Railway World
Volume 45 (1984)
Key file

Number 525 (January)

E.F. Clark. Kitsons of Leeds. 6-9. 12 illustrations.
Author was related to the family: mentions Kitson Still locomotive and  Kitson Meyer type.

C.R.L. Coles. Pictorialism in railway photography. 10-

V.R. Webster. Unusual lineage — the Cornwall Minerals engines and their Great Western descendants. 17-20.
Cornwall Minerals Railway 0-6-0Ts were designed by Francis Trevithick and built by Sharp, Stewart in 1873/4. They were designed for back-to-back working and the depot at St. Blazey was designed to accept pairs of them. When the Great Western took over the railway some of these specialised locomotives were sold off to some unlikely lies including the Lynn & Fakenham Railway and Colne Valley & Halstead Railway. The Great Weestern found the design increasinngly useful and Churchward had to build a modernised version the 1361 class of outside-cylinder saddle tanks and Collett followed with a pannier taank version: the 1366 class intended to displace the remanant CMR locomotives. Illustrations include works photograph of No. 1 Treffrey; No. 17 at work on Cornwall Minerals Railway and two as modified as tender engines on the Eastern & Midlands Railway and two of the locomotives retained and rebuilt as saddle tanks by the GWR: No. 1400 and No. 1395 at Swindon in 1931.

J.N.C. Law and R.A. Rutter. Midland lines power & performance. 22-

Number 526 (February)

Rodney Weaver. Fairlie singular. 62-6.

Michael Harris. The Dean Forest wins through. 67-8.

New books. 69

David N. Clough. The forgotten interlude of the class 50s. 76-80.

H.G.E. Ellis. The 'Royal Link' at King's Lynn. 82-3; 86.

R.G.P. Tebb. Wilkinson's Patent No. 47..87-91.

Number 529 May

Editor:  Michael Harris

C.P. Atkins. No.71000 Duke of Gloucester 30 years on: a new appraisal of its design and performance, 230-5.
1984 marked the 30th anniversary of the appearance of the controversial British Railways Standard 8 4-6-2 No 71000 Duke of Gloucester: the largest of the projected BR Standard locomotive range, the Class 8 passenger engine also carried the lowest priority. One reason was that at the beginning of 1948 no fewer than 59 4-6-2s in this elite category were under construction at Crewe, Doncaster, Darlington, and Eastieigh Works.
These 59 Pacifies included the final LMS 'Duchess', No 6257, upon which not entirely unexpectedly in his June 1948 initial report!" on the projected BR Standard locomotives E.S. Cox envisaged basing the new heavy passenger engine. It was to be a Duchess with bar frames and Ministry of Supply/War Department Austerity pattern eight-wheel tender. Incidentally, 5,000gal/12-ton rigid frame eight-wheel tenders had been proposed originally for Nos 6256/57 in 1946. The good maintenance record of the LMS 4-6-2 boiler had commended it, and it was felt that four cylinders were preferable to three on account of 'lower individual loads on the inside big ends, and the very simple and robust mechanism by which the four valves can be driven by two sets of valve gear'. This view was not likely to be accepted east of the Pennines nor, for that matter, south of the Thames. In May 1950, in order to settle once and for all the argument of three versus four cylinders, Roland Bond suggested that Camden and King's Cross sheds should exchange temporarily five Duchess and five Peppercorn A1 4-6-2s. Their performance, especially from the point of view of servicing, should be monitored closely.!" Regrettably, this was not followed up, possibly because there was no immediate need for the proposed BR 8 4-6-2.
The 8 4-6-2 was briefly referred to in October 1951 at the monthly meeting of the Regional locomotive chief draughtsmen when Derby was instructed to look into the question of three versus four cylinders. Guide lines were to be, tractive effort around 40,000lb, 6ft 6in coupled wheels, and 50 ft² of grate with mechanical stoker. At the same time, it was conceded that the engine might not materialise.
Almost certainly this would have been the case but for the tragic double collision at Harrow precisely a year later, when the newly reconstructed former turbine-driven 4-6-2 No 46202 Princess Anne was damaged beyond economic repair. Its replacement provided justification to proceed with the prototype BR 8, at a particularly fortuitous time when Derby Drawing Office had recently completed design work on the BR two-cylinder 4-6-2s, but before it was to become plunged into design work on diesel locomotives. Although Derby had been the headquarters of LMS locomotive design, which had indeed largely moulded the BR Standard steam locomotive range, by the early 1950s some 'foreign' influences had become established there. The Mechanical Engineer of the London Midland Region was J.F. Harrison, a strong disciple of Gresley. His Chief Technical Assistant was C.S. Cocks, who had been taken from Doncaster by O.V. S. Bulleid to be his Chief Draughtsman at Eastieigh, and so had been much involved with Bulleid's controversial 4-6-2s.
The use of three rather than four cylinders was therefore almost a foregone conclusion. The first scheme was for a 7 4-6-2 modified with three 18½in by 24in cylinders, each of which would have driven on to the centre coupled axle, Gresley and Bulleid fashion. To achieve this, the taper of the barrel of the otherwise standard boiler would have been confined to the underside.
This proposal, complete with double stovepipe chimney, and German Witte-type smoke deflectors, was first illustrated on page 108 of British Railways Standard Steam Locomotives by E. S. Cox (Ian Allan Ltd, 1966). However, it was found to be unacceptable and Cox examined the matter seriously in March 1953 when he made the following recommendations to R. A. Riddles:
1. The existing BR 7 4-6-2 boiler with 42ft² grate area should be used as its free gas area was as large as that of the Regional '8' 4-6-2s, which therefore put its maximum steaming capacity above the manual firing limit. Reference was made to the sterling performances in wartime on very heavy trains by the LNER 'A4' 4-6-2s which had only 41¼ ft² of grate and which were included in the Class '8' power category.
2. Three-cylinder propulsion was assumed, in conjunction with a K J. Cook-style 'Doncaster' big end.
3. Coupled wheel diameter to be 6ft 2in, on account of loading gauge considerations.
4. The employment of British Caprotti valve gear was advocated, but it was suggested that consideration should also be given to other alternatives, eg the Pouitney or Marten valve gears.
A week later, in a further memorandum, Cox again advocated use of the Standard '7' boiler, one of which could be appropriated from a batch of three spares currently building at Crewe. Should an increase in grate area be desired, he recommended that this should not exceed 45ft², and initial scheming at Derby was indeed directed at lengthening the standard firebox by 4in. This was quickly dropped in favour of a 1ft extension giving a grate area of 48.6ft², identical with that of the SR 'Merchant Navies'. Rugby tests with the '7' 4-6-2 had shown that at very high and very low outputs combustion was inhibited by the single damper, and so a back damper was also to be provided on the '8'.
To support the large firebox, a new pattern of trailing truck was proposed having helical in place of laminated springs. The two-cylinder 4-6-2s had proved somewhat hard riders and it was felt that improved riding qualities might enhance the reception of the new engine by crews. This truck was also to have featured on the 15 '6' 4-6-2s, Nos 72010-24, on the 1954 Building Programme, but then cancelled. By now, there was a definite decision to use British Caprotti valve gear in some form. Cox sought the expert opinion of George Fisher, a mechanical inspector with considerable experience of poppet valves, who favoured the latest form with external drive shafts, as applied to the last two LMS-design '5' 4-6-0s, Nos 44686/87, turned out in 1951. Thereafter, cylinders and valve gear were designed with commendable speed at Derby in collaboration with Associated Locomotive Equipment Ltd of Worcester, during the summer of 1953. The two 4-6-0s provided a very substantial basis and several components were common to both designs. In addition, No 44687 ran a series of indicator trials between Shrewsbury and Crewe during November 1953 in order to provide data for the valve events of the new 4-6-2.
Cylinder drive was divided after the fashion of the LMS three-cylinder 4-6-0s and Peppercorn LNER 4-6-2s, with the inside cylinder located forward and working on to the leading coupled axle. The need for any internal valve gear was obviated by taking a bevel drive off the front of the left-hand outside cylinder. Much thought was given to the inside big end, a potential source of trouble in a high-powered/high-speed locomotive. A roller bearing assembly, similar to that experimentally applied to rebuilt 'Royal Scot' 4-6-0 No 46140 in 1952 was seriously considered, but rejected on the grounds of requiring major works attention in the event of any defect developing. Instead, a massive yet finely adjustable forked big end of entirely new design was developed under Harrison's personal supervision and proved entirely successful.
When originally designed in the early autumn of 1953, at Cox's behest the smokebox was to incorporate a single blast nozzle and chimney. About six months later, by which time the engine itself was rapidly taking shape at Crewe, there was a change of heart, possibly due to J. F. Harrison, and a double blastpipe and chimney was designed and incorporated instead. The nozzles were made a seemingly arbitary 4in diameter, as was later to be applied to some BR 9F 2-10-0s and '4' 4-6-0s, Precisely what prompted this modification is not clear, but it has been alleged that the ALE representatives advocated the provision of double Kylchap exhaust in association with the Caprotti valve gear.
The double chimney casting undoubtedly enhanced the appearance of the engine which, numbered 71000, emerged from Crewe Works on 18 May 1954. It had never received formal authority in the normai manner, and the Harrow casualty, No 46202, whose twisted frames still languished at Crewe, was condemned on the same day. The development costs of the BR '8' must have been high. Its official cost was £44,655, nearly twice as much as that of each of the last 10 '7' 4-6-2s, built concurrently at Crewe under the same lot number.
No 71000 was given a very similar tender to Nos 70045-54, fitted with a mechanical coal-pusher identical to that provided on the 'Duchess' tenders. This tender, BRIE/1272, remained with the engine until August 1957 when No 71000 entered Crewe Works for its first and only heavy general overhaul. The tender was dismantled, the frames becoming the chassis for a new BRIC tender (No 1360) for new 2-10-0 No 92162, while the tank was modified to reduce its water capacity from 4,725 to 4,325gal, and the coal bunker was slightly lengthened, although officially the coal capacity remained 10 tons. Given new frames the ensemble became BRlJ/1528.
On completion, No 71000 was immediately towed dead to Willesden for exhibition as a part of the 16th International Railway Congress held in London that month. The IRC Honorary President was HRH the Duke of Gloucester who officially named No 71000 after himself.
The Duke took up heavy passenger duties on the West Coast main line in July 1954 and was stationed at Crewe North, included in a link which comprised several 'Duchesses'. Working the Midday Scot was a speciality for several years, broken early on by a six-month sojourn on the Western Region from late October 1954 until May 1955 for testing purposes. This was because the Derby and Rugby testing facilities were fully committed to extensive road and plant tests of a 'Duchess', which quite fortuitously happened to be No 46225 Duchess of Gloucester.
On the WR, No 71000 was put through its paces on the Swindon stationary test plant, in addition to performing controlled road tests between Paddington and Bristol. The head of the Experimental Section was the redoubtable S.O. Ell who took the opportunity to conduct a meticulous mathematical analysis of the heat balance of the boiler. This was quite incidental to the unexpected discovery that its performance was notably inferior to that of the 7 4-6-2, an anomaly which was not explained.
Put briefly, at high outputs efficiency fell off markedly. Using similar South Kirkby coal at a coal rate (4,320Ib) which corresponded with the front end limit of the Class '7', despite the larger grate evaporation was actually less at 28,000Ib/hr. Increasing the coal rate to 6,850Ib, the grate limit was reached producing a ceiling evaporation of 32,750Ib, not greatly in excess of the corresponding maximum of 31,6001b by the  7. This was distinctly disappointing; on paper the 8 boiler was the equal of those of the Duchess and Merchant Navy, each of which could exceed 40,000lb per hour. In fact, the BR 8 boiler was theoretically the best proportioned of the three, having the generous free gas area of the former, and moderate tube length of the latter, in addition achieving ratios in the tubes closer to the optimum value of 1/400, this being the relationship between the free cross-sectional area of boiler tubes and their total swept area — the A/S ratio.
The anomaly was immediately the subject of correspondence passing between Bond, Harrison, Ell and Cocks.!" It was further compounded by the following seemingly self- contradictory observations inferred by Harrison in a memorandum to Cocks in relation to the earlier 7 4-6-2 performance data.!"
I. A lower smokebox vacuum in the 8 than in the 7 design lifted the fire.
2. For a given gas flow, evaporation in the 8 was higher than in the 7.
3. Despite identical total free gas areas and tube and flue configurations,
whereas tube and flue exit temperatures were almost identical in the 7, quite inexplicably in the 8 boiler flue exit temperatures were some 70°F lower than from the tubes.
Ell suggested that the blast area might be too restricted (with 4in nozzles blast area was 23% less than in the Duchess) giving too fierce a blast, but pointed out that to enlarge the nozzles could give poor performance at low outputs. Ironically, it was even suggested that a single orifice might have given better results!
Bond's own observation was that at high coal rates the fire tended to disintegrate, and he advocated a short series of tests using Welsh coal which was less prone to fragmentation, to ascertain whether the grate or the ashpan was at fault. Harrison did not concur and this suggestion was not taken up. Nevertheless, despite No 71000's solitary status and increasing dieselisation, as late as January 1958 the Locomotive Testing Joint Sub-Committee chaired by E.S. Cox approved a further series of tests on Swindon test plant.!" Six months later these were still awaited but the intention was quietly forgotten. By now increasingly preoccupied with diesel hydraulic locomotives, S.O. Ell considered the engine as designed to have been over-draughted, promoting high gas velocities, which could increase fuel loss by lifting the coal off the grate. Under test conditions, up to the con- tinuous manual firing limit of 3,000Ib/hr the Duke showed no inferiority to its peers, but in normal everyday service it quickly attained notoriety as a coal eater.
Writing in Railway World, D. H. Landau suggested that the low boiler efficiency at high outputs due to the ejection of unburnt fuel was caused by the extremely rapid exhaust opening characteristics of poppet valves compared to piston valves. He ingeniously postulated a high frequency wide fluctuation in smokebox vacua with sharp peaks such as would not be reflected by the mean smoke box vacuum as measured by a water manometer; which doubtless now could be monitored with modern electronic equipment. Against this theory it should be stated that applications of Caprotti valve gear to 5 4-6-0s of LMS and BR design (the latter having almost identical 'cylinders and valve gear to No 71000) showed small economies in fuel consumption of the order of 5%. Going back 40 years, the North Eastern Railway Stumpf Uniflow 4-6-0 No 825, which was characterised by a positively explosive exhaust, also showed a slight fuel economy when compared to its conventional peers.
Unusually for a modern British steam locomotive — the ex-GWR 'King' and 'Hall' 4-6-0s excepted — the fact the grate limit was reached before the front end limit suggested that all was not well at the back end of the boiler of the Duke, particularly in the vicinity of the firebed. In the late 1970s, when the 71000 Duke of Gloucester Preservation Society was restoring the engine from scrap condition, in fabricating a new ash pan to the original drawings it became apparent that Crewe Works had not strictly complied with these, with the result that the maximum damper opening would have been some 10-15% below what the designers had intended. Expressed as a percentage of grate area, damper openings — like air space through firebars — nevertheless varied widely in different British 4-6-2 designs with no discernible ill-effects.
The exhaustive data tabulated in graphical form in the official British Transport Commission Test Report published in 1957 nevertheless suggested that gas flow was restricted at high outputs. Thus, for a given smokebox vacuum above 4in of water, which happened to correspond with the manual steaming limit of the 8 boiler, the 7 boiler experienced a greater gas flow, whereas at low vacua the 8 boiler was in the ascendant. The writers own compromise theory is that the sharp exhaust, due solely to the pro- portions of the blastpipe, in conjunction with insufficient damper openings promoted unduly high gas velocities through the ordinary tubes, thereby ejecting appreciable quantities of unburnt fuel as fines. This being the case, the substitution of an increased number of fire tubes having reduced diameter, in association with a double Kylchap exhaust or Giesl oblong ejector, should have produced an appreciable improvement in boiler efficiency. The published report made no comparisons, odious or otnerwise, between the performance of the 7 and 8 boilers, nor any direct reference to the distinctly disappointing performance of the latter at high coal rates. On the credit side, it recorded in detail the excellent cylinder performance of No 71000 which permitted very short cut-off working and hence considerable economy in the consumption of steam, regardless of the cost in fuel. This has been popularly associated with the poppet valve gear, although the Deutsche Bundesbahn 10 three-cylinder 4-6-2 (built 1957) with Walschaerts valve gear and piston valves actually achieved a slightly lower minimum indicated steam consumption, 12.07lb/ihp hr as compared to 12.2lb/ihp hr by No 71000. One Derby analyst attributed the cylinder characteristics of the 8 not to the poppet valves themselves but to the combination of low back pressure and high superheat (700°F plus). It is interesting to note that a pair of two- cylinder 4-6-2s with Caprotti valve gear built in 1933 for the Alsace-Lorraine Railways on test displayed similar characteristics of low boiler efficiency and high cylinder efficiency .
The Stanier Duchess did not display a particularly high cylinder efficiency, as a consequence of moderate superheat (about 600°F) and a decidedly high cylinder clearance volume — for a piston valve engine — of 12.5%, compared to 10.6% (mean) for the Duke. However, the Duchess was endowed with a boiler of superlative steaming capacity which largely outweighed the other deficiencies. The official report on No 46225 remained unpublished, its completion being delayed by difficulties in reconciling results obtained from road tests with those obtained from Rugby test plant. If taken at face value it makes an interesting comparison with that for No 71000. The internal resistance of the latter, despite the extensive endowment of roller bearings and the provision of poppet valves, was allegedly appreciably greater than that of the Duchess.
This was regrettable in that whereas at a given constant steaming rate the indicated horsepower of the Duchess would peak at around 60mph, that of the Duke would continue to rise slightly at 80mph. The greater internal resistance of the BR design counter-balanced this advantage, with the result that at the manual steaming limit of 24,000lb/hr the drawbar horsepower/speed curves of both designs were almost coincident. Had No 71000 possessed the resistance characteristics of the Stanier engine it could have developed a continuous drawbar pull of 3+ tons at 70mph, as against 2+ tons by either design hand-fired.
The performance of No 71000 as a unit of motive power was also distinctly poor. No reference has previously been made to its poor availability in traffic, and documents'!" disclosing this have only recently become available for public scrutiny. Comparing No 71000 with six Duchesses similarly continuously stationed at Crewe North shed during the period 1956-58, the records are revealing.
Before the advent of diesel traction the LMR-based Duchesses averaged about 70,000 miles run annually, but No 71000's own best was a moderate 53,000 miles in 1956. It is interesting to note that during 1939 LMS 4-6-2 No 6230 Duchess of Buccleuch (new in June 1938) covered no less than 95,917 miles, its availability having been 78%. The poor availability of No 71000 is difficult to explain. For instance, unlike a radial valve gear with piston valves, its poppet valve gear should have been largely self-contained and required relatively little day to day attention. Having said this, the engine's availability was better than that of the WR Kings, by then 30 years old, and of the SR Merchant Navies, of which in their original condition the least said the better. The Peppercorn A1 4-6-2 were quite outstanding in this respect, but in a class were of recent construction and existed in appreciable numbers.
Having covered nearly 300,000 miles, No 71000 was put into storage in early October 1962, and condemned about six weeks later. Originally scheduled for official preservation in its entirety, it was later decided only to retain one of the engine's outside cylinders, to be sectioned, and exhibited with a portion of the valve gear in the Science Museum. After languishing al Crewe for three years, the remains of the locomotive were disposed of to a scrapyard in South Wales, and remained there for several years. Then, in 1973, almosl incredibly a rescue operation was mounted, With tremendous resource the hulk has been gradually restored at Loughborough with a view to eventual main line running. This operation has involved the fabrication of replacement outside cylinders.
To summarise, from the evidence presented above No 71000 was, to use E.S, Cox's own words, a 'near miss'. Interestingly, in his authoritative book on the BR Standard locomotives he makes no reference to his original recommendation that the 7 4-6-2 boiler be used. So one is left wondering what might have resulted, or if the proven LMS 'Duchess' or Southern 'Merchant Navy' boilers had been utilised unaltered. Nevertheless, even if these alternatives had been adopted, the outcome still would have been academic. The engine would inevitably have suffered a premature demise on account of the advance of diesel traction, and not least its solitary status, which undoubtedly was also a major contributory factor to its apparent lack of success in everyday service.

Alex Rankin. The 'Lothian Coast Express'. 236-7.
In 1914 the North British Railway started the Lothian Coast Express from North Berwick, Dunbar and Gullane to Edinburgh and the ran non-stop to Glasgow in one hour. It departed Dunbar at 07.55 and from the other two ponts at 08.00. It returned from Glasgow at 15.50 on weekdays and at 12.30 on Saturdays. It carried a headboard with the train name. It ceased during WW1, but was started again in 1923, but without a Dunbar portion. In 1929 a Pullman car was added, but the Gullane branch closed in 1932 and the service ceased at the end of the summer in 1933. Also included in C.J. Allen's Titled trains of Great Britain (3rd edition). See also Behrend The Pullman restaurant cars of the LNER

New books. 238

BR Locomotives: 2 Sulzer Types 2 and 3. A.T.H. Tayler, Ian Allan Ltd, 96pp, illus, hardback.
It is always of value to have locomotive histories written by engineers with first-hand experience of the subject. In Tayler's case, he was involved as a member of the S&D is offset by the quality of material, staff of the prime mover manufacturer, and so and the careful and interesting captions. A gives valuable information on the cornmemorable tribute to the demise of a plucky missioning and service experience with the railway and its men and machines.

Railway lveries: London & North Eastern Railway. Brian Haresnape, Ian Allan Ltd, 56pp, illus with colour, soft covers.
The last of this series dealing with the Big Four—more are to come featuring BR liveries and LTE — it is perhaps the most interesting, in view of the LNER's inconsistency of styles: the handsome Gill Sans graphics co-existed with traditional pre-Grouping schemes and liveries. Nothing has approached the elegance of finish, lettering and colour choice of, for instance, the A4s and the streamlined train sets. It is perhaps a pity that there wasn't room to give even greater coverage to the LNER's graphics and its often superb posters, some now available in postcard size from the National Railway Museum.

Great Western 4-6-0s. Brian Stephenson, Ian Allan Ltd, 128pp, illus incl 8pp of four-colour, hardback
This is the second in this series of bound issues of Locomotives Illustrated and deals with all four- and two-cylinder classes. The varied range of photographs is accompanied by tabulated details of numbers, names, building and withdrawal dates and allocations.

Great preserved locomotives - 1. Stanier '8F' No 8233. Alan Wilkinson, Ian Allan Ltd, 48pp, illus, soft covers
There is growing interest in the life and times of loco- motives in preservation, and this is the first of a new series. The '8F' 2-8-0s were well- appreciated by railwaymen and enthusaists alike, and the choice of No 8233, preserved by The Stainer 8F Locomotive Society Ltd on the Severn Valley Railway, is of particular note in view of its remarkable overseas service in Iran and the Middle East and subsequent perhaps unexpected return to BR ownership. The book sensibly widens its scope to cover the general history and service experience of '8Fs' at home and abroad, illustrated by many rare photographs; naturally Wilkinson features the perservation and current major overhaul of No 8233.

The Somerset and Dorset in the sixties Volume Four — 1963-1966. Ivo Peters, Oxford Publishing Co. 112pp, illus, hardback
Obviously, this is the last in this particular series of books featuring the outstanding Somerset & Dorset line photographs of thr author. The sadness of the final years of the S&D is offset by the quality of material, and the careful and interesting captions. A memorable tribute to the demise of a plucky railway and its men and machines.

A regional history of the railways of Great Britain. Vol 14. The Lake Counties. David Joy, David & Charles, 270pp, illus, hardback
The last in this series dealing with the English and Welsh regions; only the Scottish Highlands volume has yet to appear. As one might expect from the author, this is a thoroughly readable and carefully researched study, which not only features the West Coast and Settle & Carlisle main lines, but the under-recorded and fascinating railways of West Cumberland, Furness and the Lake District. Heartily recommended, not least for some interesting photographs.

Branch line charm. Walter Sinkinson. Yorkshire Arts Association in association with British Railways, 139pp, illus, paperback.
Railway people have always guessed that signalmen were philosophers. Now they have proof. Waiter Sinkinson, Yorkshireman, now retired, was a railwayman for 47 years. This joyous, evocative volume of economical and thoughtful poems is something rare. Within its covers is to be found more about railways, their relationship with town and countryside, and the men and women who work and travel on them than in hundreds of prosaic historical studies. If the poems were merely descriptive they would be pleasant light reading, but Sinkinson's feeling for the railway community has made them remarkable. Further, his Christianity and appreciation of humanity lift them such that they are dramatic art of a type that is rarely found. Nor are they purely nostlagic, but many poems are descriptive of our current railway age. Glossy Paperbacks on Railway Bookstall is a splendid and shrewd insight into modern society and its environment; not surprisingly, Sinkinson is an admirer of William Blake, that British genius. Evokinq railway rhythms, the poetry is often n of a high technical standard, too.

Alford & Sutton Tramway . George Dow, published by the author: 32pp, illus, soft covers.
This is an enlarged and revised edition of a title first published in 1947, and which now makes its appearance to commemorate the centenary of the opening of the tramway. The undertaking operated its steam-trams on 2ft 6in gauge in East Lincolnshire from 1884-89 only, failing receipts leading to its inevitable closure. A model history of an ts interesting and little-known system which doubtless would have lasted longer in, say, Holland.

Western steam in colour. Hugh P. Ballantyne
BR colour album. L.A. Nixon.
Both: Jane's Publishing Co Ltd, 96pp, illus of four-colour throughout, hardback
Four colour printing is only satisfactory if the original colour transparencies are of excellent quality and when colour separation processes and printing are equally so. The immediate attraction of these photographic albums is that all conditions hold good. Both photographers are experts in their art. Hugh Ballantvne's book probably contains the best historical colour transparencies yet seen on the printed page and the variety of WR steam studies (also by of other photographers) is full of detai! and interest. L.A. Nixon's album not only features the highest quality work from his and other people's cameras illustrating the present BR scene, but also includes rare and attractive studies of diesel and electric traction at work from the late 1950s onwards.

British locomotives of the 20th century Vol 2: 1930-60 . O.S. Nock, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 256pp, illus, hardback
This is the middle volume of a three-part history and it can be said immediately that it exhibits the highest standards of the author's scholarship in matters of steam locomotive design and opera- tion. Of particular note also are the many useful line drawings of locomotive features and design detail. Particularly revealing are the comments on, or sections dealing with, the proposed Hawksworth Pacific, 15xx 0-6-0PT and the wise evaluation of Edward Thompson and his works. Locomotive testing, and non- steam designs receive good treatment, too.

Midland Line memories. Brian Radford, Midas Books, 144pp, illus, hardback.
An excellent and splendidly executed pictorial history of the Midland main line between St Pancras and Derby. Some of the photographs, a number illustrating the construction of the line, are of outstanding interest, and the text, as one would expect from the author, is erudite and relevant. In the publisher's style, the railway history is made more relevant by illustrations and descriptions of the towns alongside the route and their social history.

Railways in Ireland 1834-1984. Oliver Doyle and Stephen Hirsch, Malahide (Ireland): Signal Press, 204pp, illus, hardback
>This is the second general history of Irish railways published to commemorate their 150th anniversary of service and it is the better of the two. Apart from a clear and well-written account of the development of way and works, motive power, stock and operations, there is much of more specialised interest, such as on the Great Southern Railways period and concerning labour relations. The text is accompanied by a good selection of historical and present day photographs.

Rheidol Journey —Siwrnai Rheidol. C.C. Green, Birmingham: Author. 18pp, illus, soft covers
This is a journey in pictures, with a mile by mile descriptive narrative, of the Vale of Rheidol narrow gauge line, the illustrations covering the period c1955 to the present, and complemented by a route map. It is a pity that the majority of photographs have no captions.

Quarterly reprints of Great Western Railway Magazines. Avon-Anglia Publications & Services, 64pp, illus, soft covers.
By arrangement with BR Western Region, the publisher is producing facsimile reprints of the inestimable GWR Magazine, and the first reprint appeared in December 1983. The first issue includes articles of a wide variety of subjects from magazines of 1888, 1889, 1890, 1908, 1921 and 1934. Of particular note are articles dealing with the 1930s reconstruction work at Cardiff, Brunel's tide gauge, the Cornish wooden viaducts, rail motor services in the Brent Valley and the building of the North Warwickshire line. Each issue will include articles from all periods in the 1888-1947 history of the GWR Magazine.

The triumphs of Duchess of Hamilton. D.R.  Smith
Re  ood's article (November 1983)? The 'locomotive exchanges' taking place these days over the Settle & Carlisle line are every bit as interesting as previous ones. I hope you can publish detailed logs of other performances — even when they are not so brilliant —accompanied by 'inside' stories from the drivers and firemen. To bring the 46229 story' up to date: on 5 November last, the engine put up a very good performance, taking 25imin Appleby (start) to Ais Gill (pass) on 14 coaches. On 7 January this year, a new record was established in wintry conditions, with 13 coaches of 490 tons gross. The time from Appleby dairy (start) to Ais Gill (pass) was 21 min 40sec — equivalent perhaps to 22tmin from Appleby station, beating the best by a substantial margin. The maximum speed at Ormside was about 52mph, with 48mph sustained to Griseburn, 55mph at Crosby Garrett a (record?), 52mph through Kirkby Stephen, 48mph sustained through Birkett Tunnel, and an increase to about 53mph at Ais Gill summit.

Pullman restaurant cars of the LNER in Scotland . A. L. Barnett
May I apologise — and to Mr Behrend — for an unfortunate slip in my letter published in the December 1983 issue? The number of the spare Pullman car was No 53, not as stated.

Stroudley 'D1' 0-4-2Ts in Scotland . E.S. Youldon
Re article May 1983 the photograph of No 2605 there is a suggestion that the engine might be in black livery, and the location suspect. No 2605 was given a general overhaul at Eastleigh in October 1940 and was repainted in unlined green with Bulleid lettering — almost certainly the condition of the engine when photographed. After a while, the green would have darkened and so appear as black in a reproduced photograph. There is therefore no reason to doubt that Ayr is the location.

Great Northern Railway (Ireland) 'VS' class 4-4-0s. J.W.P. Rowledge
In his letter (February) commenting on this article published in the December 1983 issue, Love asked why it was that the engines received out of sequence Works Nos. Beyer, Peacock progressive numbers 6958-69 were originally allocated to order No 1543 which was for 12 2-10-0s ordered by Turkey in 1939; of these, BP Nos 6958-60 were built to that order, the other nine being postponed and then cancelled in about 1946. Afterwards, Works Nos 6961-65 were used for order No 1558, for the GNR 'VS' engines. Nos 6966-69 were used for part of order No 11141, 2-8-2 + 2-8-2s for the Great Western Railway of Brazil, but actually built in Germany.
Order No 1558 seems to have been allocated some other progressive numbers at first, but whomever altered Bever's record book at the time made a very thorough job of erasing the original entry. From 1940 onwards, there were so many cancellations and variations of orders that it is very difficult to establish the original allocation of progressive numbers and I would not even attempt to guess what was entered when the order was placed in June 1947.

Great Northern Railway (Ireland) 'VS' class 4-4-0s.  A.E. Durrant
W.T. Scott's article on the 'VS' 4-4-0s was most interesting, but the 10ft 8in coupling rod length of these engines was not quite a record. The Dutch Railway had a class of 35 4-4-0s, very British in concept, although built in Germany and Holland, with a coupled wheelbase of approx 10ft 915/16in.

Wilkinson's Patent No 47. R.G.P. Tebb  
In his article (February 1984) describing the 'Wilkinson Patent' steam tram preserved at the National Tramway Museum, Crich, he accidentally perpetuated an unfortunate myth about William Wilkinson's Foundry at Wigan, an error indeed which has been current for half-a-century. The idea that his Holme House Foundry was a small establishment only, and with limited capabilities, was first recorded in Whitcombe's History of the Steam Tram, dating from 1937. However Mr E. K. Stretch has now drawn attention to the fact that the Holme House Foundry was not in Pemberton, but in Swinley Lane, Wigan, and far from having an insignificant output was one of the principal manufacturers of colliery winding engines, as well as producing engines for canal boats.
Licensees of the patent appear to have been a little more extensive that my article indicated as a photograph has been discovered recently of a Dubs-built 'Wilkinson Patent' tram locomotive.
In the September 1981 Railway World there was a fascinating article by Mike Fell about the last generation of tramway locomotives, the British Railways Drewry Class 04s and, in particular, the D2200 to D2203 series, used on the Wisbech & Upwell roadside tramway. However these were not the only BR diesel trams, although they were the first. Several engines in later batches of the 04 build had cow-catchers and side-skirts, examples known to me being D2210/12/81; the 0-4-0 Hunslet diesels D2950-52 were, I believe, similarly equipped. I wonder if Railway World readers could help me on two points about these diesel trams, viz: Did any other Class 04 locomotives, apart from those listed above, carry cow-catchers and side-skirts, and when? Did any of the diesel trams, apart from D2200-03, have the automatic speed governors to comply with the full rigours of the long-established regulations?

Essence of LMS. D.P. Rowland
Since Part 2 of this series —Some mysterious wagons (March 1984) — was written a kind friend clearing out some railwayana gave me a Christmas present of an LNER specially-constructed wagons diagram book, thinking 'it might be of interest'. How right! From this I find that the LMS was not alone in converting five-plank open wagons to carry aeroplane propellors in packing cases: the LNER converted some as well. A total of 150 were dealt with and were numbered between 213321 and 219443. They were given the code name 'Aero'. All appear to have been vacuum fitted. A note in pen indicates that they were 'now being converted into Hvfits' on 29/4/46. By 18/2/48, conversion was complete and the diagram (pages 116/4 and 117/4) was cancelled. The LMS and LNER conversions were very similar so it seems more likely that the LMS wagons also reverted to their former use. The similarity of conversion is not altogether surprising because, from just before the war, both companies co-operated in the design and manufacture of special wagons. There was much to commend such a step and I suspect that there was a formal agreement, possibly contemporary with that to establish joint locomotive testing facilities at Rugby, but I have never seen any evidence of one.

The 'Royal Link' at King's Lynn. Berwyn Stevens 
Re Harry EIIis' article (February 1984) describing the King's Lynn Royal Link. Features such as this, written from first-hand experience by professional railwaymen, invariably have that extra interest that journalists or researchers are unable to match. I was very interested in the photograph of 'B 17/3' 4-6-0 No 2847 Helmingham Hall at King's Lynn, reproduced on page 82. It is the only one I have seen of this engine paired with its original small tender. Almost certainly, the date of the photograph was 23 January 1936, when No 2847 was chosen by Cambridge shed to haul the funeral train of King George V from King's Lynn to King's Cross. The Royal locomotive at that time — No 2800 Sandringham — was laid up with boiler trouble and No 2847, just four years old, was the newest 4-6-0 at Cambridge. No 2847 exchanged tenders with No 2858 (an LNER group standard) and was sent to Neasden shed for use on the Great Central section, not to reappear on the Great Eastern until 1950.

J.N. Faulkner. Railway to runway. 242-7
Southern Railway and Region involvement in train services to airports, notably Gatwick. Consultants Norman, Muntz & Dawbarn reported in March 1934 on the prospects for civil aviation in Britain. Portsmouth, Southampton and Shoreham airports are mentioned and the failed attempt to develop airports at Lullingstone and Fairlop are mentioned. The Empire Air Serviice flying boat was based at Hythe on Southampton Water. Short trains or through coaches were provided in Pullman cars to and from Victoria hauled mainly by T9 4-4-0s. During WW2 flying boat services were move to Poole and specials ran from Victoria. Eventually, after numerous enquiries and postponements, a London Underground extension to Heathrow opened and improved air and crailway terminals were provided at Gatwick. Bus and coach connections are also considered. Illustrations include No. 338 on inaugural special for Imperial Airway at the special provide at Victoria for departure to Southampton Docks on 6 June 1939; plan of Lullingstone airport; Maglev car at Birmingham International Airport

H.I. Quale. Discovering Great Norrthern Railway somersault signals. 248-51.
Between Boston and Wainfleet

John Burnie. The new Bo'ness train shed. 254-5

J.B. Snell. Romneyrail reviited/  256-9.
Romney Hythe & Dynchurch Railway'

Number 531 (June 1984)

Mike Arlett. Barh MPD: a history of the Midland and S&D depot. 286-9.

Stanley C. Jenkins. The Hunstanton branch: the rise and fallo of a Norfolk railway. 298-300.
Opened  3 October 1862. Promoted in part by L'Estrange family of Hunstanton Hall.

A.D. Johnstone. The 'GMAMs' go—the end of a nightmare. 304-6.
Beyer Garratt 4-8-2+2-8-4 built by North British Locomotive Co. and by Henschel worked in their final days on the Vryburg to Mafikeng (Mafeking)

T.J. Page. Metropolitan No. 1. 312-13.
0-4-4T London Transport No. L.44 and last locomotive to be built  at Neasden Works; constructed in 1898 and preserved. Illustrations: Metropolitan No. 1; L.44 at Neasden Works (colour in red livery); E class No. 80 (with headboard and condensing apparatus) on down train for Verney Junction; E class No. 82 built by Hawrhorn Leslie in 1901; L44 substituting for failed Eastern Region locomotive climbing to Dutchlands with train for Baker Street; L.44 passing Farringdon on Circle Line on way to New Cross Gate on 1 October 1961 with RCTS tour; boiler of L.44.

Number 531 (July 1984)

E.J. Tyler. Massey Bromley. 346-9.
Most of the material used to create Bromley biography or to augment material on Bromley locomotives..

E.R. Carling. What was wrong? – three studies in design failings –. 350-3.
Considered two Garratt designs: the huge three-cylinder type for the New Zealand Government Railways which were far too big and ended up being rebuilt as six 4-6-2s and the highly unsatisfactory locomotives ordered by the LMS (Carling was involved with the second batch at the delivery stage). The final design to be considered was the Highland River class.

Number 533 September 1984)

Alan A.  Jackson. Chesham's branch. 454-8.

Number 534 (October 1984)

Eric Neve. The Cambridge 'Beer Trains'. 510-14.

Michael H.C. Baker. Didcot before the Great Western Society. 515-19.

Number 535 (November 1984)

2020. Clan Line returns to the main line. 566-70
Preserved rebuilt Merchant Navy Pacific No. 35028 Clan Line in the last week of July 1984 was prepared to move from Hereford to Swindon for tests between there and Bristol.

D. Holmes. A statiuon master in the 1960s. Part 2. 571-3.
The first part described his experiences in the West Riding, at East Leake on the former Great Central main line and at Elland where his post was abolished. In this concluding part hhe had adventures back in the West Riding centred on Wakefield, Castleford and Leeds.

Richard Smith. By Royal Letters Patent. 574-5.
Aveling Porter 2-2-0WT WN 9449 was sent new to the Holborough Cemrnt Works at Snodland in 1926 where it was named The Blue Circle. It forms part of the Bluebell Raailway's motive power.

V.R Webster. .. 'F. Moore': the story of a notable railway artist. 582-91.
The purpose of this article is to record the work of Thomas Rudd who for over 40 years painted pictures of locomotives and trains and left us an incomparable record of the appearance of all forms of the railway scene in the days of the old private companies. Most of Rudd's work was done for The Locomotive Publishing Company, his pictures usually being signed 'F. Moore' or 'F.M.'. Rudd painted the original oil pictures from which colour plates were produced for The Locomotive Magazine from 1897 until 1933. His work is probably best-known in the vast series of coloured postcards which appeared between 1903 and 1927 with many later reprints. His paintings also formed the background for many coloured plates in the Railway Magazine and numerous books such as The Wonder Book of Railways, J. R. Howden's Locomotives of the World and so on, as well as for cigarette cards and even included some pictures of ships.
It all started in the 1890s when the brothers A. R. Bell and A. Morton Bell, together with A.C.W. Lowe, established a business selling photographs of railway subjects. The Bell brothers were apprentices with the Great Eastern Railway at Stratford, where the last-mentioned was a pupil. They traded under the name 'F. Moore's Railway Photographs' in order to conceal officially their connections with the GER.
In spite of enquiries, I have never been able to trace the origin of the trading name adopted; the late C.R.H. Simpson, the last editor of The Locomotive Magazine, has averred that no F. Moore was ever connected with the business. The sale of photographs gave rise to so many requests for information as to justify the appearance of Moore's Monthly Magazine, its title a mastery of alliteration but conveying the impression of a street-corner almanac rather than giving any indication of its real contents. Walter Bell, the third brother, was the consulting editor and it is hardly surprising that with the 13th issue in January 1897, the title was changed to The Locomotive Magazine. Its full title eventually had the words '... and Railway Carriage and Wagon Review' added to it. In 1899, The Locomotive Publishing Company was formed with offices at 9 South Place, Finsbury, removing by the end of that year to 102 Charing Cross Road and, in 1903, to premises at 3 Amen Corner, in the shadow of St Pauls Cathedral, where the first meeting of directors was held on 15 September. Here the LPC stayed until the office building was bombed in the great fire raids on the City of London in 1940.
Of the original founders it is likely that A.C.W. Lowe was the most influential of the trio. He was a Master of Arts of Trinity College, Cambridge, and his home was at Gosfield Hall, Halstead, Essex. It is not now possible to say whether he provided significant financial backing, though this has been suggested. It is worth recording that he wrote extensively for the magazine, always anonymously, and possibly contributed the magnificent series of articles on Great Eastern locomotive history which ran from 1901-13. Moreover, he checked the proofs of every issue of The Locomotive until his death on 3 February 1942 in his 76th year.
At the end of last century, Rudd apparently lived on the north side of London near the Great Northern Railway's main line and Mr Simpson recounted that Walter Bell chanced to meet him when both were indulging their enthusiasm in matters GN. In course of conversation it transpired that Rudd ' . .. was addicted to painting locomotives and trains .. .' (This in a letter from Simpson to Mr Norman Kerr, to whom I am indebted for the information in this paragraph.) The upshot was that Rudd was engaged to do paintings for 'F. Moore' and in the magazine's first year of production it advertised the sale of oil paintings as well as photographs. Rudd's first colour-plate reproduction for The Locomotive Magazine was a picture of Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway 4-4-0 No 694, which was printed by Alf Cooke of Leeds as an 8tin x I Sin folding plate in The Locomotive Magazine of July 1897.
The remarkable thing is that while Rudd painted pictures for LPC until 1933, his name was never revealed. No doubt this was an agreement with the firm, but as far as can be ascertained there never seems to have been any acknowledgement of the artist. I have not traced an obituary, nor have I discovered the date of his death. Mr Simpson pointed out that, after 1934, Rudd's artistic abilities had diminished somewhat, but he continued to do less onerous work for LPC throughout World War 2. To my knowledge he never put his own name to a picture, always using the marque 'F. Moore' or 'F.M'. His output was prodigious, and often he turned out two pictures a week. He also undertook private commissions, many of which were not signed in any way.
From his earliest days with the Bell brothers, Rudd painted pictures to order and, in the first year of Moore's Monthly Magazine, there appeared the announcement that 'F. Moore has had the honour of supplying his paintings to the Chief Mechanical Engineers of the leading British Railways and. .. gentlemen connected with many of the large foreign companies'. The LPC catalogue for 1901 offers photographs and paintings of Locomotives and Trains. The oil paintings were described as ' ... Of the latest Express Locomotives, size 15in x 12in, Price 30/- each (£1.50). Framed in Handsome Frames, Price £2.2s each (£2. 10p). A Large Assortment to select from.' It will thus be seen that it is an impossible task to produce anything like a definitive catalogue of Rudd's work.
Inevitably, the question arises as to whether Tom Rudd was the only artist to paint 'F. Moore' pictures. From time to time claims have been made that there were others although no name is mentioned and so far it has not been possible to trace another painter. C. Hamilton Ellis in his book Railway Art (1977) wrote that F. A selection of 'F. Moore' styles and postcard publishers: Moore ' ... was a trade name under which several painters worked to an unchanging and meticulous style.' It is also understood that the late K.A.C.R. Nunn, who was related by marriage to the Bell family, once stated that more than one artist was employed. This, however, refers to statements made about 40 years ago and certainly in the 1940s there were other artists in the field. Mr J. D. Goffey, who has also studied the subject in detail, tells me that in later years other artists did some work for LPC using the 'F. Moore' signature. Likewise, Murray Secretan did some of his superb work for LPC but in this case under his own name.
Against all this, however, is the evidence of Mr Simpson, who, in communication with Norman Kerr, asserted that Rudd was the only artist. In the writer's opinion, the vast majority of work turned out between the appearance of the Locomotive Magazine series of cards in 1904 and the last Locomotive Magazine colour plates of 1933 was from original oil paintings by Tom Rudd. Possible exceptions will be mentioned later. Rudd's unmistakable style is seen in the treatment of foreground and background, the fleecy clouds (though occasionally this was not a feature), and the representation of smoke. There is also a perceptible light line between sky and solid masses, only seen on close inspection of originals and indiscernible on reproductions.
Through the kindness of Mr K. Groves, Secretary of lan Allan Ltd, I have recently been able to peruse the Minute Book of the Locomotive Publishing Company, which Company, incidentally, is still in existence. Unfortunately, there is scant reference to people in the records; no artist's name is mentioned, for instance, as such. All one can discover about Rudd is that in 1907 he became the holder of a modest 10 shares in the Company, which he retained until at least August 1923.
As a person, Mr Rudd remains something of an enigma. I remember him at the end of the 1920s as middle-aged, rather small of stature and wearing glasses. He occasionally worked in a corner of the general office where his easel could be arranged to get a north light. He was not always to be seen and apparently he had a 'studio' elsewhere in the building along a corridor and up two flights of stairs. He was a bachelor and it has even been implied that at one time he actually lived on the spot (though this is discounted by another and reliable source of information and that he was a sort of recluse speaking to few people. Mr S. Micklewright, who worked for the LPC from 1919-26, knew Tom Rudd well. He assesses him as a kind and good-natured man, but a speech impediment might have caused him to be somewhat solitary. For some time he worked at his home on the north side of Clapham Common in South London, before coming to work at Amen Corner. He and Mr Micklewright spent many Saturday afternoons on Platform A at Paddington station in the years when The Great Bear was a common sight. (This location was the excursion platform beyond the end of No 1 platform, later part of the parcels depot.)
The last picture I saw Rudd engaged upon was a fine view of LNER Pacific No 4476 Royal Lancer, seen standing outside King's Cross locomotive shed. It was used as the cover illustration for Locomotives of the LNER Past and Present, published by LPC for the Railway in 1929 and sold at 1/- (5p). Rudd was applying his oil paint to a large lightly-printed photograph. This was his standard method of working and it had the merit of producing a completely accurate picture with correct perspective throughout. It has been suggested that he was a colourist rather than an artist, but it required the skill of an artist to interpret the colours correctly from the lights and shadows of a half-tone print. Only in this way could a true record of the scene be made: this, after all, was Rudd's objective. Today there are many railway artists who use direct brushwork on to a canvas and, while some very fine artistic impressions are made, many of the results could not be referred to for an accurate historical record. We must remember that Rudd's work was nearly all executed before the days of colour photography.
Normally Mr Rudd painted on a card base about l0in x 15in. I know of two originals that are as large as 24in x 36in and of quite a number that are of near postcard size. The smallest that I know of is only 2tin x 3fin, or about the size of an old No 2 Box Brownie print. Such small pictures necessitated brushwork of a quality required for a miniature. Mr Kerr tells me of an original of postcard size showing the tourist office of the Irish Railways at the 1924 Wembley Exhibition in which an accurately coloured and lined-out locomotive measured only 1¾in. The National Railway Museum at York has two originals, both mounted on board, showing London Brighton & South Coast Railway 4-4-0 No 213 Bessemer (8½in x 15in) and North Eastern Railway 4-4-0 No 115 (8in x 11in) on which the full names of the railways in minute lettering around the number-plates are clearly readable in each case; Rudd clearly had some of the skills of a miniature painter. I am told that for such small work a transparent colour wash was put over the number-plate so that the numerals and letters appeared in the desired colour leaving the background to be painted.
I have managed to locate 112 original oil paintings of which the vast majority are in private possession. Fourteen are in the Science Museum collection, of which almost all are on display, while the National Railway Museum at York has 26 specimens but at present few can be seen. Both museums have been most courteous and I have examined a number of their originals as well as some in private collections. Two in the Science Museum and seven at York are mounted on board but the great majority have a card support on which a photograph is mounted. Seven of the York paintings and one privately owned have been seen to have the signature 'F. Moore' in inverted commas, which is a fairly clear way of indicating a fictitious character.
The last-mentioned are all mounted on wood and show techniques rather different from usual. The sky has a distinct glow and the treatment of the foreground is alien to that of other pictures. The signature is also different from the monogram usually employed. It could, perhaps, be argued that they might be by a different hand. The subjects are all solo locomotives built between 1885 and 1894 and represent the latest machines of each railway; there is little doubt that they are early pictures done before the end of last century. They may, therefore, represent an earlier style from which Rudd's work developed in later years. The colouring of the originals was extremely accurate. Rudd appears to have made up for himself a standard range of colours which may have been prepared from sample panels supplied by the railway com- panies. Unfortunately, the standards of reproduction of the age often left a lot to be desired and the plates and postcards frequently lost a lot of the true and delightful colouring of the originals. However, the five cards recently produced by the NRM and printed in England by 'SP&S Ltd' are masterpieces of faithful colour reproduction.
As might be expected, the printed reproductions were of varying standards and the high-quality colour reproduction methods of today were not available. In particular, it was very difficult to maintain correctly the many shades of green used by the various railways. Indisputably the best and most accurate of the postcard series were the original productions of LPC, which were on stout card and had rich, clear colours. The London Tilbury and Southend Railway green seems to have given some of the best card reproductions in that colour. The engine Stepney Green and the delightful picture of No 80 Thundersley on a long train of LTS carriages match extremely well to the colour of the NRM's recent large postcard showing the same engine carrying what must have been the most lavish decorations ever seen on a locomotive. The swags of bunting, baskets of flowers and coats of arms marked the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911 and included busts of Their Majesties on either side of the front of the running plate and even a fountain playing in front of the smokebox. (One wonders whether an occasional contrary wind might have resulted in a royal dowsing. Certainly the engine travelled with all this paraphernalia; I have a photograph of it running into Upminster on 22 June 1911.) All this ornate colouring was faithfully painted by Rudd and is superbly reproduced on the NRM card. The original is in the Science Museum collection and measures 23in x 35in.
Notably accurate were the blues of the Caledonian and Great Eastern engines. In fact, four of the most attractive cards in my possession are those showing a double-headed London express leaving Glasgow hauled by a rebuilt Connor 2-4-0 piloting a Dunalastair 4-4-0, a Glasgow to Perth train leaving Stirling behind 4-6-0 No 904, the 2pm from Glasgow near Beattock hauled by the famous 903 Cardean and a small 'Oban' 4-6-0 of the '51' class in classic scenery on the 12.30 from Oban. The Stirling view is an 'Alpha' reprint and the colours are a trifle dull, but it is nevertheless a highly interesting view which includes a North British 4-4-0 shunting carriages. In this printing the title is in black on the surface. It is styled 'Corridor Express' which it plainly is not, but on the various editions of the cards there were several curious mistakes of this kind. I can only assume that in spite of its technical expertise the 'Company' did not always have a very discerning eye. (A number of LPC cards were reprinted by the Aphalsa company between 1914 and 1918, but there were no new titles, unlike those by Tuck's and Valentine's mentioned later). For some time I have tried to make some sort of a catalogue of Rudd's work and have succeeded in isolating well over 600 separate subjects. It is, of course, now impossible to produce a definitive list in view of the undoubtedly large number of private cornmissions that were undertaken. In making this assessment of his output and an analysis of his work it is necessary to state clearly that an original and a reproduction of the same are treated as one subject. The obvious starting-point of any attempted catalogue is the series of postcards produced by LPC from 1904. These were preceded, possibly by a year, by three composite cards showing three small views each of Great Northern, London & North Western and North Eastern subjects. Mr J. D. Goffey drew up a comprehensive list of all these postcards and listed them numerically in Railway Pictorial No 1 in 1946/47. This list is such a valuable guide, not only to the postcards, but to Rudd's work, that several dealers identify the subjects by their 'G' numbers.
Mr Goffey listed 328 specimens. A few of these did not, I believe, involve Rudd in any work of artistic merit. Accordingly, I have discounted the 25 cards of the 'Knight Series' of 1904 as these appear to be tinted monochromes, which, while pleasant, afford no true record of colours. There were, likewise, eight cards printed in Germany in 1907 which are, I believe, colour printed photographs rather than reproductions of original oil paintings, though some bear the 'F. Moore' signature. Card No 308 in Mr Goffey's list also appears to be a bit of a maverick, showing Caledonian Railway 4-4-0 No 142 and purporting to be a reprint of a Railway Magazine production. (This magazine produced one set of six locomotive postcards.) The list sets out the cards in chronological order but, as Mr Goffey points out, they appeared in sets, half a dozen or more at the same time.
The Locomotive Magazine series of 18 cards appeared in 1904. The colouring was delicate; in most the photographic background could be discerned. The weakest one was No 5 (G33) showing GN Stirling Single No 221 at the main departure platform at King's Cross. It was transformed into a night view, the carriages were modified and ill-defined, people were expunged and the platform assumed a pronounced curve. The original photograph was taken by G.W. Tripp.
Between 1904-07, cards appeared with gilt titles on the face. Between 1907-14 174 cards were issued with titles on the back. A further 24 appeared during World War 1, some of which it was seen fit to make topical. Thus appeared eight ambulance trains and a multi-view card showing trains of the Allies; Britain, France, Belgium and Russia. Another showed a London & North Western Railway 'Claughton' engine flanked by Napier lorries. (There was a Locomotive Magazine plate in December 1916 with a GNR engine similarly accompanied, all no doubt symbolical of a joint war transport effort). Among one or two other subjects, such as a Hawthorn Leslie combined locomotive and crane, were six Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway cards.
In 1922/23, 17 cards came out which just bridged the Grouping and portrayed the new Pacific engines in GNR and NER colours and included five dreadful reproductions of early Grouping trains with yellow skies and mustard-coloured fields, a distant range of hills at Acton and a sylvan setting where Kensal Rise gasworks should have been! I do not consider these five as Rudd's work. Six Railway Centenary cards were produced in 1925, of variable quality it should be said, and a final 14 were issued in 1926/27. These last included seven views on the just-opened Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway and five post-Grouping engines in the best Rudd tradition of solo locomotives with a 'cropped-grass' foreground and a background.
It should also be recorded that. Rudd painted 13 official pictures for the Piccadilly tube line from which a set of cards was made, and also 12 official cards for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. It has also been pointed out that Mr Goffey omitted three cards from the series, showing a petrol shunting engine, the Irish railways' stand at the Wembley Exhibition in 1924 and a Midland Manchester express. This means that 291 of the Locomotive Publishing Company's cards were probably from original paintings by Thomas Rudd. To this total must be added at least 23 of the 24 titles from Tuck's 'Oilette' series, Nos 6493, 9040, 9150 and 9329. Then there were 18 cards published by Valentine, issued from 1904 with several reprints, most bearing the name 'F. Moore' or the initials 'F. M.' Some of the 'Oilette' cards of the series mentioned were beautifully executed through there were some anomalies. The Great Western Railway 'Flying Dutchman' in series 6493 shows the train pulled by No 3433 City of Bath 'near Slough'. Windsor Castle originally appeared in the background but, by the time City of Bath was in service, the double line shown had been replaced by four tracks. A reprint expunged both the castle and the words 'near Slough' from the caption. In the very pleasant picture of the South Eastern & Chatham Railway Dover Boat Express passing through Grove Park drawn by 4-4-0 No 726, the six-wheeled stock shown in Dr Budden's original photograph has been replaced by none other than the Folkestone Car train. The beautifully coloured Bournemouth Express drawn by two LSWR Drummond 4-4-0s has had the length of its train increased by several carriages.
One might well wonder why a railway-orientated concern like that at Amen Corner should see fit to alter the original photographs. One must bear in mind, though, that these postcards were stocked by run-of-the-mill stationers' shops. In an age when railways played such a dominant part in the life of the travelling public, it was commonplace to send a card reassuring folks at home of one's safe arrival, and a picture of one's mode of travel was thought appropriate. There was, of course, the appeal to the younger element, too, and there are many revealing messages to be read on the back of old cards like, 'I hope you haven't got this one' (probably from a fond aunt); or, 'this is like the train I came in'; even, 'this is daddy's train' (no question about it!), to realise what a strong pull the railway had on the emotions of the people of those times. So these cards were designed to be a commercial proposition as well as to appeal to the general public. The latest, the best, the longest, and the fastest were all good-selling qualities.
It should be mentioned in passing, that Rudd's pictures were not confined to the British Isles. A number of foreign and colonial cards were included in the LPC series and these included the only goods trains to be depicted (not surprising when the previous paragraph is considered). There was a 1,500-ton coal train on the Bengal-Nagpur Railway and two startling USA views, one of a triple-headed coal train of 60 bogie wagons on the Pennsylvania Railroad. But possibly the most impressive card published showed 'The Fast Denver Limited' climbing the 1 in 25 to Soldier Summit in the Wasatch Mountains on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. The 11-car train has four engines at the head and one pushing in the rear. Tuck's set No 9329 comprised six 'Wide Wide World Famous Expresses'. Among these overseas cards, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway 4-6-0s of series 209-223, contemporary with, and strikingly similar to, the early Great Central 4-6-0s appear twice, once on a Tuck card and once on a German produced colour-printed card. In both cases they appear on the Bombay to Poona mail train.
So much, for the moment, about the postcards. Mention has already been made of Rudd's first folding plate in The Locomotive Magazine of July 1897, which was hailed as the first full coloured plate of a railway engine to be published. A total of 14 plates 8tin x 15in appeared up to January 1903. The colour reproduction for all these and for many other plates in this and The Railway Magazine was done by Alf Cooke of Leeds, a firm still in existence but, alas, not now undertaking artwork of this type.
Some of Mr Rudd's earliest printed work included a large folding coloured plate issued with The Boys' Own Paper in 1898 which showed broadside views of 12 express locomotives. Mr J. D. GofTey informs me that a framed copy of this is displayed in the Toy Museum in Craven Hill, Paddington. There was also a six-picture plate issued by the same journal in November 1900 entitled 'Our Lightning Expresses'. Mr J. E. Kite draws my attention to this which was headed , ... from oil paintings by F. Moore'. As with most colour reproductions of the time the cruder lithographic process was used on which the colours were printed. A good deal of detail was lost and the range of colours severely limited.
Towards the end of 1901, LPC issued The Locomotive Portfolio which contained 10 of the large folding plates, each 8tin x 15in, which had previously been issued with The Locomotive Magazine at the price of 3/6 (17tp). They were also sold separately at 4d each, 6d (2t) by post.
In addition to the 14 large folding plates of locomotives mentioned above, another showing the GNR 'Flying Scotsman' appeared in 1905. The plate in The Locomotive Magazine did not reproduce particularly well; for some reason the carriages became rather blurred. The postcard made from the same painting (55 in Mr GofTey's list) is a far more satisfactory reproduction. Then there was a striking plate of a L & YR 4-6-0 on an express train on a plate 10½in x 15in in June 1911. Fittingly, perhaps, Rudd's last reproductions for The Locomotive appeared also as folding plates, size l0in x20in: LMS 4-6-2 No 6200 Princess Royal, in November 1933 and SR 'Schools' 4-4-0 No 910 Merchant Taylors in January 1934. It is suggested that the former was the last picture Rudd painted for reproduction in this magazine but the dates given are those of publication.
While Rudd's paintings as a whole achieved a very high standard of accuracy there were certain cases where the original photograph from which he was working sometimes failed to give the required result without some modification. The publishers had, to some extent, to react to popular demands and this sometimes meant producing a composite picture made up from more than one original. On other occasions, a more satisfactory picture resulted from the elimination of obtruding features. It is likely that Rudd's hand was forced on these occasions with the result of one or two lapses in the standard of accuracy.
In order to be topical it was thought desirable to issue a postcard series of Red Cross trains in the 1914-18 period. Accordingly, seven views of trains were painted and converted into' Ambulance' trains by having red crosses painted on the coaches. One of these, in fact, was already in the postcard series and showed a LNWR 'Prince' on Shap with a heavy Scottish express. Oddly enough, even the original card had had an early aeroplane superimposed upon it to satisfy another whim and the mountainous background flattened out a bit so that the flying machine did not appear to be taking an undue risk! And so postcards were issued showing trains for the wounded on the Caledonian (an enormous l6-coach train), on the Great Central (really a five-coach Manchester express passing Gerrards Cross, but suitably adapted), on the Great Western ('Star'-hauled and recorded as Knight of the Garter but the inside-cylinder cover clearly indicates a later engine) and a Great Eastern example in which the carriages are in slightly different perspective from the 4-6-0 at their head. There were also L&YR and LB&SC ambulance trains. One other aeroplane view was dreamed up, this time showing a most unlikely looking contraption seemingly threatening a L&SWR Drummond 'Paddlebox' quietly minding its own business on a Bournemouth express. The caption claimed this to be a 'North Devon' train, but again the editors were not sufficiently discerning of the London and South Western headcodes. But this was not Rudd's responsibility. There were several other cases of wrongly captioned postcards. In a post-Grouping reprint, LPC No 120 (G 123) purports to illustrate a GER 'Boat Train' drawn by 4-4-0 No 1872. This actually shows a train leaving Cromer; the signal gantry is unique and was in use until the 1950s! Again on the GER, reprint LPC 23 (G247) claims to show a Hunstanton dining car express on Brentwood Bank. Anybody with a rudimentary knowledge of the GER map would realise that this is a major aberration. An even more blatant GER error concerns the view of a rebuilt 'TI9' 4-4-0 on Carlton Colville swing bridge over Oulton Broad South hauling a train of five six-wheelers, two with clerestory roofs. This was produced as a card showing a nine-coach dining-car train on 'Trowse swing bridge'. The original photograph appears on p819 in the Railway Magazine of December 1954. These Great Eastern errors. are hard to explain in view of the close connection between the Bell brothers and that Railway.
Some of the plates in the Wonder Book of Railways were amended, too. The well- known view of 'Claughton' 4-6-0 Lord Rathmore leaving Carlisle on an up express was reproduced as a very fine postcard (G230), but in the 6in x 8in Wonder Book picture a rural background was substituted for Carlisle station approaches and the rolling stock was updated, replacing the low arc-roofed stock with elliptical-roofed stock. The Wonder: Book also sported the beautiful picture of Caledonian 4-6-0 No 908 leaving Stirling, although with a somewhat simplified background, and the picture of 'The Southern Belle' in which the carriages are too large for the LB&SC 'Atlantic'. The LPC advertisement appearing in the railway press during 1901. 'F. Moore' was associated with the monochrome postcard prints, too. latter appeared in the postcard series, again with a modified background.
At some time too, it was obviously thought that a series of postcards of tunnels would be popular. Rudd produced two striking views of Ipswich and Shakespeare Cliff, the latter from a Budden photograph showing 'D' 4-4-0 No 730 emerging. In the others, trains had to be superimposed and, apart from the view of the Severn Tunnel showing No 4002 head-on and about to run down the artist, Rudd was not at his happiest. In the view of Woodhead Tunnel, an official photograph of a double headed up express about to enter the west portal was taken for a base. The painter not only added a down train emerging hauled by a GCR Atlantic, but replaced the two 4-4-0s on the up train so that Pollitt No 268, painted grey, piloting Parker 4-4-0 No 709 gave way to a couple of Robinson's later '11B' class. In this transformation, the driver of 709, giving the photographer an inquisitive backward glare was translated to the newer engine.
As has been pointed out, backgrounds were often modified to give a clear outline of the engine or train. This, of course, was a time-honoured practice with official photographs. In Rudd's pictures this usually resulted in an engine standing on a single line with a distant view of meadows and trees and a foreground of close-cropped grass. North Eastern engines were often shown against a wide river background. This was because engines leaving Gateshead Works were often taken to an isolated track at Jarrow Slake where they were officially photographed against a background of the Tyne estuary.
The large painting of the south end of York station showing engines of the NER, GNR, GER and Midland Railways measures 24in x 36in and is in the possession of the NRM at York. A reproduction of this picture appears in a modern picture history book dealing with railways of the North-East and was also used for a railway record sleeve. On this occasion, the artist saw fit to reverse the aspects of the up main and up platform starting signals. The original photograph showed the up platform signal at clear, presumably for the NER 4-6-0 to draw ahead so that the waiting GNR engine could come out of the bay and back down on to the train preparatory to continuing southwards. Rudd, however, has 'pulled-off what is presumably the up through signal. Mr K. Hoole kindly informs me that at the time the up main platform line ended in buffer stops between the end of the platform and Holgate Bridge .
Rudd's paintings have been used for a variety of publications. I believe that I can attribute to him 58 plates in The Locomotive Magazine and another 35 in the Railway Magazine. Of the latter, some are signed and others accredited to 'F. Moore' in the captions. There are a few that fall into neither of these categories but Rudd's hand is unmistakable. The Railway and Travel Monthly, in its comparatively short life, also produced a few colour illustrations which are almost certainly by the same hand, from the postcard-sized Great Northern rail-motor No 2 in the text to the folding plate of MR 4-4-0 No 483. There is also a nice plate of GWR 4-4-0 No 16 Brunel. Its not altogether satisfactory colour may have occurred in the printing process, but apart from a slightly woolly grass foreground it has the 'feel' of a Rudd painting.
Rudd's work, too, is seen in the colour plates of the numerous editions of The Wonder Book of Railways, probably about 40 all told, C.J. Allen's The Steel Highway and Locomotives and their Work and in books by J.R. Hind. Sixteen of the best reproductions I have seen appeared in the first edition of J.R. Howden's Locomotives of the World which came out in 1910. More recently, George Dow used three in his Great Central (pub Ian Allan Ltd) and one each for the frontispieces to The North Staffordshire Album and London Tilbury and Southend Album (both published Ian AlIan Ltd), the latter as recently as 1981, showing a comparatively unknown panorama of Southend-on-Sea station at the beginning of this century. Another rarity was the frontispiece to Sir Malcolm Barclay Harvey's History of the Great North of Scotland Railway; the prewar edition contained 'The Deeside Express'. a superbly coloured plate showing GNS 4-4-0 No 104 running fast under easy steam in a mountainous countryside.
A 'window' cover-picture appeared in 1926 in the second edition of Locomotives of the Southern showing the 'Atlantic Coast Express' leaving Waterloo behind the then new No E850 Lord Nelson while, in 1928, four of the old postcard blocks were used for J.N. Maskelyne's Locomotives of the LB&SCR 1903-24 showing the 'Terrier' 0-6-0T No 39 Denmark, 'G' Single No 332 Shanklin and 'B4' 'Scotchman' No 70 Holyrood, all in Stroudley's gamboge colour and 4-6-2T No 325 Abergavenny in the Marsh umber livery. In 1936, these all appeared again in C.F. Dendy-Marshall's History of the Southern Railway, but the highlight of this volume was the full-page picture of South Eastern Railway Sharp Roberts 2-2-2 No 13, which in its turn appeared in The Locomotive Magazine Supplement of 1913 entitled 'The First Railway in London'.
Three LNWR postcards were used as colour plates in O.S. Nock's Premier Line, published by Ian Allan Ltd in 1952 and, in 1954, three North Eastern cards were reproduced in Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway (pub Ian Allan Ltd). No fewer than eight of Rudd's pictures were used to illustrate Part 1 of the Science Museum's 1972 publication The Pre-Grouping Railways including the interesting view of Taff Vale 4-4-2T No 175 decorated for a visit by the Prince of Wales to Cardiff in 1896. A more than usually interesting subject appeared in print in 1952 when the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society used Rudd's painting of GWR Armstrong Goods engine No 700 in Part One of The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway. The engine is shown in the livery of Wolver- hampton Works in the 1880s when engines were painted in a more blue-green shade than at Swindon and lined out with black and white lines.
The above was from a photograph by R. E. Bleasdale of Warwick, one of the earliest of locomotive photographers, who 'worked' the GWR extensively in the period 1878-90. Several paintings were made from Bleasdale subjects. Other paintings were made from pioneers of moving train photography, notably Dr Tice Budden. In later years, Rudd painted extensively from the photographs of F. E. Mackay, H. Gordon Tidey and F.R. Hebron and then from the latter-day steam train photographers, such as G.R. Grigs.
Many solo-locomotive pictures were, of course, based on official photographs and, as so often happens with these, the background was already painted out so that the outline of the engine was seen to best advantage. There were many other publications that contained one or more reproductions of Rudd's work but to attempt to list more would be impracticable and tedious. I think I have cited a sufficient number of his works to indicate the variety, the quality and the quantity of his output. There were occasions when more than one painting was made of the same subject. I have in my possession an unsigned painting of Midland Compound No 1013 on a down Manchester express near Mill Hill. This is done from a photograph of F. E. Mackay's which appeared in the Railway Magazine of April 1912. From this picture a postcard was produced (G No 197) but it was decided to show the engine as originally built with a three-link coupling. The original oil painting for this is also in a private collection and is signed by the artist, no doubt as this was LPC advertisement appearing in the railway press early in 1934; the painting of Princess Royal probably was the last by Thomas Rudd to be published for general sale.
painted for LPC. On my copy the engine is seen exactly as in the Mackay photograph having a screw coupling and with the addition of splash guards to protect the bogie when a leading engine was picking up water at speed.
It appears also that three pictures were painted of GER 4-6-0 No 1500. In each the perspective shows a slightly different angle which seems to indicate that a series of official photographs was taken. Rudd painted very slightly different views for The Locomotive Magazine plate used in the issue of March 1912 and for the Jubilee number of The Great Eastern Railway Magazine. I believe that the former was used for the com- posite 'Ambulance' train postcard. Mr Goffey draws my attention to the pop- ularity of the Great Western engine Caerphilly Castle when new, of which paint- ings were made for several customers. The official three-quarters view was made into one of the later postcards, (G No 302), while the broadside view formed the largest picture of a composite plate issued with The Children's Pictorial for 31 October 1925 in connection with the Railway Centenary celebrations. The folding plate contained 14 coloured reproductions purporting to illustrate the historical development of the steam locomotive.
In 1913, the LPC produced a novelty in the form of 72 coloured adhesive stamps of railway scenes. They comprised six sheets of 12 perforated pictures, each picture measuring 1½in x 2¼in. Most were signed 'F. Moore' and all had the appearance of being from originals by Rudd. They formed a delightful set of miniature gems of colour reproduction and only 10 were smaller versions of postcards or (so far as can be traced) other publications. Although so small the pictures of Liverpool St, Cannon St and Fenchurch St stations were redolent with 'atmosphere', as were the pictures of a Midland '800' 2-4-0, a Beattie 2-4-0T on a train (though one wonders whether this engine should have been brown rather than green), the Ealing to Shoeburyness corridor express and numerous foreign views. Among the last one sees the 'Vienna Express' about to leave Ostend in charge of a Belgian inside-cylinder 2-4-2, a view that appeared at least as early as 1904 in the Knight series of colour-printed monochrome cards where it was called 'The St Petersburg Express'.
Rudd also produced the originals for two important series of cigarette cards, 75 for Lambert and Butler's in 1911-13 and 50 for Wills' in 1924. Neither was his work confined to railway subjects and it is known that he was responsible for a series of coloured pictures for the Cunard Steamship company and for certain motor manufacturers.
To conclude this account, some idea of the scope of Rudd's work should be attempted. I have so far catalogued 626 separate railway subjects, some of which have been reproduced more than once. This figure excludes the cigarette cards. As might be expected, some railways tended to receive more attention that others; thus there were 57 GWs, 51 GNs, 40 LNWs, 37 LBSC and 30 Midland subjects. At the other end of the scale, only four G&SWR subjects have turned up, five Highland and two GNSR. The other Scottish lines fare rather better with 23 Caledonian and 15 NB subjects. In England, there are 28 NERs, 14 LSWRs and 15 SE&CRs. The smaller lines are not forgotten: there are three H&B, five Furness, seven LT&S, five Metropolitan, two Somerset & Dorset, four NSR, three NLR and six M&GN pictures. The whole of Ireland produces only five, but among the miscellaneous subjects are seven RH&DR and six Eskdale postcards. I have also catalogued 42 overseas and 35 post-Grouping subjects.
Since my letter on the subject of railway postcards appeared in the correspondence columns of Railway World in July 1983 I have received from readers numerous replies which have led to a voluminous correspondence of a very fruitful nature. Acknowledgement to some of these correspondents has been made in the text but, in addition, I should like to thank D.S.M. Barrie, Brian Dobbie, D.J.W. Brough, George Dow, G.R. Grigs, J.E. Kite, A.B. MacLeod, H.C.B. Rogers, L. Ward, K. Hoole, C. Bayes, M. Lewis and E. Eades for taking the trouble to write (in some cases on several occasions), lend material or meet me to discuss the subject. Not least must I thank members of the staff of the Science Museum and the National Railway Museum who have gone out of their way to be helpful in allowing me to examine their numerous original paintings.
Illustrations: Waiter Bell, who died on 18 September 1938 aged 64, awas the third of the Bell brothers involved with LPC, and was probably instrumental in establishing Thomas Rudd's association with the Company. W.J. Bell is seen in front of 'A4' Pacific No 2512 Silver Fox at the LNER's Romford Exhibition on 6 June 1936. (E.R. Wethersett); Cornwall, LNWR. a good example, but one of only some half-dozen, showing a solo locomotive against an untouched background. Published by LPC  (black & white); Lancashire and Yorkshire express on Walkden troughs in 1900. painted from a photograph by Tice Budden, one of the earliest photographers of moving trains. (a group of men working on the nearside line has been 'eliminated' in this Tuck 'Oilette' production: black & white); GWR 'Bulldog' of the early curved-frame series passing along the sea front at Dawlish. A Valentine production signed 'F.M.(black & white);/On the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, USA. one of the most spectacular scenes ever portrayed, showing a train climbing the 1 in 25 grade in the charge of four engines. Published by LPC (black & white); One of the less happy LPC productions with an 'unlikely looking contraption' threatening an LSWR Drummond Paddlebox (black & white); Watford Tunnel, LNWR; a blatant example of a train being superimposed on to the view of the tunnel. The 'Precursor' looks as if it is making a hurried scramble for the correct track before being seen! Published by LPC; A GER express hauled by a rebuilt 'T19' engine on Carlton Colville swing-bridge over Oulton Broad. Adapted from a photograph showing a train of five six-wheeled coaches. Repeated editions of this postcard have wrongly described the location as Trowse swing-bridge. Published by LPC (black & white)

Number 536 (December 1984)

M.J. Cruttenden. Changing times on the Brighton Railway. 635-7
Industrial relations during the 1870s when demonstrations were oragnized in Brighton by the workforce. imed at reduced working hours. Porrtraits of Samuel Laing, Chairman; Allen Sarle, company Secretary and Stroudley. Also mentions John Peake Knight, Traffic Manager and Evan Cameron head of the carriage & wagon department

Michael Harris. Bigger is beautiful: the Severn Valley Railway in 1984. 638