rags to riches' is a stirring story of its kind, but many of the works attributed to him should in fact be credited to young subordinates, not least his son, Robert. But much of the work of innovative engineers for his period lay not in the work itself but in persuading people that such work was desirable and necessary. It was in this field that George Stephenson excelled, providing openings in which his young proteges could change the world. They did not let him down, and we should give him full credit for being 'The Father of the Railways'. Adrian Jarvis specialises in the engineering and finance of dock and harbour construction, on which he has published extensively, but he also has a strong interest in early railways and in the general history of technology. Another book for Shire by this author is: The Victorian Engineer

Since the first subway opened in 1904, the New York Subway system and its trains have provided millions of New Yorkers with cheap, fast, and remarkably reliable transportation. The New York subway system lacks the electronic complexity of such modern operations as the Washington, D.C. Metro or San Francisco's BART, and New Yorkers have few qualms in admitting that theirs is not the world's most beautiful subway. But as it is in no other city on earth, the subway of New York is intimately woven into the fabric and identity of the city itself. Transportation expert Brian Cudahy recounts the history of the New York subway systems in a book that is full of detail, historical anecdote, and the wonders of twentieth - century technology. Tracing the system from it first short IRT look to the extensive network of today, with information about such fascinating sidelights as the city's traim systems and the PATH trains linking New York and New Jersey, he has produced a complete, thoroughly researched and annotated, and fully illustrated history that will delight subway buffs, students of urban affairs, and all those who love the city of New York.

From poverty to immense wealth, from humble beginnings to international celebrity, George and Robert Stephenson's was an extraordinary joint career. Together they overshadow all other engineers, except perhaps Robert's friend Isambard Kingdom Brunel, for one vital reason: they were winners. For them it was not enough to follow the progress made by others. They had to be the best. Colossal in confidence, ability, energy and ambition, George Stephenson was also a man of huge rages and jealousies, determined to create his own legend. Brought up from infancy by his father, Robert was a very different person. Driven by the need to be the super-successful son his father wanted, he struggled with self-distrust and morbid depression. More than once his career and reputation teetered on the edge of disaster. But, by being flawed, he emerges as a far more interesting and sympathetic figure than the conventional picture of the 'eminent engineer.' David Ross's biography of George and Robert Stephenson sheds much new light on this remarkable father and son. Authoritative and containing many new discoveries, it is a highly readable account of how these two men set the modern industrial world in motion.

This third volume in the series on the Great Western Castle class locomotives focuses on the eight that have been preserved and goes into depth on the reconstruction of three of them, the two Tyseley ones, 5043 and 7029 described by Bob Meanley and Didcot's 4079 recounted by David Maidment from the records of the Great Western Society, including the full story of 4079's prolonged stay in Western Australia, its return to the UK and subsequent restoration. The history of all eight is covered and copiously illustrated, including over 100 colour photographs, with many during the restoration work by Bob Meanley and in operation by David Maidment. The book includes records of their operation and performance since restoration when some of the most remarkable performances of these locomotives were achieved.

An eminent early preservationist, John Crawley was able to amass an enviable photographic archive of steam traction engines and road rollers in their working days, of which this Aveling & Porter selection formed just a part. Organiser of over eighty steam rallies, John saved up to thirty steam traction engines for preservation from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, at a time when they were considered not much more than worthless scrap. Indeed, he became the first owner of no fewer than twenty-two of them. Utilising this incredible and unique collection of images, most of which are previously unpublished, Colin Tyson tells the story of this important manufacturer and iconic British brand.

The North-West of England is a diverse and fascinating part of the country with a varied landscape. This area was once the powerhouse of the industrial revolution, and was the location for the World's first true 'Intercity' railway, spawning a complex network of routes that served the various towns which were once hives of industry. The famous coastal resorts-Southport, Blackpool, and Morecambe were all products of the railway age, when a day trip to the seaside broke the monotony of the daily grind. However, areas and times change-heavy industry was on the wane by the late 1960s, and the last of the Lancashire Collieries disappeared in the early 1990s, reflecting the decline of traditional industries nationwide. The North-West railway network has adapted, becoming a predominantly passenger railway, with busy commuter services feeding Liverpool and Manchester daily. This book chronicles many of the changes since the late 1970s, including scenes, routes, and rolling stock that have altered beyond recognition.