The Southern Railway, today headquartered at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is the earliest of the seventeen zones of the Indian railway that is vital in connecting the different regions of this vast country. Originally, it dates from British rule in India when the Great Southern India Railway Co. was established with its headquarters in Britain, running an impressive 1,121 miles of track. Unique in its revenue being derived from passengers and not freight, today more than five million passengers travel on what used to be the South Indian Railway network every year. This famous account was originally published by South Indian Railway Co. Ltd in 1900. Culturally important, it is the classic guide to visiting the south of India and travelling on this illustrious railway. Providing a detailed description of the railway itself, it also divulges useful information for travellers, outlines the tourist routes and itineraries and contains fascinating insights in to the country itself, from general history and religions to sport and architecture.

Get ready to be amazed with Thomas as Sodor welcomes the World Technology Fair!

Thomas can't wait to see all the marvellous inventions at the fair! With a flying car, giant robot people and the fastest train in the world, the fair amazes all the people and engines of Sodor. But Thomas is worried he and the other steam engines will not be needed anymore. When thieves arrive at the fair, can Thomas show everyone just how useful a steam engine can be?

A beautifully-illustrated picture book with another action-packed adventure for Thomas and some new 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 an essential part of our literary heritage.

From best-selling railway expert, Julian Holland, explore Britain's historical railways in All Aboard. The history of Britain's railways is a long and fascinating one, filled with stories of grand endeavours, noted figures and record-breaking feats. Julian Holland brings together a unique miscellany of intriguing tales and engaging trivia - the perfect collection for every railway enthusiast. Stories range from Bulleid's 'Chinese Laundries', trainspotting trips in Wales and Scotland and Liverpool's 'Dockers' Umbrella' to railway artists and clergy, a railway-owned airline and railways that were never built. Find out about * The Royal Scot's 11,000-mile journey in the USA and Canada * A narrow gauge island railway in the middle of the Bristol Channel * How the London & South Western Railway saved the British Empire * Mallard's unbeaten world speed record of 1938 * How to fly by Great Western Railway from Cardiff to Plymouth * The 75-mile network of narrow gauge railways on the Isle of Skye * How another 4,500 miles of railway escaped closure by Dr Beeching All Aboard is a delightful miscellany for every railway enthusiast, filled with fascinating and obscure stories, facts and figures.

Nothing is more evocative of the golden age of travel than the railway poster. Speed to the West shows some of the best railway posters used to promote the romance of holiday travel to the West Country, a region formed by Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. There are stunning and iconic landscapes, immediately recognizable, painted in wonderful colors that bring together the excitement, spectacle and nostalgia of the golden age of train travel. The general history of holiday express train development is covered including a detailed history of the Atlantic Coast Express and Cornish Riviera Express together with other named trains that served the West Country. The result is a visually stunning collection of posters. It is a journey of nostalgia, displaying the best of British railway advertising of the past and present.

This, the first of two volumes covering the railways of Cornwall, follows the railway through the changing landscapes of the county. It takes the reader from the rich farmland west of St Germans, through the unique Glynn Valley down to Bodmin Road and the freightabundant area of Lostwithiel and Par before reaching clay country on the way to the final destination of St Austell. In addition, also explored are the branch lines, which range from the rural line to Looe, the splendour of the River Fowey on the clay line to Carne Point and the varied and ever-popular Newquay branch. Lavishly illustrated with 180 full-colour photographs, many set in glorious countryside, this book shows a variety of locomotives. Service trains dominate the images, though there are many charter trains featured, some with exotic traction for the far south west. Taken from the short days of winter with piercing low sunlight, to the long days of high summer when the upside of the Cornish mainline is lit, allowing a different perspective, the photographs capture not just the trains, but the beautiful landscapes, rivers and coastline of the Duchy.

This book, to published in two parts, is dedicated to the memories of all those people who once worked for the Great Western Railway in South Wales, at Pontypool Road loco depot, the Eastern Valley and the Vale of Neath railway, as well as to those people who worked in the industries once served by the railway in those locations. In 2016, the UK coal mining industry is extinct, and the future of the steel industry is in doubt. This book serves as a reminder to future generations as to what a fantastic place the South Wales valleys once were for heavy industry and transport infrastructure, and also as a tribute to the pioneering 19th century railway builders. Local railway enthusiast Phil Williams, is a contract structural engineer in the aerospace industry. His father's uncle, Harry Miles, was a Swindon trained locomotive fitter at Pontypool Road in the 1930s. His family have interesting links to the mining industry. His great grandfather was Thomas Williams, the Colliery Engineer at Tirpentwys Colliery from before 1902 up to 1912; and then at Crumlin Valley Colliery Hafodrynys and the Glyn Pits, from 1915 until he died in 1925 aged 76.His father's great grandfather, Joseph Harper, was one of the 1890 Llanerch Colliery disaster rescue team; he worked at the British Top Pits. His father's uncle, Williams Harper was the foreman of the wagon shop at the Big Arch Talywain.

A ride on a steam train is a popular family outing. More than 100 heritage railways cater for that demand, capturing the spirit of nostalgia while preserving the engines and equipment of past days of rail travel. Their interests even extend to the modern era of 1960s-70s diesels. Those heritage railways themselves have a long pedigree, back to 1951, when a group of enthusiasts saved the Talyllyn Railway in mid-Wales from closure. They ran this railway as volunteers, out of their love of the little trains and a desire to keep it going. Their example was followed by many more preservation societies who preserved and restored branch lines, country lines and industrial lines for our enjoyment now. Six decades have passed, and we are now beginning to realise what an impressive history the heritage railway movement has. This book traces that history, from the humble beginnings the hopes and ambitions of the pioneers on the different railway projects. There were times of failure and frustration, as some fell by the wayside, but others have made it through times of adversity to become the major heritage businesses of today.

Great Western Railway Stars, Castles and Kings examines the history and workings of these legendary classes of passenger steam locomotives, the first of which, the North Star, was built in 1906. Richly illustrated with over 200 photographs, the book includes illustrated explanations of how Great Western Railway steam engines work; details of the engines' work on named expresses and in ordinary service; overview of the survivors, heritage organizations and their futures; technical specifications and timelines of each class and finally, GWR and British Rail Motive Power Depot codes and train head codes.

The line from Settle to Carlisle is one of the world's great rail journeys. It carves its way through the magnificent landscape of the Yorkshire Dales - where it becomes the highest main line in England - descending to Cumbria's lush green Eden Valley with its view of the Pennines and Lakeland fells. But the story of the line is even more enthralling. From its earliest history the line fostered controversy: it probably should never have been built, arising from a political dispute between two of the largest and most powerful railway companies in the 1860s. Its construction, through some of the most wild and inhospitable terrain in England, was a Herculean task. Tragic accidents affected those who built, worked and travelled the line. After surviving the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, the line faced almost certain closure in the 1980s, only to be saved by an unexpected last-minute reprieve. This book describes the history behind the inception and creation of the line; the challenges of constructing the 72-mile railway and its seventeen viaducts and fourteen tunnels; threat of closure in the mid-1980s and the campaign to save it, and finally, the line today and its future.

Prior to the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, Britain's rail network was operated almost exclusively by four private companies. The 'Big Four' as they were called - the Great Western, the Southern, the London Midland & Scottish and the London & North Eastern - were not only nationalised in 1948, but consolidated into one large concern: British Railways. Each of the Big Four had built up its own system of working in its own geographic area with its own rolling stock, staff and livery. Thus, BR inherited a diverse mix, not only of physical plant, but of traditions and loyalties developed over generations. Additionally, management had to grapple with many and varied constraints in its desire to improve efficiency and create a nationally recognisable system. Also, cash was in short supply and much of the existing equipment was old, run down and in urgent need of attention. Further, all the major railway companies had a large number of restrictions as to which engines and stock could go where, even on their own system. Axle loading was often the deciding consideration and this governed which engine types could run on specific lines over which bridges and at what speed. For example, LNER Pacifics were banned entirely from East Anglia. Also, loading gauges differed on the national infrastructure. All these considerations impinged on BR's desire to introduce a modern range of steam engines of its own, so that these would have the widest route availability. This, by and large, they successfully achieved, though in later years even the new BR diesels had more restrictions placed upon them than was originally envisaged. The Unusual and the Unexpected on British Railways: A Chronology of Unlikely Events 1948-1968 is an assiduous and personal trawl on how BR overcome such engineering incompatibilities and bureaucratic confusion on a national scale. This engaging tribute is a historical and rail engineering document, which despite plans and intentions to unite the country with a single operating network, shows how daunting such a restructuring was.

The pictures in this book were chosen from the many hundreds of 35mm colour slides Bill Reed took on and off the route stretching from London to Aberdeen. Station scenes, views on works and in sheds are featured. They roughly cover a period from 1951 to 1967 and depict the last gasp of steam before the introduction of diesels. As if on some imaginary journey, the book begins at King's Cross station wanders over to Liverpool Street steps into Great Eastern country then meanders north to finish at Aberdeen. It is noticeable that Bill has depicted marvellously the post WWII atmosphere on the railways when steam was on its last legs; the vast majority of the locomotives are in a very grimy condition and a number are seen on the scrap line. There is also evidence of how complicated and labour intensive it was to run a steam engine the vast coal hoppers and water tanks are examples to this submission. Looking back now at the 1950s and 1960s, Bill says he would have taken many more pictures of steam locomotives. But that is no matter, he has taken enough to give us more than a hint of what it was like in those last days.

This book illustrates the work of Network Rail over the past eight years to transform the Western Region from a diesel-only railway, with track layouts from the 1960s and '70s, to a modern electrified railway on the core Paddington to Cardiff and Newbury section, with enhanced capability, new signalling systems, and widespread equipment renewal, including the new station and flyovers at Reading. Using never before published photographs of the upgrade and renewal work both under way and completed, it gives an insight into the work involved. The book does not just encompass the core section of upgrade work, but also extends into Wales, Devon and Cornwall, emphasising the widespread nature of the work. Lavishly illustrated, it also includes track diagrams of new layouts, the campaign diagrams utilised during the big blockade works, and tables showing key stages of the works and milestones attained.

Like so many youngsters in the 1950s and 1960s Alan Clarke was a keen railway enthusiast and spnt a number of years out and about with his ABC Combined Volume and his camera at various rail related locations up and down the country. Living in the middle of the country enabled young Alan to visit a number of British Railway's regions thereby gathering a wider range of locomotive numbers and types. Faithfully underlining them in his combine volume and when pocket money allowed taking pictures as he went along. These pictures form the basis for this second volume of reminiscences of years gone but not forgotten. The development of Alan's photographic skills unfolds before us in these evocative black and white images. Each image is accompanied by a detailed caption. The photographs are arranged in sections, one for each trip, with an explanatory introduction to each. The quality hardback Silver Link Silk Editions are limited print runs and are not intended to be available for long, so grab them while you can!

Railway disasters are almost always the result of human fallibility--a single mistake by an engine-driver, guard, or signalman, or some lack of communication between them--and it is in the short distance between the trivial error and its terrible consequence that the drama of the railway accident lies. First published in 1955, and the result of Rolt's careful investigation and study of the verbatim reports and findings by H. M. Inspectorate of Railways, this book was the first work to record the history of railway disasters, and it remains the classic account. It covers every major accident on British railways between 1840 and 1957 which resulted in a change in railway working practice, and reveals the evolution of safety devices and methods which came to make the British railway carriage one of the safest modes of transport in the world.

The Great Central Railway was built in 1899, with the intention of providing journeys from Manchester to the Continent through a projected Channel Tunnel. It was a scheme of grand pride and vision. The history of the line is one of gradual reduction in scope, ambition and achievement, with inherent post-War UK problems leading to the removal of the Manchester and Sheffield routes to Nottingham. The 1950s saw reductions and decline, with the removal of prestigious named trains 'The South Yorkshireman' and 'The Master Cutler', together with the final ignominy of transfer from ex-LNER to ex-LMS control at the end of the 1950s. The Derby empire did not see the need for this railway, duplicating, as they saw it, their existing routes from Nottingham-London and the GCR was further truncated, removing local services in the early 1960s, the through route to London in 1966 and closure of the final rump, from Nottingham (Ruddington)-Rugby, in 1969. The ending of steam on the through route in 1966 led to preservationists becoming interested and through the 1970s and beyond, the sections from Ruddington to Loughborough and Loughborough to Leicester North have been re-opened and developed, to create the only main line double track private railway in the UK. There are plans - grandiose and hugely ambitious to close the gap between the two ends at Loughborough, which will truly give travellers a recreation of some of the appeal of the lost line. This volume looks at the past views between Nottingham (Victoria) and Rugby (Central) stations, with many present day scenes to contrast and compare and closes with a section looking at some of the scenes that have accompanied the progress by the restorationists over the past 40 years. The achievements of the present day Great Central Railway have been impressive, with the promise of even greater things to come.

Join Thomas and his friends for a festive adventure! In this beautifully-illustrated picture book, Thomas and Percy must work against the clock to clear the snow and deliver the presents for Christmas. Can they make it in time? Thomas and Percy were really excited for Christmas Day. They were busy getting their jobs done when they found out that the presents hadn't been delivered to the villagers! Find out if our beloved engines can save Christmas in this wonderful picture book adventure. Thomas has been teaching children lessons about lift and friendship for 75 years. He ranks alongside other beloved characters such as Paddington Bear, Winnie the Pooh and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage.

Just over eighty years ago on the East Coast main line, the streamlined A4 Pacific locomotive Mallard reached a top speed of 126mph - a world record for steam locomotives that still stands. Since then, millions have seen this famous locomotive, resplendent in her blue livery, on display at the National Railway Museum in York. Here, Don Hale tells the full story of how the record was broken: from the nineteenth-century London-Scotland speed race and, surprisingly, traces Mallard's futuristic design back to the Bugatti car and the influence of Germany's nascent Third Reich, which propelled the train into an instrument of national prestige. He also celebrates Mallard's designer, Sir Nigel Gresley, one of Britain's most gifted engineers. Mallard is a wonderful tribute to one of British technology's finest hours.

One of the most evocative reminders of Victorian ingenuity at the British seaside is the much-loved cliff lift. This simple method of transporting people up and down the cliff side has been a feature of our coast, and a few inland towns, for over 150 years and has recently undergone a renaissance at places as varied as the National Coal Mining Museum, Legoland and the Centre for Alternative Technology. The cliff lift, otherwise termed the cliff railway or tramway, is also known as a funicular railway. The word 'funicular' is defined as 'of rope or tension', in other words a cable-hauled railway or tramway. The lifts were directly descended from cable-hauled railways, prevalent in mines and quarries, but also early passenger lines, where an engine or winding gear hauled loads up steep slopes. The term 'cliff lift' also generally encompasses the elevator-type lifts that were erected at some resorts. This book illustrates, mainly in colour, all the principal cliff lifts and railways that have been built in the British Isles, along with associated cable tramways, since their inception in the Victorian age. In addition to featuring all the surviving lifts, this book includes others which are long gone, and serves as a fine record of these charming and unique structures.

It was in London in 1863 that the world's first metro was opened - the Metropolitan Railway. Built initially to overcome severe transport problems arising from London's huge growth in wealth and population, over the next 40 years it extended far beyond London's boundaries into the countryside of Middlesex, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. Generating income from house-building on land along the railway, the 'Met' - as it became known - fostered and developed the idea of an affordable home out of the city in lovely garden suburbs, with a fast train journey to work in London. It was the start of semidetached suburbanisation and was known as Metro-land. This new history examines how the Metropolitan Railway and the development of Metro-land went hand-in-hand until it was subsumed into the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933 and then nationalised in 1948. Packed with a wealth of detail, photographs, illustrations and contemporary advertising, it is above all revelatory to see how much has changed in social and transport terms since the 1930s, not least the price of a house!