Authorship of railway literature
General criteria
Too many assertions are made by enthusiasts which castigate notable engineers, notably Fowler, Gresley and Webb, without giving any indication of their own standing to make thes judgements or, in many cases, quoting reliable sources for their condemnations. It may seem invidious to quote the names of some of these "authorities", but they include Hamilton Ellis and Adrian Vaughan: both of whom are excellent writers in the "literary sense" and to a great extent in the research effort they put into their publications. This text is inspired by a letter in Backtrack (2012, 26, 637) by Joseph Cliffe wherein he notes that he knew Sir William Stanier when both were employed by Power Jets at Farnborough: this raised the issue of why did the name "Cliffe" resonate. He is presumably the co-author of Clay and Cliffe's The LNER 2-6-0 classes, The LNER 2-8-2 and 2-6-2 classes. The LNER 4-6-0 classes. The West Coast Pacifics and contributor (chapter on the Gresley V4 class) in Clay's Essays on steam. It would seem that Cliffe may be a potential source for further information about Stanier. It would also seem that Sir William pondered steam turbine propulsion after he left railway service in a way that is not evident from an examination of Bond's paper nor in Bond's book and in a way is further condemnation of British Railways traction policy: the potential utility of 46202 should have been explored more fully.
Bonavia in his History of the Southern Railway states: "Authors of railway company histories sometimes give their readers the impression that the General Manager was the final authority on policy matters to the virtual exclusion of the Board, except where a Chairman - such as Sir Edward Watkin or James Staats Forbes - was also the chief executive. In fact, good teamwork between a Chairman and his General Manager, each respecting the other's role, has usually been the recipe for success." Whilst there is a case for considering the duties of the ordinary working man, the shunter, the signalman and the engine cleaner too much of the literature, especially that regurgitated by Wild Swan, is repetitive and adds little to our understanding of why railways were the way they were. Whereas the composition of railway boards was much more likely to dictate all sorts of policy: colliery owners were unlikely to be interested in diesel traction or ven in attempts to reduce coal consumption.
Many books and articles in the enthusiast press about railways, especially those about locomotives, are extremely poor. Far too much of the literature is trivial: the description of journeys by night to visit dark locomotive sheds where 44605 was present or absent is of limited interest, and of still less significance to anyone. Beavor (Steam was my calling) quickly lost interest in numbers once he realised that the various bits of locomotives were used indescriminantly: the frames from one, the boiler from another, the cylinders from yet another, and so on: unless seen new the identity of individual locomotives was largely a figment of the enthusiast's imagination. Some of the "great" railway authors were great solely in terms of their output. Some of the most significant have received far less attention than they deserve. Too many authors have written far more than they have read.
A few of these contributions (now scattered over the website), notably those on Barnes and Nock, were written with a view to publication by traditional means but failed to find a publisher. This is probably because they fail to mirror the endless collections of photographs held together with lists of numbers of meaningless significance and the weird behaviour of "shed-bashing" which colour so much published output. Information was being gathered for a similar assessment on Tuplin (who like Ellis) had a significant influence on KPJ's thought, but Rutherford got their first, but failed to identify the extraordinary repetitive structure in Tuplin's books, which KPJ is unsure whether it was a major vice or an endearing virtue: in any event it is possible to see how his mind worked..
The foundation stones of locomotive history
There can be no question about the centrality of Ahrons in locomotive history: he is the undisputed expert on the period extending from about 1840 to the early 1900s. Others have covered the early history: notably the recent Early railway history series and Dendy Marshall. The period post-Ahrons is best covered by Brian Reed.
Hidden authors
These are of two types: unsigned articles mainly in the Locomotive Magazine (some of which have been identified subsequently) and the authors of the multi-part RCTS histories of Great Western and LNER locomotives. Both works are seminal to detecting the foundations of the literature: some of the authors involved (notably Hoole and Yeadon) subsequently went their own way and became prominent. For many reasons Ottley is less successful in its coverage of locomotive history: a weakness he recognised and was keen to rectify through KPJ's efforts most visibly in Steam Locomotive Development and through this website.
Photographers are treated as a separate species
Reference works
Reference books have a threefold function. Firstly, they should act
as introductions to the subject. Unusual terminology should be defined and
a glossary is a helpful adjunct to any technical work. Diagrams may also
aid clarity. Secondly, the subject should be surveyed in a comprehensive
manner. The depth of treatment may vary with the type of intended readership,
but the book should neither place undue emphasis on any one topic, nor ignore
any other which may deserve inclusion. Finally, they should signpost the
route to further information by providing bibliographies and reading lists.
The book must also be well planned and be provided with an index. Few books
surveyed in this section meet these criteria. A few, including some frequently
found in reference libraries, are inaccurate, e.g. E.F. Carter's The railway
encyclopaedia. The most frequently encountered, the
Oxford Companion, suffers from
major defects in structure and coverage. One of the best, but one that
is only indirectly related to steam locomotives, is the superb Regional
History series started by David St. John Thomas and completed with a
volume on Ireland by J.W.P Rowledge. .
Ahrons, Ernest
Leopold
Allan, Ian
Allen, Cecil J.
Allen, Geoffrey Freeman
Anstey, Edgar
Born 16 February 1907 in Watford. Died 26 September
1987 in London. Leading British documentary film-maker.
Anstey was educated at Watford Grammar School for
Boys and Birkbeck College. He spent a few years as a civil servant
before starting in 1930 at The Empire Marketing Board's film unit, under
the direction of John Grierson. In 1949, he joined the British
Transport Films unit, which he headed until 1974. He was nominated for
the Short Subject (Live Action) Academy Award in 1965 for the
documentary film Snow. He directed Housing
Problems in 1935. See Iain Kitt
Backtrack, 2021, 35, 352
Armstrong, Jim
LNER locomotive development between 1911 and 1947, with a brief history
of developments from 1850 to 1911. Beer (Seaton): Peco. 1974. 93pp. many
illus and diagrs. (s. els)
Graduate IMechEng. Bibliography dated March 1968 and location given
as Welwyn Garden City! Acknowledges Welwyn Garden City Model Club and
the LNER Society and Gresley Society. Cites first three parts of RCTS
Locomotives of the LNER to be published
Ashford. J.B.N.
Obituary in Locomotive Mag.,
1926, 32, 7 which notes his contribution to the history of the
broad gauge locomotives of the South Devon Railway
Asher, Leslie Lewis (forenames
from Ottley)
Name listed as Author in photographic compilations of Casserley and
Wethersett, and in Ahrons' Locomotive
and train working.
Atkins, [C.] Philip
Barclay-Harvey, Sir (Charles) Malcolm
Born 2 March 1890; died 17 November 1969. Member of Queen’s Body
Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers). Educated at Eton and Christ
Church, Oxford. Served in Gordon Highlanders, TF, 1909–15; Home Staff,
1915–16; Ministry of Munitions, London, 1916–18; Paris, 1918–19.
Unionist MP Kincardineshire, and West Aberdeenshire, 1923–29, and
1931–39; Parliamentary Private Secretary to Sir John Gilmour, 1924–29,
and to Sir Godfrey Collins, 1932–36; Governor of South Australia,
1939–44. Member Aberdeen County Council, 1945–55. Hon. Colonel
4th Bn Gordon Highlanders, 1939–45. Author of
History of Great North of Scotland
Railway
Barman,
Christian
Barnes, Robin
Barrie, Derek
S.M.
Behrend, George
Bell, Arthur
Robert
Bennett, Alfred
Rosling
Bonavia, Michael
Bond, F.S.
Assistant editor on Railway Gazette in 1930s. See
Cooper Railway Wld., 1978,
39, 17-19.
Bowtell, Harold D.
Probably deserves a page: wrote about minor railways, mainly in the
north, including those associated with reservoir construction
Boyd-Carpenter, Vivian Frederic William
Owner of William Exley Ltd. of Baslow in Derbyshire.
See Rly Wld, 1956, 17,
290
Braithwaite, Jack
Enthuses about beauty of Midland locomotives, notably aboout Johnson
4-2-2 types: see S.W.Johnson: Midland Railway locomotive engineer artist
Wyvern Publications, 1985.
Mikdland Railway locomotive aesthetics.
Midland
Record (1), 3.
S.W. Johnson's decorated steam locomotives.
Midland Record (22), 4.
A ride with a 'Highflyer' [4-2-2].
Midland Record, (3) 31-5
Cleaning standards of the Midland Railway Locomotive Departmentr in the late
19th century. Midland Record, (5)
21-5.
Some notes on S.W. Johnson's 5ft 9in 4-4-0s for the Somerset & Dorset
Joint Railway. Midland Record,(9)
61-6
The epitome of excellence. Midland
Record, (11) 5-
The Butterflies: some notes on S.W. Johnson's original bogie single-wheeler
and 4-4-0 designs for the GER. Midland
Record, (14) 45-8.
The Johnson bogie singles. Midland
Record, (16) 5-13.>.
Midland Railway 19th century train working. Part 1.
Midland Record, (17) 73.
Locomotive beauty: a personal viewpoint. 52-9.
Midland Record, (19) 52-9..
Midland Railway 19th Century train working Part 2.
Midland Record, (21)
40-57...
S.W. Johnson's 'decorated' steam locomotives. 4-11.
Midland Record, (22) 4-20
Some Midland Railway locomotive shed allocations and duties c.1867—1904,
Part 1. Midland Record, (23) 3-11.
A Midland miscellany. Midland Record,
(24), 40-52.
Bucknall, William Rixon
Born Lisbon 11 March 1894. Died 29 April 1984. Career army officer,
served both world wars. Black Watch, RFC. WW2 commanded 1st Battalion
Worcestershire Regiment, retired from army 6 April 1948. Interested in railways
and ships, spent a lot of time and money in the 1950 designing and having
built, what looked like a typical 1930s open sports car, which concealed
chassis, suspension and tripple carb. engine, Al2l specially supplied by
Jaguar. A real wolf in sheeps clothing, with could leave anything standing
at traffic lights! He seems to have had a large collectuin of paintings of
railway and shipping subjects. Family seem to have connections with the
Folkestone area, and his father knew Sir Edward Watkin. Three books. Our
railway history, 1945. Not seen by me Railway memories, 1947, with dr, tice
budden. Not seen by me. Boat trains and channel packets, 1957. Army rank
Colonel Ian Allan Driven by
steam: was a half colonel in the Guards, spoke with a very large
plum in hrs mouth and produced a series of books on railways. He was a very
amiable chap and we ultimately acquired his photographic collection and his
publishing rights. My memory fails me and I do not know quite what happened
to him but he was a good friend and supporter. All the records of our
negotiations with him seem to have disappeared, perhaps in one of those Craven
House bonfires.
Camwell, W.A.
'Cam' was a manager in the Birmingham Municipal Bank, and had been
a Railway Transport Officer (RTO). He instituted rail tours for the Stephenson
Locomotive Society. See Backtrack,
2009, 23, 564.."Cam" Camwell recorded the railway scene in high
quality photographs and cine-film during the period from prior to WW2 through
until the end of steam. The article by Minnis
(Br. Rly J. 66-19) is is not an obituary,
but an appreciation of the methods which he employed to obtain his photographs
which are known for their "record quality" although Minnis argues that they
need to be considered for their artistry. It notes whom he worked with, and
that he frequently travelled by car to obtain his shots.
Charlewood, Rawdon Edward
Graduated in law at Oxford University. Joined Midland Railway and retired
from LMS in 1934. Contributed Locomotive practice & performance in Railway
Magazine for one year. In 1935 incarcerated by Nazis for two months and released
by intervention of Lord Stamp.
I must confess to feeling a little disappointment at the names selected for
the latest type of' 4-4-0 express locomotives turned out from Swindon,
the so-called "Flowers," some of which I see have been working, on that
"backwater" of the Great Western Railway, the Crewe and Wellington. branch.
There seems to be something almost incongruous. in travelling behind
"Calceolaria" or "Lobelia." and although it is an excellent idea to give
names characteristic of the class- name (and consecutive numbers) to a particular
series of locomotives, such as Ladies,'' '' Knights,'' '' Stars,'' '' Cities,
or the 80 'men-of-war' titles selected by the late Mr F. W. Webb, I wish
that names somewhat more appropriate than "flowers" could have been selected
in this particular case. No doubt the naming of new engines. Member of Railway
Club (see Greville's comments)
and presented paper on dining cars in 1907 (Ottley 3848).
Chrimes, Mike
No less than 45 articles by Mike Chrimes, mainly on eminent civil
engineers, add to the quality of the Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography.
Clinker, Charles R.
He joined the Great Western Railway in Bristol in 1923 and assisted
McDermot on the official History of the Great Western Railway. He contributed
to the Railway Magazine under a pseudonym during the 1930s.
He became noted for his accurate chronologies
and following WW2 lectured at Birmingham and Nottingham Universities. He
established the Locomotive & General Railway Photograph business in June
1939 with V. Stewart Haram and W. Vaughan Jenkins. He was a founder member
of the Railway & Canal Historical Society in 1954: see Gordon Biddle.
In the beginning: J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2004, 34, 503-7.
British Railway Journal, 57, 311.
Bragg, Stephen. His Leicester & Swannington Railway
is reviewed in Locomotive Mag.,
1955, 61, 66. Early lectures on railway and canal history.
J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2011 (212),
2
Cooper, Basil K.
Short autobiographical piece in P.B.
Whitehouse and David St John Thomas's Passion for steam pp. 104-5.
His father was an engine driver who had started work on the Great Central
Railway. Following WW2 Basil Cooper trained as a traffic apprentice. He ended
up working on industrial relations.
Rly Wld 1977, 38, 444
tells a somewhat different story when he retired from Ian Allan. He had begun
his journalistic career on Railway Gazette and Railway Magazine
in 1935. Following WW2 he moved to the GEC press office to edit The
Osram Bulletin and later the GEC Journal. In 1958 he returned
to commercial journalism as an editorial assistant on Electrical Energy
and later The Engineer. Latterly he was the editor of Railway World
for six years before retiring in 1977. He was also editor of the Journal
of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers..
Course, Alfred Edwin
1922-2016. Obituary written by Gordon Biddle in
J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2016, 38,
589. Significant author on railways in London and in the South
East
Derrick, Kevin
Seventies spotting days around the Scottish
Region (Amberley, 2016). One of the few books available
on railways in the Brodick branck library on the railway-less Isle of Arran.
Its main characteristic was the excellence of the photographs and the awful
perfect binding which may have been suitable for the Cotswolds, but was hellbent
on destruction in the wet environment of Arran. The book contains some memorable
colour pictures: of an HST in its original dignified livery at the Border
in December 1979. Sureley, the HST is the only British railway motive power
which is worthy to place alongside Mallard, Flying Scotsman
and the Rocket and this is a superb photograph. Some of the other
pictures only serve to show how ill-judged some of the earlier acquistions
could be: lines of Clayton diesels out of use, for instance (the picture
of one actually hauling a freight at Motherwell in February 1970 is a remarkable
exception) and a picture of a North British Locomotive Bo-Bo No. 6121 actually
leaving Queen Street on a train is another. Even the picture of the wasteful
Nos. 408 and 440 at Kilmarnock in April 1973 only serves to show how profligate
BR could be at times (and how so many places have been left behind with meagre
train services). Kilmarnock used to have a train service with dining cars
and sleeping cars: it now has a primitive railcar service to Middlesbrough
via Carlisle and Newcastle. A thought provoling book for all the wrong
reasons.
Dewhurst, Paul
Coulthard
Dickinson, Henry
Winram
Dow, George
Duffy, Michael Ciaran
Born Burnley, Lancashire, in 1943: engineer and philosopher of science
who graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Edinburgh.
Subsequently researched role of electron and ether in early relativity and
also American innovation, systems change and
electrification of railways: see superb book.
Most of his professional career has been spent at the University of Sunderland
where he is a Visiting Research Fellow. He has published over 100 papers
on railway engineering, engineering history, the changing nature of engineering
and the philosophy of engineering and has also published 20 papers on relativity
theory and its interpretations. Author of many papers in
Trans Newcomen Soc. including
impressive paper on technomorphology of railway motive power, wherein
Bulleid and Riddles are castigated and George Stephenson is firmly established
on his pedestal.
Earnshaw, Alan
Born in Golcar, near Huddersfield in 1952, joined David Brown Ltd
and then studied for MSc at University followed by PhD. Then became involved
in planning Areas of Oustanding Natural Beauty and in improving access to
countryside. Following serious back injury in 1983 has concentrated on writing
about transport.
Fayle, H.
Was writing about the Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway in 1902
(Rly Mag., 10, 340) and
in 1965 (Rly
Wld, 26, 34) about
Paris in 1901
Flower, Gordon
Joined Railway Magazine and Railway Gazette in 1942.
Experienced the gentle censorship imposed during WW2. He was an enthusiast
of the LMS West Coast line as he lived in Kingsbury. See piece on him by
Peter Kelly in Rly Mag., 1990, 136, 610.
Fowler, J.W.
Died 15 October 1969, Chairman of Railway World Ltd from its
inception in 1940 when took over Railways founded at the end of 1939.
Son of W.J. Fowler & Son Ltd who owned a printing works at Cricklewood
Broadway. Chairman of the Light Railway Transport League, also connnected
with Model Railway Constructor. See Rly Wld, 1969, 30,
521.
Foxwell, Ernest
Brief obituary Locomotive
Mag, ., 1922, 28, 326
Fraser, Maxwell
Dorothy May Fraser (1902-1980), adopted the pen-name Maxwell Fraser,
and later became Mrs Edgar Phillips. She was a prolific author of popular
travel books. She was born in London. Her father was one of the Frasers of
Dumballock and Newtown, Inverness-shire and her mother was born in Philadelphia
of old Puritan stock. In 1951, Maxwell Fraser married Edgar Phillips of
Pontllan-fraith, Monmouthshire, better known as the poet 'Trefin', who was
later to become Archdruid of Wales. From Archive of Wales material
on Internet. She worked industriously for the Great Western Railway and Alan
Bennett has written several articles on her oeuvre in Backtrack:
Beyond the fringe: Somerset's deep England
identity. Backtrack, 2011, 25, 660
Fry, Eric
Had previously worked at Lloyds, Editor of
RCTS Locomotives of the LNER.
Aged 90 in portrait on page 699 in
Backtrack, 2022, 36,
699..
Gentry, George
1870-1964: Pupil at Bow Works of the North London Railway. Wrote books
on model engineering and contributed to Model Engineer.
See Braithwaite Midland Record Issue
1 pp. 3-20
Goodchild. John
Born in Wakefield 1935; died in 2017. Worked in West Riding Public
Records Office and had a large private document collection concerning coal
mining in the Wakefield and Barnsley areas. Claimed that the Lake Lock Rail
Road in the Stanley Wrenthorpe area was the first authorised public railway
in Britain: see letter in Backtrack,
2019, 33, 254 from Anthony Dawson and below.
The first railway company and the first public railway.
J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2009.
34, 377.
The Lake Lock Rail Road . Wakefield Metropolitan District Libraries,
1977. (Ottley 9295)
Mine and men: company, management and men at the Lofthouse Colliery 1872
- 1921.
Wakefield's first railway and its collieries, 1798 to 1880. Wakefield
Historical Publications, 2002.55pp.
Green, Oliver
Curator London Tramsport Museum. See
Underground art
Hadfield, Charles
Major contributor to the literature on canal history, and also major
historian who sought to place canals within their historical economic context
(he was an economist). Co-founder (with David St. John
Thomas) of David & Charles who had a major influence on the literature
on railway and canal history Boughley appears to consider that the publisher's
influence on canal history was greater than that upon railway history. Excellent
biographical study written and assembled by Joseph Boughley which shows Charles
Hadfield's working methods which combined highly orientated field observations
with research through primary sources (many of which Hadfield was responsible
for finding and preserving). Although Hadfield was an excellent professional
manager, he was happiest working alone with his books and papers. He shared
much in common with Rolt,, but Hadfield prefered to examine canals from the
towpath rather than from a long boat. He was a major contributor to the affairs
of the Railway & Canal Historical Society.
Boughley, Joseph. Charles Hadfield: canal man and more, with autobiographical writings by Charles Hadfield. Stroud: Sutton, 1998.
Haresnape,
Brian
Harris, Michael
Healey, Edward Charles
Hollingsworth, Brian
Post Cambridge University and following National Service he joined
the Great Western Railway as a civil engineer in the last few months of its
existence in 1947. In his subsequent British Railways career took him to
the north-east and then to BR headquarters in London. In 1963 his mathematical
background led him into the world of computers and in due course to a heavy
involvment with BR's TOPS wagon and train control system. However he found
the Beeching culture of cut backs and closures unwelcome and left BR to live
in a remote house somewhere between Croesor Junction and Tan-y-Bwlch in 1974.
There he took up writing, as well as advising the Festiniog Railway on
engineering matters and being instrumental in the preservation of several
standard gauge locomotives. His Ffestiniog Adventure relates the story
of the Deviation in a comprehensive but anecdotal style. He also installed
and operated the seven and a quarter gauge railway at Tan-y-Bwlch during
the 150th Anniversary celebrations. He was a Patron of the FR Co. Brian died
in 2001. Festipedia. Account of holiday shared with but written by
Stephen Bragg in Backtrack,
21, 712 which failed to note that his companion had died.
Hunter, David Lindsay George
Author of Edinburgh's transport:
he lived in the City for forty years, working as an engineering assistant
for the Corporation for twelve years, then worked with the Lothian Electric
Power Company and the LNER and the entered dock engineering. He was Mechanical
Engineer for the Leith Dock Commission. In 1957 he moved to Goole Docks where
he became the Engineer.
Jacquet, Albert
Died in Brussels in April. 1944, during the German occupation. He
had always been intensely interested in railways and had a very wide knowledge
of locomotive engineering and development. Born in 1866 he could well remember
many of the older Belgian and French locomotives still running in the middle
1870s. Later he became a well-known writer on locomotive historv ancl
was a regular contributor to "The Locomotive." . Though he worked for several
years in the engineering and management departments of the former Saint Leonard
Locomotive Works at Liege. and later with the Brussels Tramways, he devoted
most of his life-time to research work in connection with locomotive history
and development.
Karau, Paul
Was associated with Wild Swan and with long accounts of short branch
lines. Google search showed based in either Didcot or Abingdon. His Great
Western branch line termini reviewed by Michael Harris in
Railway Wld, 1979,
40, 188
Kay, John Aiton
Born 21 July 1881; died on 8 July 1949. elected an honorary member
Instn Loco. Engrs in 1927. He was educated at Mill Hill School; joined the
weekly paper Transport, a direct predecessor of The Railway Gazette, which
name was adopted in 1905. In 1910 he acquired the journal for British interests.
Subsequently he produced a number of other journals dealing with engineering
industries. such as Shipbuilding & Shipping. Record, Colliery Engineering,
The Industrial Chemist, Diesel Railway Traction, and The Crown Colonist.
He was also responsible for the initiation and development of The
Crown Colonist. and other publications under the control of Transport
(1910) Ltd., of which he was Deputy Chairman and Managing Director: these
included The Railway Magazine, The Universal Directory of Railway
Officials and the Directory of Ship Owners, Shipbuilders & Marrine
Engmeers. He was keenly interested in the Royal Engineers' Military Railway
Training Establishment at Longmore, and was an Honourary Member of Longmoor
No. 1 Mess. He played a leading part in the establishment and administration
of the Transportation Club, of which he was Chairman.
Raileay journalism in the thirties by B.K.
Cooper (Railway Wld, 1978, 39. 17-19) gives an insight
into a long lost world of compositors and proofs and going to press.
He was a keen supporter of the ILocoE and frequently attended its meetings.
He was a regular attendant at the Annual Dinners and Luncheons and was on
numerous occasions called upon to propose a toast which he did with unfailing
wit and humour. His action in founding the Charles S. Lake Memorial Fund
for the benefit of the Institution Library was much appreciated. Obit
J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1949, 39, 387-8.
Kidner, R.W.
Kirkman, Marshall Monroe
1842-1921: an American authority on railways, born in Illinois.
He entered the service of the Chicago and North Western Railway in 1856 and
rose to the position of vice-president in 1889. He wrote extensively on the
subject of railways. He wrote The Science of Railways (1894), which
was later revised and republished in 17 volumes, and 3 portfolios (1909,
et. seq.). Information from Wikipedia. The titles of the volumes
are:
Locomotive, engine failures, and motive power department
Engineer's and fireman's handbook
Air brake: its construction and working
Shops and shop practice (two volumes)
Cars: their construction, handling, and supervision
Organization of railways, and financing
Passenger train traffic and accounts
Freight traffic
Building and repairing railways
Operating trains
Electricity applied to railways
Locomotive appliances
Collection of revenue
General accounts and cash
Safeguarding railway expenditures
Railway rates and government ownership
Locomotive portfolio
Car portfolio
Air brake portfolio
Klapper, Charles
Born in London in 1905 to a Scottish mother and German father; died
in 1980.. At nineteen he forfeited a university place in favour of a career
in road haulage, eventually joining and later becoming editor of Modern
Transport magazine, self-styled "The Times of the transport world". The
magazine was taken over by Ian Allan Ltd in the 1960s and ceased publication
in 1968. Klapper remained with the Ian Allan company until the end of his
working life. The Institute of Transport admitted Klapper as a graduate in
1935, and a long association culminated in his appointment as its Vice President
in 1962. He was also a founder member of the Omnibus Society, President of
the Railway & Canal Historical Society and the London Underground Railway
Society. See C.J. Allen for Ian
Allan's lunch with him and Charles E. Lee and the eventual takeover of Klapper's
business. Collection of approximately 100 35mm colour transparencies. Featuring
views of the West Somerset Mineral Railway, Taff Vale Railway and the Canterbury
& Whitstable Railway taken during visits made by the Railway Canal and
Historical Society, 1962-1964 in the Science Museum Archive. .
Lamb, David Ritchie
Editor of Modern Transport; author of several books on transport
economics (see Ottley) and President of Institute of Transport in 1948
see Locomotive Mag., 1948,
54, 173.
Lane, Barry C.
Joint author of British railcars
with David Jenkinson. Closely associated with
Modellers Backtrack. Northerner with Lancashire
& Yorkshire Railway in his heart: Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway
locomotives 2010
Lee, Charles E.
Lilley, Simon
Kingston born Simon is a lifelong railway enthusiast. Indeed, one
of his earliest railway memories is of being taken to Cricklewood Open Day
in 1969 at the age of four. Simon started his working life at the Victoria
& Albert Museum but since 1995 he has held a variety of roles within
the rail industry and is currently a Quality Manager. Over the years Simon
has written for a number of different railway magazine titles, usually on
"modern traction" related subjects. He can often be found at the National
Archives at Kew researching his next work. An enthusiastic preservationist
he has been closely involved in the Class 47 Preservation Project since its
inception. When not involved in railway related matters, Simon enjoys a wide
variety of interests with his wife Jane, be it watching Bristol City FC or
London Broncos Rugby League. He has been a member of Middlesex CCC for over
twenty years. An occasional distance runner he says his finest sporting
achievement was completing the 2010 Windsor Half Marathon in less than 2
hours 30 minutes
Linecar, Harold Waler
Arthur
Author of early Ian Allan booklet on
British electric trains. Also contributed
The "Merchant Navy" Pacifics to
Trains Annual 1948. Also
wrote many books on coins and coin collecting and a book on early
aeroplanes
Lloyd, Roger
[Bradsheigh]
Locomotive Publishing
Company
MacDermot, Edward
Terence
McEwan, James F.
Author of long sereies of articles on locomotives of the Caledonian
Railway in Locomotive Magazine since updated and reprinted in The
True Line, the journal of the Caledonian Railway Assocition. See obituary
NBRSG Journal, 1992 (47).
Cited by Lowe for providing
assistance
McKean, Charles
Born in Glasgow in 1946; died in Edinburgh on 29 September 2013. Educted
at Fettes School, Poitiers University and.Bristol University.In the 1980s
fell in love with the City of Dundee's remaining ancient buildings where
he was Professor of Scotland's Architectural History and has written a thorough
history of the Tay Bridges (the railway ones) and those involved::
Battle for the North..
McNaught, R.S.
Contributor to railway periodicals.
Alex Rankin (Railway Wld, 1986,
47, 467) states that he had worked at Sir William Beardmore &
Co. in the 1920s.
Mallinson Howard
Author of Guildford via Cobham: the origins and impact of a country
railway which was voted Railway & Canal Historical Society Transport
History Book of the Year 2008 and Railway Book of the Year. Funding of the
venture was assisted by a subscription list. The author concedes that estimating
production costs was very difficult due to the variables involved in
incorporating illustrations. He prepared his own index, but employed a
professional to design the cover. See
J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2008, (203) 153.
Marshall, Percival
Born in 1870: died 10 April 1948. Editor Model Engineer. Educated
Finsbury Technical College. Won Mitchell Scholarship in 1885. Apprentced
to R. Hoe & Co., printers' engineers and Alfred Herbert & Co. Worked
in the drawing office of R. Furnival of Stockport. Became sub-editor of The
Hardwareman and in 1898 established himself as a publisher of The
Model Engineer. Obituary J.
jun. Instn Engrs., 1948, 58, 260-1.
Maskelyne, John Nevil
Hendry (p. 15)
illustrated on Plant Centenarian and short biography from
which details abstracted: Born Wandsworth Common on 3 January 1892 and died
24 May 1960 (Obit. J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1960, 50, 395). President
of Stephenson Locomotive Society
Presidential Address: instrumental
in preservation of Stroudley's Gladstone. (Portrait and note in
Hennessey's account of SLS Centenary in
Backtrack, 2009, 23, 646).
Educated St Pauls School and Kings College. Worked Waygood-Otis. Editor of
Model Railway News. See also
Marshall. See books and
RCTS The locomotives of the Great Western
Railway. 10¼ inch gauge 4-4-2 designed by
him Locomotive Mag., 1938, 44,
173.
Mowat, Charles
Loch
Author of highly rated Britain between the Wars and
The Golden Valley Railway: railway enterprise
on the Welsh border in late Victorian times. 1984. Born on 4 October
1911; died 23 June 1970. Educated Marlborough College and St. John's, Oxford.
In 1934 he emigrated to the United States and took on American citizenship.
He taught at the universities of Minnesota, California in Los Angeles aand
Chicago until returning to Britain in 1958. He had hated McCarthyism. Largely
Wikipedia plus Mike Fenton Backtrack,
2019, 33, 52.
Paley, William Burchell
Obituary of William Burchell Paley, the well-known writer on locomotive history,
which took place on the 22 October 1922, at Bramerton Street, Chelsea. Mr.
Paley was in his 68th year. He was born in Ramsgate, the eldest son of Professor
F. A. Paley, LL.D., and grandson of Archdeacon Paley, of Carlisle, who wrote
the well-known Evidences of Christianity and other works. He was educated
at the Oratory School, Edgbaston, Birmingham, under Cardinal Newman. After
he left school he took up brewing and was for some eight or ten years with
a firm at Sheffield. Then he obtained a post as clerk to the Lord Great
Chamberlain and this he held for some twenty-five years or more,, until he
retired on pension two years ago. Mr. Paley was a most industrious contributor
of articles on early locomotives and railways to the engineering papers.
Apart from their literary merit these have considerable value, owing to the
accuracy with which he gathered his facts, which were taken not so much from
books as from personal investigation.
Locomotive Mag., 1922, 28, 332.
Parris, Henry Walter
Born in Reading on 20 November 1925; died in 1971. Educated University
College Oxford; Research Fellow Manchester University; PhD Leicester University.
Author of Government and the railways in the
nineteenth century.
Pearce, Thomas Richard [Tom]
Born in Southampton in February 1920, but lived most of life on Teesside.
Died Marton on 19 February 2012. He worked in Smith's Dock at South Bank
and lived in Nunthorpe. He met his wife Betty Butterwick when she was serving
as a Wren on the Isle of Arran. He worked on the maintenance of paddle steamers,
but later became a senior member of staff in the shipyard and travelled widely.
He retired in 1984. His Locomotives of the
Stockton and Darlington Railway is a major contributiion to railway
history
Pendred, Loughnan
St Lawrence
Born 1870; died 20 November 1953. Educated private school and Central
Institution and Technical College, Finsbury. Served apprenticeship with Davey,
Paxman & Co., Colchester; improver at the works of Van den Kerchove,
Ghent, and the Chemin de Fer de l’Ouest, Paris and Rouen; ordnance works
of Sir W.G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., at Elswick, 1893–96; sub-editor
of The Engineer, 1896. Editor of The Engineer, 1905–46;
President Institution of Mechanical Engineers: 1930–31; Presidential
Address:
Proc.
1930. 119, 943. President Newcomen Society, 1923 and 1930; CBE
1934
Poultney, Edward Cecil
Pratt, Edwin
Railway Correspondence & Travel
Society
Reed, Brian
Reed, C.W.
A Strettonesque figure who imagined that he was influential in the
preservation of the Lion: see Rly
Wld, 1990, 41, 21-4.
Reynolds, Michael
His Engine-driving life is a sort of prototype for the later
work of the Essery brothers, but is rather more colourful. The Esserys do
not describe how the driver of an express train facing an impact with a freight
train crossing its path actually accelerated to cut through the freight to
emerge on the other side with his passengers unharmed. It appears that he
had worked for the LBSCR where Mr Stroudley was a sobering influence. Most
of the incidents and accidents described were mainly on the northern lines.
The final chapter is a sort of antedote to current health and safety culture
as it describes how many men died on duty: perhaps the most melodramtic is
the arrival of Driver Legge's arm on the family breakfast table when his
locomotive blew up. There are many reminders of how dark the Victorian world
was, and how ill-equipped locomotives of that time were for coping with it:
powerful headlamps on British trains are very recent and arrived with the
second generation of multiple units.
Ridge, William Pett
Born Chartham, near Canterbury, on 22 April 1859: diedat his home
in Chislehurst on 29 September 1930. Educated at Marden in Kent, where his
father was station master and at the Birkbeck Institute, London. He was for
some time a clerk in the Railway Clearing House, and began about 1891 to
write humorous sketches for the St James's Gazette and other papers.
He published his first novel A Clever Wife in 1895, but secured
his first striking success with his fifth, Mord Em'ly in 1898, an
excellent example of his ability to draw humorous portraits of lower class
life. He publidhrd Erb in 1903 and this was reviewed in
Locomotive Mag., 1903, 9,
234. Two titles are listed in Ottley: On Company's Service published
in 1905 Ottley 7621 and Thanks to Sanderson published in 1911
Ottley 7622 but Erb is not. In 1924, fellow novelist Edwin
Pugh recalled his early memories of Pett Ridge in the 1890s:
I see him most clearly, as he was in those days, through a blue haze of tobacco smoke. We used sometimes to travel together from Waterloo to Worcester Park on our way to spend a Saturday afternoon and evening with H. G. Wells. Pett Ridge does not know it, but it was through watching him fill his pipe, as he sat opposite me in a stuffy little railway compartment, that I completed my own education as a smoker... Pett Ridge had a small, dark, rather spiky moustache in those days, and thick, dark, sleek hair which is perhaps not quite so thick or dark, though hardly less sleek nowadays than it was then.
Pett Ridge was a compassionate man, giving generously of both his time and money to charity. He founded the Babies Home at Hoxton in 1907 and was an ardent supporter of many organisations that had the welfare of children as their object. This charitable zeal, and the fact that he established himself as a leading novelist of London life, led to him being characterised as the natural successor of Dickens. All his friends considered Pett Ridge to be one of life's natural bachelors. They were rather surprised therefore in 1909 when he married Olga Hentschel. Four of his books, including Mord Em'ly, were adapted as films in the early 1920s, all with scripts by Eliot Stannard. Pett Ridge's great popularity as a novelist in the early part of the century declined in the latter years of his life. His work was considered to be rather old fashioned, though he still wrote and had published at least one book in each year in the final decade of his life. His last work, Led by Westmacott, was published in the year after his death. William Pett Ridge was cremated at West Norwood on 2 October 1930. Largely Wikipedia. ODNB entry by George Malcolm Johnson
Robbins,
Michael
Rogers, H.C.B.
Rolt, L.T.C. [Tom]
Rush, Robert William
Robert William Rush died on 4 September, 2007, at the age of 94. He
was born in Accrington on 23 September, 1912 and lived in the town throughout
his life. He was a pharmacist and had joined the [Stephenson Locomotive]
Society as long ago as 1933, being our second longest serving member. He
was the author of several works on railway, tram and bus subjects, including
‘Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and its Locomotives, 1846-1923’
and ‘Accrington Public Transport, 1886-1986’. He contributed to
the ‘Journal’ on a number of occasions with his East Lancashire
memories; his last article describing the triangular station at Accrington
was in the November/December 2003 issue.
Sagle, Lawrence William
Born 1892; died 1975. Appears to be a minor Cecil J. Allen who specialised
in history of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. As with much of declining value
Internet more sales blurb than information.
Scott, Wiliam John
Died Ramsgate in 1924 aged 73
(obituary Locomotive Mag., 1924,
30, 220): member and for a time president of the Railway Club.
He was formerly incumbent of St. Saviour's Church in Sunbury Common and appears
to have been an active Anglo Catholic. He was a relatively prolific railway
writer and observer of railways and recorder of train speeds. See
Locomotive Mag., 1921,
27, 332, Cecil J. Allen's Timekeeping and City
of Truro. Locomotive running, past and present—No.
220. Railway Wld, 1971, 32,
6-9.. mentions Scott.
Scourfield, Sir Owen Henry Philipps
Born on 10 October 1847, died Williamston, Pembrokeshire. 5 February
1921. Educatedc at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford. Land ower about 8,000
acres. See Locomotive Mag., 1921,
27, 79
Sekon, G.A.
Simmons, Jack
Skempton, Alec Westley
Smith, David L.
Spaven, David
Spent his working life in and around the rail industry. His first
book, the award-winning Mapping the Railways, was published by Times
Books/HarperCollins in 2011. Highland Survivor: The story of the Far North
Line, published by Kessock Books in 2016, was also an award-winner.
.
Stead,
Christopher
Stretton, Clement
Edwin
Tatlow, Peter
Born 1936. Author of a few books, many articles, and fairly stern
letters. Note in his Oakwood Press book
Harrow & Wealdstone: fifty years
on shows that he trained as a Civil Engineer on the Southern Region
and then moved to motorway construction (bridges), and thence to a firm of
civil engineering consultants, and is now retired. Thus his comments on cranes
and bridges are highly relevant.
Theroux, Paul
Thomas, David St
John
Tomlinson, W.W. (author
of North Eastern Railway)
Tuplin, W. [Bill]
Warren, James Graeme
Hepburn
Webb, Ben
Editor of the Southern Railway Magazine: why did the "Locomotive enginers
of the LMS" never get written?
Fifty of the famous : music composers: their lives and portraits
... With a music quiz, etc. Staines : Ian Allan, 1945.
63pp.
Locomotive engineers of the GWR. London: Ian Allan, 1946. 31pp.
Locomotive engineers of the LNER. London: Ian Allan, 1946. 76pp. illus.
(incl. ports.)
Brief biogaphies of LNER and its constituents
Locomotive engineers of the Southern Railway and its constituent companies.
London: Ian Allan, 1946. 87pp.
Waller, Peter
Brought up in Bradford, and grew up as the city’s trolleybus
network gradually declined. In 1986, he commenced in a career in publishing,
working for a number of years as Ian Allan Ltd’s Publisher (Books),
where he oversaw the commissioning and publication of a wide range of books.
The first book that he wrote was British and Irish Tramway Systems since
1945 in 1992. Since then he has written a number of books on transport
subjects. Moving to Shropshire in 2007, he is now a full-time author and
editor. He is also a director and secretary of the Online Transport Archive,
a director of Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride, chairman of the West Shropshire Talking
Newspaper, a committee member of the National Railway Heritage Awards and
a past president of the Rotary Club of Shrewsbury.
Wheeler, Geoffrey
Fired by steam consists of twenty four coloured
plates based on water colour paintings produced by air-brushing. Most are
of Great Western locomotives, but there is also a non-streamlined Duchess
and a Princess Royal in LMS red and an A4 in garter blue. The Author born
in Penn, Bucks in 1929 and from 1945 joined Great Western Railway and trained
in the drawing office of the Civil Engineer at Paddington and later produced
cut-away artwork for The Eagle comic Went freelance in 1961. Died
1995. See also Rly Mag., 1981,
127, 20.for autobiographical details and rather better reproductions
of his paintings
Whitehouse, Patrick
Bruce
Williams,
Charles
Wrottesley, Arthur John Francis
Significant author of three volume study The Great Northern Railway
published by Batsford (Ottley 11783/third volume in Addenda in Ottley
3) and The Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway published by
David & Charles in 1970 (2nd edition 1981) (Ottley 12378) and Famous
underground railways of the world published by Muller in 1956 and revised
in 1960 (Ottley 2323). Barrister-at-Law. Had been taught at Wellington College
and University College, Oxford where he read history and law. Called to the
Bar in 1932. Served in Royal Norfolk Regiment and Judge Advocate General's
Department during WW2. Special Assistant in the Office of the Chief Legal
Adviser to the British Transport Commission and British Railways. Joined
Railway Club in 1925 and electred President in 1973.
© Kevin P. Jones [text unless quoted from elsewhere]
Updated: 2022-11-04