Through 215 nostalgic black and white photographs plus track plans and operating data, this latest addition to the Railway Memories series takes us back to the time when Sherwood Forest was a bustling hive of coal mining and railway activity, when such places as Mansfield, Worksop, Retford, Shirebrook and Tuxford were busy railway hubs, when Retford was graced by the most famous steam-hauled expresses, when colliery branch lines meandered into the depths of the forest in search of modern 20th century collieries, and when steam was king. Some more recent scenes which have also passed into history are included.

The accomplishments, and initiatives, both social and economic, of Edward Watkin are almost too many to relate. Though generally known for his large-scale railway projects, becoming chairman of nine different British railway companies as well as developing railways in Canada, the USA, Greece, India and the Belgian Congo, he was also responsible for a stream of remarkable projects in the nineteenth century which helped shape people's lives inside and outside Britain. As well as holding senior positions with the London and North Western Railway, the Worcester and Hereford Railway and the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway, Watkin became president of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. He was also director of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railways, as well as the Athens-Piraeus Railway. Watkin was also the driving force in the creation of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway's 'London Extension' - the Great Central Main Line down to Marylebone in London. This, though, was only one part of his great ambition to have a high-speed rail link from Manchester to Paris and ultimately to India. This, of course, involved the construction of a Channel tunnel. Work on this began on both sides of the Channel in 1880 but had to be abandoned due to the fear of invasion from the Continent. He also purchased an area of Wembley Park, serviced by an extension of his Metropolitan Railway. He developed the park into a pleasure and events destination for urban Londoners, which later became the site of Wembley Stadium. It was also the site of another of Watkin's enterprises, the 'Great Tower in London' which was designed to be higher than the Eiffel Tower but was never completed. Little, though, is known about Watkin's personal life, which is explored here through the surviving diaries he kept. The author, who is the chair of The Watkin Society, which aims to promote Watkin's life and achievements, has delved into the mind of one of the nineteenth century's outstanding individuals.

To the true rail fan, Richard Steinheimer is an authentic hero, the best of the best. This, the first full-length celebration of his work, presents 160 of his duotone images, with an introduction by Jeff Brouws. A pioneer in train photography, Steinheimer lived through and documented the railroad's heyday and its decline. He is one of very few photographers who appreciate the aesthetics of all locomotives, from steam engines to the latest diesel-powered behemoths. He has a particular fondness for the landscape of the American West, and many of his images situate trains in the larger geography and culture of the time. Known for taking pictures at night, in bad weather, and from risky perches on top of moving train platforms, Steinheimer has an enormous creativity and productivity.

Over 140 photos accompanied by extended captions written by Robin Atthill illustrate the beauty and variety of scenery that attracted visitors and photographers from far and wide toi this legendary, much-loved line. Atthill researched the history of the S&D in depth and described the 'sturdy individuality' of a line that had to deal with the challenges of difficult operating conditions and fluctuating seasonal holiday traffic.

O.S. Nock continues his account of the GWR 4-4-0s with a further look at G.J. Churchward and his programme of modernisation and standardisation, particularly in boiler design, and his introduction of the 'County' class - the last of the new GWR designs. He goes on to describe the impact of two world wars; the implications for the 4-4-0 classes post-Grouping, with particular regard to the Cambrian section; the start of withdrawals in the 1920s and the introduction of the 1930 hybrids, nicknamed the 'Dukedogs'. Nock's trademark detailed text, accompanied by copious photographs and locomotive layout diagrams, includes run logs and his descriptions of footplate trips including a notable one made on City of Truro.

Last Train to Paradise is acclaimed novelist Les Standiford’s fast-paced and gripping true account of the extraordinary construction and spectacular demise of the Key West Railroad—one of the greatest engineering feats ever undertaken, destroyed in one fell swoop by the Labor Day hurricane of 1935. Brilliant and driven entrepreneur Henry Flagler’s dream fulfilled, the Key West Railroad stood as a magnificent achievement for more than twenty-two years, heralded as “the Eighth Wonder of the World.” Standiford brings the full force and fury of 1935’s deadly “Storm of the Century” and its sweeping destruction of “the railroad that crossed an ocean” to terrifying life. Last Train to Paradise celebrates a crowning achievement of Gilded Age ambition in a sweeping tale of the powerful forces of human ingenuity colliding with the even greater forces of nature’s wrath.

“A dramatic story . . . and Les Standiford has a good deal of fun with it all.” —Washington Post Book World
“A rousing—a deeply sobering—story.” —Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed
“A fascinating and incredibly compelling account . . . I could not put it down.” —Donald Trump
“A definitive account of the engineering feat that became known as ‘Flagler’s Folly’. . . A rousing adventure."—Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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.

Filling a gap not visited since the same authors included it in "British Railways Past and Present No 5 The West Midlands" more than 20 years ago in 1987, not surprisingly this important area of the Black Country contains many interesting railways, and is here given a volume to itself for the first time, neatly complementing Andrew Doherty's "Rail Around Birmingham" series. This volume looks in detail at: The former LMS Stour Valley line to Wolverhampton High Level station, with Bushbury shed and Oxley carriage depot; The former GWR Low Level station, the GWR locomotive works and Oxley shed; Lines and yards around Bescot; Lines from Walsall to Rugeley, Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield; Burton upon Trent and its network of brewery railways; The Midland Metro route from West Bromwich to Wolverhampton; The Trent Valley line through Tamworth and Lichfield; Former Midland Railway lines around Tamworth; and, Mineral and colliery lines.