 |
Journal of the Railway & Canal Historical Society 2013 Key file for access to Journal Note: this year's Issues lack continuous pagination |
British Railways poster, Whitby (Michael Aufrere Williams collection). front cover
Tim Edmonds. Not on Beeching's List. 2-6.
Railway closures which took place after the
Beeching report, but were not contained
withiin it. Services identified and tabulated include: Johnston-Neyland;
Blackpool South-Blackpool Central (Blackpool North originally scheduled,
but Blackpool did a deal with Britsh Rail for redevelopment as a coach park),
Toton-Fawley, Newport-on-Tay-Tayport, Kirham-Blackpool South, Oxford-Bletchley
& Bedford-Cambridge (partially reopened and paper railway for latter),
Alnmouth-Alnwick (preservation inactivity), Falkirk-Grangemouth (open for
freight), Larbert-Alloa;, Scotswoiod-Prudhoe, Cheltenham Spa-Straford-upon-Avon,
Matlock-Chinley, King's Lynn-Derham, King's Lynn-Wisbech-March, Ayr-Heads
of Ayr (holiday camp summer service), Dunfermline Lower-Alloa-Stirling,
Leuchars-St. Andrews, Eastleigh-Romsey, King's Lynn-Hunstanton,
Wormit-Newport-on-Tay East, Thornton Jumction-Leven, Wymondham-Derham,
Cowdenbeath-Kinross-Perth, Hadfield--Penistone, Kidderminster-Bewdley,
Colne-Skipton, High Wycombe-Bourne End, Poulton-le-Fylde-Fleetwood,
Bolton-Bury-Castleton, Wareham-Swanage, Birmingham Snow Hill-Wolverhampton
Low Level, Crediton-Okehampton, Paignton-Kingswear (transfer to Dart Valley
Railway), Morecambe-Heysham Harbour, March-Spalding, Sheffield-Penistone
(service diverted via Barnsley), Stratford-Tottenham Hale, Dalston Junction-Broad
Street, Elmers End-Addiscombe (replaced by Croydon Tramlink), Wimbledon-West
Croydon (replaced by Croydon Tramlink), North Woolwich-Stratford Low Level
(replaced by DVLR)
Allan Brackenbury. A review of the Beeching era.
7-20.
It is fifty years since The
Reshaping of British Railways was published in March 1963. Commonly known
as the 'Beeching report', after its author Dr Richard Beeching, Chairman
of the British Railways Board, it is remembered chiefly for its proposal
to close 2363 passenger stations and withdraw all services from about 5000
route miles. Most of these closures took place during the succeeding decade.
In fact the report proposed savings estimated at up to £147 million
per annum, and withdrawal of passenger and local freight services would save
only 28% of this figure. Some of the other activities that were planned to
produce significant savings included continuing locomotive conversion from
steam to diesel, introduction of 'Liner' trains, concentration of 'sundries
traffic at about 100 main depots, and attracting extra freight traffic to
rail. But it was the list of passenger closures that received most comment
when the report was published, and subsequently. This is because there had
been several leaks to the press while the report was being assembled, making
people aware that mass closures were in prospect, so little attention was
given to other aspects of the report. When the railways were nationalised
in 1948, to become one of the largest organisations in the country, with
648,740 staff, it was placed under the control of civil servants who had
no experience of running a business and little knowledge of the rail industry.
One result was that rail managers, who wanted to raise funds for new projects
or for repairing war damage, had to obtain prior approval from the government
which had many other demands on its finances. If consent was given, usually
British Railways (BR) had to borrow the funds and thus pay interest whether
it made a profit or loss on the projects. This is reminiscent of the outmoded
method of financing turnpike trusts. BR paid its way until 1952, but then
losses arose, increasingly. Under the accountancy system in use, for 1961
there was an operating loss of £86.9m and a further £49m interest
and central charges had to be paid. In order to reduce these losses and introduce
modern management techniques into BR, Ernest Marples, the Minister of Transport,
brought in Dr Beeching from outside the industry. His 'Reshaping' report
showed how he intended to alter the rail industry; it concluded 'If the whole
plan is implemented with vigour, much of the Railways' deficit should be
eliminated by 1970'. As soon as the report was issued, the government said
that they accepted it. Perhaps in truth they accepted just its negative aspects,
as they were more intent on developing the motorway network than in helping
the rail industry. Indeed it may have been that it was government policy
to reduce the railway system drastically. The Transport Act 1962 had already
made it easier to close passenger railways and it was enacted in time for
use with the Beeching proposals. As Dr Beeching was in charge of BR at the
time, he has come to be regarded as wholly responsible for the reduction.
The Appendix to the Reshaping report listed 266 passenger services to be
withdrawn and a further 71 to be 'modified'. Also 56 services were already
under consideration for withdrawal before the formulation of the report.
The total of 2363 stations and halts scheduled for closure included 435 already
under consideration and 235 of these had closed already. It is easy to criticise
the detail of the report. For example, the map did not always agree with
the narrative, odd stations were omitted, and in an inter-regional service
one region listed its stations for closure, but the other region did not.
But these are incidental and petty. More worthwhile criticism is of the choice
of services to be withdrawn. Southport was to lose all but one of its services;
the survivor was the line to Wigan, which included stations serving small
rural communities. How could the busy Liverpool electric line make a loss
yet not the line to Wigan? And how was it that the other electric line to
Liverpool Exchange (from Ormskirk) was not also regarded as loss-making?
It is possible that a line such as Liverpool-Southport was included in the.
list in order to hit the headlines, and divert people's attention from other
lines of lower profile which could thus be closed with less opposition. A
similar case is the electric service from Manchester to Bury, which was on
the closure list, (where an awkward motorway bridge would have been avoided
if it had closed) but the lesser route through Bury, from Bolton to Rochdale,
was not. The former was reprieved due to the strength of the opposition;
the latter was added to the list subsequently closed.
John Kennedy. Measuring the impact of the Beeching Axe.
21-32.
Maps and tables show the extent of the devastation and their effect
on the Townend Index: a material deprivation index.
Michael Aufrere Williams. The Whitby-Loftus line: 'a more spectacular
example of a loss-making branch would be hard to find'. Is this really the
case? 33-46.
Closed on 5 May 1958; opened 3 December 1883. Concludes that closure
was justified. The line featured very high viaducts across coastal ravines
and tunnels, one of which was too close to a cliff edge
Joseph Boughey. Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth and waterways
development. 47-51.
Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth
(1844-1939) was a politician who had chaired a Royal Commission on canals
which reported in 1911. In 1938 Leslie Bulgin, Chamberlain's Minister
of Transport was sent to visit Shuttlewoth at Barbon Manor near Kirby Lonsdale.
Shuttleworth had continued tto be interested in canals, but there was no
real action in spite of what the Manchester Ship Canal had achieved and the
limited investment in Yorkshire in association with the transport of coal.
Shuttleworth considered that the railway ownership of most of the canals
had blighted development and suggested transferring ownership to another
body.
Eric Sutherland Lomax (member no. 120). 52
Obituary : died 10 October 2012. Experience as Japanese slave labour
on the Burma Railway told in the award winning The Railway man. Gives
emphasis to his book collection which had included much material on Bradshaw
(he had hoped to produce a work on him) and the material salvaged from the
former Caledonian Railway headquarters building in Glasgow.
Correspondence. 53-6
Early locomotives on American banknotes. Paul Reynolds.
Reviews. 57-72
The Peak Forest Canal and Railway: an engineering and
business history. Grahame Boyes and Brian Lamb. Lincoln:
Railway & Canal Historical Society, 2012, 220 pp, 113 pictures (including
8 coloured), 14 diagrams, 19 maps, 24 tables, 9 appendices, hardback, Reviewed
by Derek Brumhead.
Many persons are acknowledged as contributing to this book, but it
chiefly stems from the pioneering work of Brian Lamb, who died in 2007. In
the early 1960s, Brian made a study ofthe canal and particularly the Bugsworth
Basin, taking many photographs, a number of which have been reproduced in
this book. His texts and maps are today of great historical interest and
constantly referred to. Brian is therefore included, unusually, as a posthumous
author and quite correctly so
The book is profusely illustrated with previously unpublished or little seen
illustrative material including old and new photographs, modem and historic
maps and plans and some coloured 19th century prints. Particularly, the
cartography is outstanding in its layout and colour coding. The text is
highlighted by informative sub-headings and the use of bold type face, while
the extended captions to the photographs and maps are particularly to be
commended. There are also various supporting tables and graphs. There is
an attractive two column format varied by half or full page photographs,
maps and diagrams, and further variety is given with inserts of coloured
text boxes with details of some of the leading persons involved in the
establishment and operation of the canal.
The thirteen chapters are carefully referenced by endnotes (there are 430)
many of which are extended beyond the usual bare source details (useful for
future researchers) and there are additional footnotes of more general interest.
The range and quality of the source material is impressive. The chapters
covers all the aspects of the financing, building, operation and maintenance
of the canal, the limestone and stone trade, the principal features of the
canal including eight pages on the Todd Brook and Combs reservoirs, the impact
of railways, Bugsworth Basin and the operation of the Peak Forest Railway.
Boyes explains the use ofthe term 'railway' instead of the more commonly
used 'tramway', which is still used in certain circumstances. The chapters
end with a consideration of the canal's decline and revival in the last century.
The many books on the canal and railway going back to the 1920s are recognised
in the bibliography. These include the recent successful three volumes by
the late Olive Bowyer of New Mills Local History Society. But the most important
new research will be found in websites (many have picture galleries) and
publications such as Archive, the Derbyshire Archaeological
Journal, the RCHS Journal (thirteen articles by Lamb), and
particularly in 174 (formerly Onward) the outstanding newsletter
of the Inland Waterways Protection Society whose members have spent over
forty years restoring the Bugsworth Basin.
This book is a triumph of writing, editing and publication and many will
wish it to grace their bookshelves
The Lynton Barnstaple Railway measured and drawn: the
railway and its archaeology. Stephen D Philips. Hartlebury: SD
Publications, 2012. 262pp, 250 pages of diagrams plans, 45 bw photos,
hardback.
The Lynton and Barnstaple was a well engineered, picturesque failure
of an enterprise that has commanded considerable literature over the years.
The 19¼ mile narrow gauge line was built in 1898 to the highest contemporary
standards. Uneconomic from the first, it reluctantly conceded its independence
just prior to Grouping and was upgraded by the Southern Railway, only to
succumb in the last months of Sir Herbert Walker's pragmatic regime. It closed
in 1935 to an outpouring of sentimentality that was later to save far less
worthy candidates. Sometimes one can be surprised by the contents of a book
after reading its title, but this one delivers what it says on the cover
with rare style and panache. The author argues from his love of the art that
our understanding of the past owes much to the draughtsman and his work in
a way not possible by photography alone. He modestly claims that his work
is a collection of drawings but this book surpasses this expectation. The
depth of research and the draughtsmanship of the huge number of drawings
and diagrams are outstanding and his artist's eye bring a charm to its
presentation that equals the railway it celebrates. Conventional histories
cover the usual legal, political and economic aspects of the railway and
often add drawings to meet modeller's needs. This one turns this concept
on its head to become a definitive physical history of the line. Indeed if
you wished to reconstruct the railway in its entirety, and some do, it is
all here. Not only the rolling stock and buildings, but the esoteric detail.
Where else would you find such beautifully rendered drawings of, amongst
many other items, the wrought iron platform gates at Barnstaple Town, a carriage
compartment interior (a sorely neglected area of railway research), a
three-dimensional locomotive backplate, rail bearing plates, a weir bridge
and a headlamp maker's plate? Self designed and published by the author,
and printed to the highest standards by the Amadeus Press, it is expensive.
This is, though, one of the most enterprising, innovative and thoroughly
researched books on any rai Iway that one could wish to have.
An illustrated history of the Port of King's Lynn and
its railways, Mike G. Fell . Clophill,: Irwell Press,
2012. 112pp, 175 illustrations, 13 maps and plans, paperback,
Reviewed by Tony Kirby
Although in his Preface the author disclaims any intention of writing
a definitive history of the port of Lynn, his book goes a long way towards
providing this. The main focus is on the docks (the Alexandra of 1869 and
the Bentinck of 1883) and their associated rail connections, but these are
well-placed in the context of the earlier 'Harbour Quays' on the River Ouse
and the deleterious effect on the port's trade of the arrival of the railway
in 1846/7. But in the end the railways proved Lynn's salvation: the GER,
although eventually responsible for operation of the Docks branch, was not
greatly interested (it already had access to the Harbour), but for the MR
and GNR the port offered a much-needed East Coast outlet via the M&GN
and gave Lynn a new hinterland in the East Midlands to replace that it had
lost in the Ouse basin. The book concentrates on the port's infrastructure:
the dock basins themselves, cranage, warehousing and dredging. It benefits
from the author's managerial experience as Assistant Docks Manager 1979-83
and Port Manager 1984-87. Trade is less fully covered, other than in the
post-war years, although much information on earlier trade patterns can be
gained from the lengthy and informative captions that accompany a splendid
and well-reproduced selection of photographs (although that on page 34 is
of Lowestoft station, not Lynn). There is also a useful selection of biographies
of the men involved in creating and developing the docks. The book ends on
a rather sad note, with the withdrawal of the railway from involvement in
the docks in 1993, in spite of the author's efforts to encourage rail traffic,
even to the extent of hiring wagons from the German firm VTG for new freight
flows when BR were reluctant to do so. Excellent value and thoroughly
recommended.
10.08 Alloa-Larbert train (railbus) crosses 'the other Forth Bridge' at Alloa
on 27 January 1968: the last day of passenger service on the line (Peter
Cross-Rudkin) . rear cover, (top)
Extract from Map No. 9 of 'The Reshaping of British Railways' (the Beeching
report). rear cover (bottom)
Number 217 (July 2013)
Penny Watts-Russell. Travelling steam: Pascoe Grenfell and the Great Western Railway. 10-20.
Joseph Boughey. Transport modes and conversions: a general essay.
21-7.
Conversions from railways to long distance footpaths and cycleways;
from tramroads to railways
John Herbert Boyes (1914-2013). Gordon Biddle. 44
Obituary: John Boyes was one of our oldest members in both senses.
He joined the R&CHS shortly after its formation in 1954 and was secretary
of the London Group in the early days. He died on 6 May 2013 at the age of
98. The Society was represented by six members at his funeral at the North
Chingford Methodist Church, where he was a lay preacher. He was born in Guildford
and brought up in Coventry, where he attended Bablake School and Coventry
Technical College. He was then employed in the Coventry Public Health Department,
a job that included inspection of canal boats at Hawkesbury Stop. He saw
war service in the RAMC but, when discharged on medical grounds, he was appointed
in 1942 as one of HM Inspectors of Factories. This took him to Salford, where
his district included the Manchester Docks, part of the Ship Canal and the
Bridgewater Canal, and to Tyneside, which again included the docks. He was
awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977 before retiring in 1979.
John inherited an interest in railways from his father, who had been apprenticed
at the Hunslet Engine Company at Leeds. His daily walk to school through
the Coventry Canal wharf, which was then busy with commercial traffic, was
also an early influence. However, his interests were much wider, embracing
the whole field of the history of technology. At the end of a personal profile
that Joseph Boughey asked him to write for the Waterways History Research
Group in 1999 he wrote In conclusion, if there is one thing my research has
taught me, it is that, even in transport history, none of history can be
studied in complete isolation. There must be a multi-disciplinary approach,
otherwise blinkered vision provides a distorted image of the subject. Perhaps
this should be incorporated in a vision statement for the R&CHS.
Not surprisingly he became a leading member of the Newcomen Society, serving
as bulletin editor and a member of council from 1977 to 1994. He was a frequent
lecturer on industrial history and archaeology, which led to him being elected
at different times as president of the Essex Congress of History &
Archaeology, the Lee & Stort Rivers Society (before it became a branch
of the IWA), and the Great London Industrial Archaeology Society. He was
also for several years a committee member of the SPAB Wind & Watermill
Society. He was honoured with the award of the first Rolt Memorial Fellowship
at Bath University, undertaking research on the Lee and Stort Navigations.
He wrote extensively on a variety of subjects, including for the Society's
Road Transport Group. But he will be remembered by R&CHS members chiefly
for his important contributions to canal history, including: Canals of
Eastern England (with Ronald Russell; David & Charles, 1977); 'Inland
waterways', in An encyclopaedia of the history of technology (Routledge,
1990); 'The River Lea and the Lee Navigation: ten centuries of engineering
and engineers' in Engineers and engineering: papers of the Rolt Fellows (Bath
University, 1996); and articles on canal engineers in the Biographical
dictionary of the history of technology (Routledge, 1996). Of his
contributions to the Society's Journal, his article on 'The penumbra of the
Regents Canal explosion' in the March 1977 issue is of particular interest,
illustrating how important topics in transport history can be illuminated
from unexpected sources. For those who knew him, it will perhaps be his personal
attributes that are remembered most of all. As one member has written, 'John
Boyes was the sweetest, nicest man ever'.
Reviews. 47-
Railways before George Stephenson: a study of the
waggonways in the Northern coalfield 1605-1830. Les Tumbull. Oxford:
Chapman Research Publishing, 2012. 172pp, Reviewed by Michael Lewis.
52
Tyneside has been called the cradle of railways, and a detailed study
down to 1830, fuller and more up-to-date than reviewer's Early Wooden
Railways (1970) and much wider in coverage than Bennett, Clavering and
Rounding's A Fighting Trade (1990), is entirely welcome. Turnbull
offers an overview of the region's coal trade and the waggonways that served
it, as well as valuable 'studies in depth' which unravel as much as possible
ofthe complex histories of selected examples. There are many splendid
reproductions in colour (sometimes garish) of contemporary maps, and nine
specially-drawn maps, much the best to have appeared to date, of the whole
'system'. If one wants a detailed account of the Killingworth way, for example,
or the waggonways of Blyth, this is the book to consult.
That said, however, there are serious drawbacks. There is no context. To
the author, the north-east was the origin of everything of significance in
early railway history, yet he makes no attempt to justify his claims by
comparison with other regions. He seems unaware, for instance, that by 1830
the railway map of South Wales was arguably more impressive than that of
the north-east. His statement that the iron railway developed on Tyneside
can hardly be sustained. Contrary to normal practice, he reserves the term
'plateway' for flat plates laid on top of wooden rails. While this has some
local justification (although here such plates were never-cast-iron as he
thinks), to say that in 1808 the Wylam waggonway was relaid as a plateway
is confusing. His date of 1597-8 for rails at Wollaton has long since been
disproved.
For all its undoubtedly deep research, too, this is a frustrating book to
use. It has no index as such, nor even a list of abbreviations. It is deplorably
badly annotated, references to sources being so sporadic that information
can rarely be checked or pursued. Its usefulness lies in the detail of individual
waggon-ways rather than in its contribution to the regional, let alone the
national, picture.
Bristol's stage coaches. Dorian Gerhold. East Knoyle, Salisbury:
Hobnob Press, 2012. 326pp, Reviewed by Peter Brown. 52.
Bristol's first recorded stage coach service to London was in 1657,
taking three days for the 120 mile journey. By the mid 1750s all the services
took only two days. Average journey speeds increased from about 4mph to 7mph
between then and 1780, then stayed reasonably constant until the 1820, when
they started to increase again, reaching about 8½ mph by the mid 1830s,
enabling the journey to be achieved in 13 to 15 hours. The growth in the
frequency of service also stagnated between 1780 and 1820. Although Bristol's
first regional coach was recorded in 1701, the network really started developing
in the last third of the 18th century, and continued to grow steadily in
the first third of the 19th century. By the end of the period, speeds equalled
those of the London coaches.
The author doesn't only describe what happened; he explains why it happened,
and compares the Bristol and national experiences. Thus we learn of the
inter-relation between road improvements as a result ofturnpiking, lighter
coaches with the development of metal springs, and the breeding of horses
for speed as much as strength. Everything is grounded in the economics of
coaching, particularly the optimum deployment of horses, the provender for
which accounted for about half of all costs. This strongly influenced how
the businesses were financed and managed.
Inevitably there is some duplication with the author's previous 'RCHS Book
of the Year', Carriers and Coachmasters: trade and travel before the
turnpikes, but the new book continues the story through the turnpike
era to the coming of the railways. The text is clearly written with sources
referenced, and there is an index. The book is excellent value for money,
and is of much wider interest than its title might imply. It is an important
addition to the history of passenger transport.
William Dean: the greatest of them all. Jeremy
Clements. Corhampton, Southampton: Noodle Books, 2012. 228pp, Reviewed
by Kevin Jones. page 53
Dean was in charge of locomotives on the Great Western during the
transition from the broad gauge, when the design for which was limited to
that convertible to standard gauge. The introductory material makes it clear
that the book began as an appreciation of the Dean Goods 0-6-0 and was extended
to become a more general study of Dean and his locomotive designs. The Dean
Goods were certainly excellent locomotives. The story of how the Ivatt Class
2 2-6-0 failed to perform as well as the Dean Goods is a long-standing legend
which was succinctly related in John G Gibson's
Great Western locomotive design: a critical appreciation (not
listed in the bibliography); Clements's account is less clear.
Nevertheless, it is a very dubious claim that Dean was 'the greatest of them
all' as there were several skeletons in his cupboard, most of which are unearthed
by Clements. Too many designs were prone to derailment. On the other hand
Dean was well aware of the need to study materials, and Clements in this
respect does withstand scrutiny against the superb
Early railway chemistry and its
legacy by Russell and Hudson.
It is a pity that more space is not given to the Achilles class of 4-2-2
locomotives as these were capable of very fast running with light trains.
Rather more attention is paid to the Duke class of 4-4-0, the boilers of
which soldiered on into British Railways days with Bulldog frames.
Most of the photographs are beautifully reproduced, but there is insufficient
linkage between text and illustrations. Ellis's Twenty Locomotive Men (1958)
is a serious omission from the bibliography, and it is suspected that some
published material on Dean's experimental designs had not been consulted.
Some illustrations are of questionable relationship to the central theme:
pictures of ambulance cars and Belgian freight locomotives, for instance.
A book of this length demanded an index.
Jeremy Clements was co-author with Michael McMahon of the excellent history
of locomotives of the Great Southern Railway (2008): sadly this work falls
short of that standard.
Peter Paye. The Aldeburgh branch. Usk:
Oakwood Press, 2012. 320pp. 170 illustrations. Reviewed by Richard Tyson.
pages 56-7.
When the railway from Ipswich to Beccles was opened in 1859 one of
its branches was to Leiston. The engineering works of Richard Garrett there
provided most of the goods traffic for the branch even when extended to Aldeburgh
in 1860. The station at Thorpeness opened in 1914. Today the line survives
as far as Sizewell Siding for nuclear flask traffic. The layout follows the
usual Oakwood format, the length of the book and the bibliography on the
last page indicating the great amount of technical and local information
brought together by Peter Paye.
Robert Western. The Kendal & Windermere Railway:
gateway to the Lakes. Usk: Oakwood Press, 240pp, 79 photographs,
12 maps, 16 timetables, 2012, Reviewed by David Pedley. Page 57
Reviewer anticipated this would be a little book about a little line
where little happened. In fact it starts with the involvement of Kendal in
determining the route of the West Coast Main Line (where a map of the larger
area would have been useful), and it goes into great detail about the manoeuvres
to set up the railway to Windermere. Every working detail, including serial
timetable changes, are noted both before and after the inevitable takeover
by the LNWR. The author concedes a less eventful history after the loss of
independence, but workings and physical changes are all fully recorded. Later
in the century the change of atmosphere, where big companies were now
predominant, led to the rejection by Parliament of a new line to Ambleside.
This book is a model of its kind, with a beginning and a middle (no end,
because the line is still open), helpful subject headings and even notes
to OS maps. There are pictures of stations, locomotives, rolling stock and
tracks, details of excursions, and social commentary. If I was looking for
an omission, it would be of details of running powers which would appear
to have been exercised over the line. However, the coverage is so comprehensive
that there seems no likelihood of the need for a second edition. Good value
on a relatively unpromising subject.
Derby days: memories of a Midland railwayman.
John Weston. Usk: Oakwood Press, 2012. 208pp, Reviewed by William
Featherstone. page 58
Many autobiographical accounts by railwaymen are just that: the story
of their life on the railways. This is not a major criticism of such books,
but it is one of the real strengths of the work under review that it is a
true autobiography - from first memories at the age of three to his 2007
cab ride to celebrate the 70th anniversary of his start on the railway, the
whole of this nonagenarian's life is described, fluently and lucidly.
There is, nevertheless, a strong core to the book, and a substantial theme,
a moral philosophy, running through it. The core, the focus of 23 of the
31 short chapters, is the author's progressive railway education from Cleaner
to Driver. The theme, present from first days as an agricultural labourer,
is the perpetual conflict between management/owner and worker/unionist. A
steadfast Christian, Mr Walker sees faults on both sides, and, although an
involved ASLEF member and advocate for many years, experienced no difficulty
in becoming part of the management team in the latter part of his career.
There are few criticisms: the author perhaps rushes through his driving career
rather too cursorily; there are many interesting and well produced illustrations
but some lack specific connection to the author, and there seems little reason
why the comment on the Midland Compounds has been relegated to the single
appendix. These comments do not detract from an enjoyable and interesting
book. Many other books have been devoted to Derby Works and its products
but much less to the important depots at Derby and the men who worked there
- a gap which this book will go some way to fill.
Victorian Preston and the Whittingham Hospital
Railway. David Hindle. Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2012. 128pp.
Reviewed by Richard Coulthurst. page 58
This book was published to mark the 2012 Preston Guild festivities
which are held every 20 years. It commences with a brief examination of the
social, cultural and economic aspects of the city in the latter part of the
19th century, before moving on to the history of the Preston and Longridge
Railway (P&LR) which became a joint line ofthe LNWR and L&YR. However,
the majority of the book is taken up with the Whittingham Hospital Railway
which joined the P&LR at Grimsargh.
Whittingham Hospital was one of a number of very large 'asylums' in this
part of Lancashire, and accommodated over 3,000 patients at its peak as well
as providing work for hundreds of staff. The railway, which opened in 1889,
was needed for the transport of coal and other supplies to the hospital in
the days before the motor lorry as well as conveying staff and visitors.
A notable feature of the line was that it was free of charge to all passengers.
The shuttle service to Grimsargh continued until the line's closure in 1957
although the P&LR passenger service had ceased in 1930.
The author, who worked at the hospital for a time, has written a very readable
and entertaining account ofthe line. The book is well illustrated and includes
some reminiscences of people who remembered the line in operation. There
is a short bibliography but no index.
The GWR Bristol to Taunton Line. Colin G. Maggs. Stroud: Amberley
Publishing, 2013. 192pp, Reviewed by Peter Brown. pages 58-9
The main line of the Bristol & Exeter Railway was opened to Bridgwater
in 1841 and to Taunton the following year. Initially leased to the GWR, in
1849 it assumed full control of its own affairs. It amalgamated with the
GWR in 1876. After a brief introduction to the Bristol & Exeter's promotion
and construction, the history of the line is described in detail, starting
with the complex development of Temple Meads Station at Bristol, and then
working south-west. Of particular interest are the original branch to
Weston-super-Mare with its horse-drawn passenger service, the abortive proposal
for a branch to a harbour at Brean Down, the short Dunball Wharf Branch,
the floods in the Somerset levels, and the successive rebuilding of Taunton
station. The subjects of the following chapters include locomotives, sheds,
train services, track and signalling, staff, and accidents and mishaps. A
final chapter describes a daring mail robbery in 1849.
Despite its title (and despite the cover picture of an LMS-designed locomotive
at Yatton) this book concentrates on the 19th century, particularly on the
Bristol & Exeter days. Indeed, a special strength is the number and range
of Broad Gauge era photographs, including two of an accident in 1852.
Regrettably, the quality of reproduction is not as good as some other publishers
achieve.
Hassop 150. Glynn Waite. Dronfield : Pynot Publishing, 2012.
50pp. Reviewed by William Featherstone. page 59
This book was published by the Rowsley Association to mark the 150th
anniversary of the opening of Hassop station, situated on the Midland Railway
main line through the Peak District, on 1 August 1862. Since the station
closed to passengers under the blackout of wartime just 80 years later (the
goods yard survived until 1964), few will know more than its being the site
of a range of lineside topiary which also survived into the 1960s. In this
thorough and well researched book, aided by the many rare and interesting
illustrations, the author shows that this remote and lonely outpost has much
more to tell the reader. For nearly two years it was a terminus station with
four through trains to London in each direction. If that was the zenith of
its life, the opening of the more convenient Grindleford station, on the
Dore and Chinley line in 1894, marked the start of its decline. Detailed
service and traffic information adds to this comprehensive treatment, but
it is the exhaustive and informative listing of station and lineside staff
which will prove a lasting research resource. The turnover and mobility of
even the most junior 'machine youth' comes as a surprise. This is a useful
and competitively priced contribution to railway history.
Pleasure steamers. Andrew Gladwell. Botley, Oxford: Shire
Publications, 2013. 64pp, Reviewed by Joseph Boughey. page 59
This short book describes the development of pleasure steamer services
on estuaries, coastal seas and Scottish lochs. It does not cover English
lakes, canals or inland rivers, bar the River Dart. There must be overlap
with the history of commercial passenger services, but there is little about
this, while there is less focus on the kinds and construction of the vessels
themselves. Those limitations aside, this is a well-produced account of pleasure
steamers. Coverage begins in the early 19th century on the Clyde, follows
general development through the Edwardian heyday and then on to the period
of decline after the 1950s, shown by the last major vessel launch in 1953.
The transition to preservation, with the very small number of surviving steamers
like Waverley and Balmoral and their services, is usefully discussed.
As with other Shire publications, the text is succinct but does not directly
cite sources, bar a bibliography. The illustrations are generally welJ-produced;
these include tickets, posters, brochures and onboard views, which provide
strong impressions of excur- sionist experience. Many photographs seem to
be in monochrome that has been hand-coloured, which look somewhat glazed
but convey the period; more recent views are less frequent. Overall, this
provides an excelJent summary of history — readable and concise.
The TUBE: station to station on the London Underground. Oliver
Green. Botley, Oxford: Shire Publications, 2013. 120pp, Reviewed
by Warwick Burton. page 59
This handsome and well illustrated little book is in two parts. The
first is a succinct but comprehensive history of the lines which make up
the London Underground: the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District's beginnings
in the 1860s and the former's extensions into 'Metroland; the City &
South London's tube line, followed by six more by 1907; the bringing together
of these disparate lines by London Transport in 1933; the extensions further
into the suburbs, including taking over some main line suburban railways
after World War II; and bringing the story right up to date with the Victoria,
Jubilee and Docklands lines. A series of maps show the development of the
system and of the current Underground map. There are plenty of photographs
of examples of the best of Victorian, inter-war and modem stations, as welJ
as historic posters. The second half of the book is a description of journeys
on a seven selected lines of particular historic interest; there is a brief
history and then a description of each line station by station, picking out
the best architectural examples with suitable illustrations. This book will
appeal to anybody who wants a short and highly readable guide to the Underground
network, whether they be railway historians, visitors or Londoners themselves.
Highly recommended.
The steam locomotive: an engineering history. Ken
Gibb. Stroud: Amberley, 2012. 256pp. Reviewed by Kevin Jones. page
60
The author served an apprenticeship at Swindon Works and has been
associated with locomotive preservation. It is stated that the material had
been gathered from previously published material which appeared in magazines,
but the sources are not cited. The content is very varied. There is much
useful information of a practical natur e which includes the casting of cylinders
and other locomotive components. There are sections on braking systems, on
the Swindon stationary test plant, on manufacturing locomotive wheels, axleboxes,
valve gears, frame types, pressure gauges, limiting factors, materials, and
on safety valves, including the Ross pop type, not much used at Swindon.
Somewhat surprisingly, there is a brief pictorial survey of North American
steam designs. The trouble is that the compilation is utterly lacking in
comprehensive/comprehensible navigation. There is no index and only a weak
contents listing. Picture quality is variable between adequate and poor:
some of the photographs of Swindon Works have a Dickensian quality which
one suspects was not intended. There are some errors in the text, most seriously
'Crompton' rather than 'Crampton' in one place. Given some extra navigation
it could have been a useful reference book.
Hassop 150, Glynn Waite 50pp, 63 illustrations,
7 maps & plans, sofiback, Dronfield: Pynot Publishing, Reviewed by
William Featherstone. page 60
Published by the Rowsley Association to mark 150th anniversary of
opening of Hassop station, situated on the Midland Railway main line through
the Peak District, on 1 August 1862. Since the station closed to passengers
under the blackout of wartime just 80 years later (the goods yard survived
until 1964), few will know more than its being the site of a range of lineside
topiary which also survived into the 1960s. In this thorough and well researched
book, aided by the many rare and interesting illustrations, the author shows
that this remote and lonely outpost has much more to tell the reader. For
nearly two years it was a terminus station with four through trains to London
in each direction. If that was the zenith of its life, the opening of the
more convenient Grindleford station, on the Dore and Chinley line in 1894,
marked the start of its decline. Detailed service and traffic information
adds to this comprehensive treatment, but it is the exhaustive and informative
listing of station and lineside staff which will prove a lasting research
resource. The turnover and mobility of even the most junior 'machine youth'
comes as a surprise. This is a useful contribution to railway history.
Along different lines. Geoff Body and Bill
Parker. Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2012. 144pp, Reviewed by Veronica
Edmonds. page 60
This book is a collection of 70 stories about the experiences of
professional railwaymen. In addition to the book's two authors there are
a further 27 contributors. The stories are an eclectic mix of reminiscences
from the contributors' careers, and cover a wide range of subject matter
from the 1940s on towards the present day. Each story is preceded by a brief
summary of its content and so the book can easily be dipped into or read
from cover to cover. The stories are well written and engage the reader but
some could have been enhanced by the inclusion of dates to put them in context.
Almost half the stories are illustrated which adds further interest, particularly
as the photos relate directly to the content and many were taken by the
contributor. There is a useful glossary of terms for those not familiar with
railway terminology, but there is no index. The book is attractively produced
though the font is rather small. This is not a difficulty if you use the
Kindle digital edition of the book. Overall this book makes an interesting,
nostalgic and enjoyable read and sheds some light on the realities of running
a railway.
Wylam: 200 years of railway history. George Smith.
Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2012. 128pp, 62 illustrations, Reviewed by Kevin
Jones. page 60
George Smith has contributed to both Railway Archive and
Backtrack, and in the latter on a topic specific to the book under
review: an article on the Hackworth Family Archive. There is a sad tendency
for commentators on Timothy Hackworth to deride George Stephenson, but this
is not so in this case where all the key players including Blackett, Hedley,
Nicholas Wood, and Trevithick, so far as he is known to have contributed
to development in Wylam, are treated evenly. The book begins by describing
the primitive coal industry and the development of timber tramways to convey
the output down to the Tyne, and takes the story as far as the origins of
the Newcastle &Carlisle Railway which had originally been envisaged as
a canal. An epilogue records the legacy. The author is aware of the seminal
Early Railways Conferences and the associated Proceedings, but does not cite
the third and possibly most relevant one, namely the paper by John Liffen
on the iconography of the Wylam waggonways. With this exception his bibliography
is sound. In summary this is a useful guide to Wylam, but suffers from the
lack of a good map to indicate where remains may be seen. An index would
have been helpful.
Brunel in Gloucestershire — John Christopher 96pp, 236x166mm, 85 colour
photographs, 39 b&w pictures, 5 maps, paperback, Amberley Publishing,
The Hill, Stroud GL5 4EP, 2012, Reviewed by MARTIN BARNES. page 60
Despite being on a relatively well trodden subject, this is a valuable new
book, the first in a series which will focus on Brunel's works in individual
counties, cities and regions. It describes Brunel's work in Gloucestershire
in more detail than previous books. Brunel is described as 'the most celebrated
and famous engineer in the world' although it is now recognised that, though
most of Brunel's designs were brilliantly innovative, his management of the
construction process was fairly consistently bad. John Christopher's description
of the battle of Mickleton Tunnel, to his credit, properly blames the event
on Brunel's violently militant approach to arguments with his contractors.
The illustrations are well chosen. Most of them are recent photographs but
one third are drawings or photographs from the past. The detailed maps of
particular areas are valuable. Proof reading is good, but the most famous
station in Gloucestershire has become Aldstrop! Eccentrically, the book has
neither a contents page nor an index, so there is no way of finding anything
in particular. The author's knowledge of the subject is wide and deep; the
book is a good read.
Keith Langston. British steam: BR standard
locomotives. Barnsley: Wharncliffe Transport (imprint of Pen &
Sword Books). 320pp, 132 colour and 216 b&w illustrations, 2012,
Reviewed by Graham Bird. page 61
Similar in format to the same author's British steam past &
present and Patriots — reviewed in the March and November
2012 Journals respectively — this volume looks at the 999 BR 'Standard'
steam locomotives built between 1951 and 1960. A section on Robert Riddles
CBE, the architect of BR's standard steam locomotive policy, is followed
by chapters on each of the twelve standard classes. These contain the essential
facts and background, but the content is heavily weighted towards the three
passenger classes. Each locomotive is given at least one illustration and
a sometimes over-lengthy explanation of how its name was derived — we
learn that Rudyard Kipling, for example, was so called because his parents
courted at Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire. By contrast, most of the nine freight
and mixed-traffic classes are dealt with fairly briefly, although Riddles'
WD Austerity types are also covered. Production quality is generally acceptable
but the chapter numbering is muddled. Photographs, mostly good, predominate
over text; the BR-era shots are in black & white and the 'heritage' views
in colour. The book offers a serviceable introduction to its subject, but
contains little which has not appeared elsewhere. There is no index.
F W Webb 1836-1906: a bibliography. John E Spink.
Rothbury: London & North Western Railway Society, 2011. 98pp,
approximately 39 b&w and 23 colour photographs, Reviewed by Brian Janes.
page 62
Francis William Webb was a notable production engineer with a more
mixed reputation as a locomotive and carriage designer. Highly appreciated
for his drive for efficiency, there can be no doubt that Webb was influential
in his time. However, his engineering and personal reputation suffered a
rapid eclipse in the early 20th century. His crowning memorial must be the
creation, with his immediate predecessor and teacher John Ramsbottom, of
a Crewe Works of peerless size and efficiency, together with a progressive
town to match. This book is a publishing curiosity, a reprint of a bibliography
thesis and essays produced by the author in 1965. Bibliographies are a useful
research tool but as the author comments on giving permission for a reprint
`[it] must be very dated and may contain inaccuracies', for since 1965 there
has been a vast outpouring of valid writing. The introductory essays have
worn well but little has been done to plug this obvious information gap.
The literature of locomotive engineers often unduly concentrates on design
and has become a genre littered with near hagiographies. This book is a worthy
guide to nearly 100 years of literature to help any future biographer write
a balanced assessment of Webb, a self-publicising and domineering, but
accomplished, character.
Oakwood Press, the first 80 years 1931-2011: a collector's
guide. Terence A Mullarkey. Usk: Oakwood Press, 2012. 120pp,
4 photographs, numerous thumbnail images, 2012, Reviewed by Tim Edmonds.
page 62
In March 1931 school friends Roger W Kidner and R Michael Robbins
began publication of a quarterly magazine Locomotion. Over the next
few years a series of booklets on minor railways followed under the Oakwood
Press name, providing coverage of subjects on which little published information
was available. After a break during the war, Kidner resumed book publication
and produced a stream of distinctively concise and authoritative Oakwood
titles, mainly on railway history but also covering other transport subjects,
plus some on market research, and gramophone records. In 1984 Kidner sold
the business to Jane Kennedy, who has continued in the same tradition and
expanded into the video market. This book catalogues the output of Oakwood
Press. Main chapters summarise the history of the company then list various
categories of transport history books, with brief publication details, thumbnail
cover images, and a complete alphabetical list. Appendices provide similar
listings of other books, postcards, catalogues and pictorial bookmarks. Finally
there is a list of ISBN codes and biographical details. There can be few
railway historians who do not possess Oakwood titles. They will find much
of interest here, but this book will be of most use to collectors, particularly
of the early material.
Locomotive Railway Carriage and Wagon Review, Volume 4 9Opp, 248x190mm,
£14.50 (via Amazon Books). Reviewed by Kevin Jones. pages 62-3
This is available as a print-on-demand publication via Amazon. It is an extremely
poor optical character recognition (OCR) version of the Locomotive Magazine
Volume 4 for 1899 without any form of navigation, the index and page numbers
being lost in the OCR process. To an extent this is ameliorated by the ability
to download a pdf version of the original which includes not only the index,
but also the page numbers and the illustrations and diagrams, which are an
essential feature of this sort of publication. It seems that the pdf files
are owned by Google (as their mark is visible on every page).
Bibliographically, there is a danger that the printed copies may be cited.
For example, an item on the steam locomotives built to operate service trains
on the Central London Railway appears in the mangled hard copy on page 78,
but in reality on page 173 of the Locomotive Magazine as published in 1899.
Several other volumes of this journal are available for purchase in this
questionable format (but also with the ability to obtain pdf versions) with
the incorrect title, which was not adopted until Volume 22 in 1916. Surely,
it would be more honest to makeprinted copies of the pdf originals available
rather than poor quality OCR derivatives. KEVIN JONES
Number 218 (November 2013)
Michael Messenger. Light railways before 1896.
2-9.
Lists all lines in England & Wales with their engineers; including
some not actually built. All have closed except Liskeard & Looe.
Carl Shillito. Sir John Fowler: portrait of an
engineer. 10-21.
Excellent short biography and critical list of bibliographical sources,
including an assessment of Fowler's contribution to locomotive engineering
as well as to his highly rated contributions to civil engineering.
Reviews. 52
The Caledonian Railway, Scotland's Imperial Railway:
a history David Ross. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing, 2013. 252pp.
Reviewed by Keith Fenwick
The Caledonian was one of the two main pre-grouping companies in Scotland.
Its main lines completed the West Coast route to Scotland and ran from Carlisle
to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. It employed 29,000 staff at its peak
and ran stylish passenger trains hauled by distinctive blue engines, but
its bread and butter was the mineral traffic of Glasgow and Lanarkshire.
Although there have been numerous books about smaller companies this is the
first time for many years that the history of one of the larger pre-grouping
railway companies has been published. In undertaking this major project,
the author decided to present the story in chronological order so one gets
a very good idea of the complexity of managing such a large organisation.
It is hard to see what else he could have done but it does make following
particular threads more difficult.
Of the sixteen chapters, fourteen are devoted to the development ofthe Company,
from its gestation to the grouping. Chapter 15 reviews how the staff were
treated. The last chapter gives a potted history of locomotive development;
this seems out of place to your reviewer. A timeline shows major events over
the years. There is a bibliography, references and an index.
The author has worked assiduously through original sources, including minute
books and newspaper reports. His style is simple and direct. Each paragraph
is packed with details; little seems to have been missed. Extensions to the
system, abortive proposals for lines and the shady financial dealings of
the early years are all described. But we do not find out much about the
Company's commercial development and its relations with other railway companies
and customers; the author recognises this in his Foreword, acknowledging
that a book oftwice the size would have been needed.
The way the publisher has laid out the book does it no favours. The single
column text is difficult to read, subheadings and captions and page titles
are all in the same font. Several of photographs are from poor originals
and not directly related to the text. But overall, this is a significant
and substantial work which deserves to be on the shelf of anyone interested
in Scottish railways or in the larger pre-grouping companies
Paddington Station: its history and architecture.
Stephen Brindle. Swindon: English Heritage, 2013. 183pp, 174
illustrations, maps & drawings (many in colour), paperback, Reviewed
by Gordon Biddle
This second edition of Stephen Brindle's book is in a larger format
than the first, reviewed in the March 2005 number of the Journal, and is
much the better for it, with a more legible print size. The text has been
revised and updated to include the recent refurbishment of the 1913-14 roof
span at Paddington, achieved only after defeating controversial proposals
to demolish it; the tricky job of rebuilding Bishops Road Bridge; and the
forthcoming Crossrail platforms on the Eastbourne Terrace side of the station
which will involve a redesigned entrance. There is also an account of the
virtual last-minute discovery of a cast iron canal bridge designed by Brunel
in Bishops Bridge Road, hitherto concealed by brickwork until it was about
to be demolished in connection with the main bridgeworks. The author has
played a leading role in its identification, dismantling and planned re-erection
further along the canal.
The numerous illustrations, a number of which are new, are excellently
reproduced. Most of them have considerable historical value, which together
with original drawings and plans, many in colour, combine to form an attractive
book. Is it too much to hope for a similar authoritative survey of another
early London terminus - say Waterloo, which may lack the charisma of Paddington
but has an interesting history unrecorded in any detail?
Reviews. 47-
Railways before George Stephenson: a study of the waggonways in the Northern coalfield 1605-1830. Les Tumbull. Oxford: Chapman Research Publishing, 2012. 172pp, Reviewed by Michael Lewis. 52
Tyneside has been called the cradle of railways, and a detailed study down to 1830, fuller and more up-to-date than reviewer's Early Wooden Railways (1970) and much wider in coverage than Bennett, Clavering and Rounding's A Fighting Trade (1990), is entirely welcome. Turnbull offers an overview of the region's coal trade and the waggonways that served it, as well as valuable 'studies in depth' which unravel as much as possible ofthe complex histories of selected examples. There are many splendid reproductions in colour (sometimes garish) of contemporary maps, and nine specially-drawn maps, much the best to have appeared to date, of the whole 'system'. If one wants a detailed account of the Killingworth way, for example, or the waggonways of Blyth, this is the book to consult.
That said, however, there are serious drawbacks. There is no context. To the author, the north-east was the origin of everything of significance in early railway history, yet he makes no attempt to justify his claims by comparison with other regions. He seems unaware, for instance, that by 1830 the railway map of South Wales was arguably more impressive than that of the north-east. His statement that the iron railway developed on Tyneside can hardly be sustained. Contrary to normal practice, he reserves the term 'plateway' for flat plates laid on top of wooden rails. While this has some local justification (although here such plates were never-cast-iron as he thinks), to say that in 1808 the Wylam waggonway was relaid as a plateway is confusing. His date of 1597-8 for rails at Wollaton has long since been disproved.
For all its undoubtedly deep research, too, this is a frustrating book to use. It has no index as such, nor even a list of abbreviations. It is deplorably badly annotated, references to sources being so sporadic that information can rarely be checked or pursued. Its usefulness lies in the detail of individual waggon-ways rather than in its contribution to the regional, let alone the national, picture.
Bristol's stage coaches. Dorian Gerhold. East Knoyle, Salisbury: Hobnob Press, 2012. 326pp, Reviewed by Peter Brown. 52.
Bristol's first recorded stage coach service to London was in 1657, taking three days for the 120 mile journey. By the mid 1750s all the services took only two days. Average journey speeds increased from about 4mph to 7mph between then and 1780, then stayed reasonably constant until the 1820, when they started to increase again, reaching about 8½ mph by the mid 1830s, enabling the journey to be achieved in 13 to 15 hours. The growth in the frequency of service also stagnated between 1780 and 1820. Although Bristol's first regional coach was recorded in 1701, the network really started developing in the last third of the 18th century, and continued to grow steadily in the first third of the 19th century. By the end of the period, speeds equalled those of the London coaches.
The author doesn't only describe what happened; he explains why it happened, and compares the Bristol and national experiences. Thus we learn of the inter-relation between road improvements as a result ofturnpiking, lighter coaches with the development of metal springs, and the breeding of horses for speed as much as strength. Everything is grounded in the economics of coaching, particularly the optimum deployment of horses, the provender for which accounted for about half of all costs. This strongly influenced how the businesses were financed and managed.
Inevitably there is some duplication with the author's previous 'RCHS Book of the Year', Carriers and Coachmasters: trade and travel before the turnpikes, but the new book continues the story through the turnpike era to the coming of the railways. The text is clearly written with sources referenced, and there is an index. The book is excellent value for money, and is of much wider interest than its title might imply. It is an important addition to the history of passenger transport.
William Dean: the greatest of them all. Jeremy Clements. Corhampton, Southampton: Noodle Books, 2012. 228pp, Reviewed by Kevin Jones. 53
Dean was in charge of locomotives on the Great Western during the transition from the broad gauge, when the design for which was limited to that convertible to standard gauge. The introductory material makes it clear that the book began as an appreciation of the Dean Goods 0-6-0 and was extended to become a more general study of Dean and his locomotive designs. The Dean Goods were certainly excellent locomotives. The story of how the Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 failed to perform as well as the Dean Goods is a long-standing legend which was succinctly related in John G Gibson's Great Western locomotive design: a critical appreciation (not listed in the bibliography); Clements's account is less clear.
Nevertheless, it is a very dubious claim that Dean was 'the greatest of them all' as there were several skeletons in his cupboard, most of which are unearthed by Clements. Too many designs were prone to derailment. On the other hand Dean was well aware of the need to study materials, and Clements in this respect does withstand scrutiny against the superb Early railway chemistry and its legacy by Russell and Hudson.
It is a pity that more space is not given to the Achilles class of 4-2-2 locomotives as these were capable of very fast running with light trains. Rather more attention is paid to the Duke class of 4-4-0, the boilers of which soldiered on into British Railways days with Bulldog frames.
Most of the photographs are beautifully reproduced, but there is insufficient linkage between text and illustrations. Ellis's Twenty Locomotive Men (1958) is a serious omission from the bibliography, and it is suspected that some published material on Dean's experimental designs had not been consulted. Some illustrations are of questionable relationship to the central theme: pictures of ambulance cars and Belgian freight locomotives, for instance. A book of this length demanded an index.
Jeremy Clements was co-author with Michael McMahon of the excellent history of locomotives of the Great Southern Railway (2008): sadly this work falls short of that standard.
Derby days: memories of a Midland railwayman. John Weston. Usk: Oakwood Press, 2012. 208pp, Reviewed by William Featherstone. 58
Many autobiographical accounts by railwaymen are just that: the story of their life on the railways. This is not a major criticism of such books, but it is one of the real strengths of the work under review that it is a true autobiography - from first memories at the age of three to his 2007 cab ride to celebrate the 70th anniversary of his start on the railway, the whole of this nonagenarian's life is described, fluently and lucidly.
There is, nevertheless, a strong core to the book, and a substantial theme, a moral philosophy, running through it. The core, the focus of 23 of the 31 short chapters, is the author's progressive railway education from Cleaner to Driver. The theme, present from first days as an agricultural labourer, is the perpetual conflict between management/owner and worker/unionist. A steadfast Christian, Mr Walker sees faults on both sides, and, although an involved ASLEF member and advocate for many years, experienced no difficulty in becoming part of the management team in the latter part of his career. There are few criticisms: the author perhaps rushes through his driving career rather too cursorily; there are many interesting and well produced illustrations but some lack specific connection to the author, and there seems little reason why the comment on the Midland Compounds has been relegated to the single appendix. These comments do not detract from an enjoyable and interesting book. Many other books have been devoted to Derby Works and its products but much less to the important depots at Derby and the men who worked there - a gap which this book will go some way to fill.
Victorian Preston and the Whittingham Hospital Railway. David Hindle. Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2012. 128pp. Reviewed by Richard Coulthurst
This book was published to mark the 2012 Preston Guild festivities which are held every 20 years. It commences with a brief examination of the social, cultural and economic aspects of the city in the latter part of the 19th century, before moving on to the history of the Preston and Longridge Railway (P&LR) which became a joint line ofthe LNWR and L&YR. However, the majority of the book is taken up with the Whittingham Hospital Railway which joined the P&LR at Grimsargh.
Whittingham Hospital was one of a number of very large 'asylums' in this part of Lancashire, and accommodated over 3,000 patients at its peak as well as providing work for hundreds of staff. The railway, which opened in 1889, was needed for the transport of coal and other supplies to the hospital in the days before the motor lorry as well as conveying staff and visitors. A notable feature of the line was that it was free of charge to all passengers. The shuttle service to Grimsargh continued until the line's closure in 1957 although the P&LR passenger service had ceased in 1930.
The author, who worked at the hospital for a time, has written a very readable and entertaining account ofthe line. The book is well illustrated and includes some reminiscences of people who remembered the line in operation. There is a short bibliography but no index.
The GWR Bristol to Taunton Line. Colin G. Maggs. Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2013. 192pp, Reviewed by Peter Brown.
The main line of the Bristol & Exeter Railway was opened to Bridgwater in 1841 and to Taunton the following year. Initially leased to the GWR, in 1849 it assumed full control of its own affairs. It amalgamated with the GWR in 1876. After a brief introduction to the Bristol & Exeter's promotion and construction, the history of the line is described in detail, starting with the complex development of Temple Meads Station at Bristol, and then working south-west. Of particular interest are the original branch to Weston-super-Mare with its horse-drawn passenger service, the abortive proposal for a branch to a harbour at Brean Down, the short Dunball Wharf Branch, the floods in the Somerset levels, and the successive rebuilding of Taunton station. The subjects of the following chapters include locomotives, sheds, train services, track and signalling, staff, and accidents and mishaps. A final chapter describes a daring mail robbery in 1849.
Despite its title (and despite the cover picture of an LMS-designed locomotive at Yatton) this book concentrates on the 19th century, particularly on the Bristol & Exeter days. Indeed, a special strength is the number and range of Broad Gauge era photographs, including two of an accident in 1852. Regrettably, the quality of reproduction is not as good as some other publishers achieve.
Pleasure steamers. Andrew Gladwell. Botley, Oxford: Shire Publications, 2013. 64pp, Reviewed by Joseph Boughey.
This short book describes the development of pleasure steamer services on estuaries, coastal seas and Scottish lochs. It does not cover English lakes, canals or inland rivers, bar the River Dart. There must be overlap with the history of commercial passenger services, but there is little about this, while there is less focus on the kinds and construction of the vessels themselves. Those limitations aside, this is a well-produced account of pleasure steamers. Coverage begins in the early 19th century on the Clyde, follows general development through the Edwardian heyday and then on to the period of decline after the 1950s, shown by the last major vessel launch in 1953. The transition to preservation, with the very small number of surviving steamers like Waverley and Balmoral and their services, is usefully discussed. As with other Shire publications, the text is succinct but does not directly cite sources, bar a bibliography. The illustrations are generally welJ-produced; these include tickets, posters, brochures and onboard views, which provide strong impressions of excur- sionist experience. Many photographs seem to be in monochrome that has been hand-coloured, which look somewhat glazed but convey the period; more recent views are less frequent. Overall, this provides an excelJent summary of history — readable and concise.
The TUBE: station to station on the London Underground. Oliver Green. Botley, Oxford: Shire Publications, 2013. 120pp, Reviewed by Warwick Burton
This handsome and well illustrated little book is in two parts. The first is a succinct but comprehensive history of the lines which make up the London Underground: the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District's beginnings in the 1860s and the former's extensions into 'Metroland; the City & South London's tube line, followed by six more by 1907; the bringing together of these disparate lines by London Transport in 1933; the extensions further into the suburbs, including taking over some main line suburban railways after World War II; and bringing the story right up to date with the Victoria, Jubilee and Docklands lines. A series of maps show the development of the system and of the current Underground map. There are plenty of photographs of examples of the best of Victorian, inter-war and modem stations, as welJ as historic posters. The second half of the book is a description of journeys on a seven selected lines of particular historic interest; there is a brief history and then a description of each line station by station, picking out the best architectural examples with suitable illustrations. This book will appeal to anybody who wants a short and highly readable guide to the Underground network, whether they be railway historians, visitors or Londoners themselves. Highly recommended.
The steam locomotive: an engineering history. Ken Gibb. Stroud: Amberley, 2012. 256pp. Reviewed by Kevin Jones. 60
The author served an apprenticeship at Swindon Works and has been associated with locomotive preservation. It is stated that the material had been gathered from previously published material which appeared in magazines, but the sources are not cited. The content is very varied. There is much useful information of a practical nature which includes the casting of cylinders and other locomotive components. There are sections on braking systems, on the Swindon stationary test plant, on manufacturing locomotive wheels, axleboxes, valve gears, frame types, pressure gauges, limiting factors, materials, and on safety valves, including the Ross pop type, not much used at Swindon. Somewhat surprisingly, there is a brief pictorial survey of North American steam designs. The trouble is that the compilation is utterly lacking in comprehensive/comprehensible navigation. There is no index and only a weak contents listing. Picture quality is variable between adequate and poor: some of the photographs of Swindon Works have a Dickensian quality which one suspects was not intended. There are some errors in the text, most seriously 'Crompton' rather than 'Crampton' in one place. Given some extra navigation it could have been a useful reference book.
Hassop 150. Glynn Waite. Dronfield : Pynot Publishing, 2012. 50pp. Reviewed by William Featherstone
This book was published by the Rowsley Association to mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of Hassop station, situated on the Midland Railway main line through the Peak District, on 1 August 1862. Since the station closed to passengers under the blackout of wartime just 80 years later (the goods yard survived until 1964), few will know more than its being the site of a range of lineside topiary which also survived into the 1960s. In this thorough and well researched book, aided by the many rare and interesting illustrations, the author shows that this remote and lonely outpost has much more to tell the reader. For nearly two years it was a terminus station with four through trains to London in each direction. If that was the zenith of its life, the opening of the more convenient Grindleford station, on the Dore and Chinley line in 1894, marked the start of its decline. Detailed service and traffic information adds to this comprehensive treatment, but it is the exhaustive and informative listing of station and lineside staff which will prove a lasting research resource. The turnover and mobility of even the most junior 'machine youth' comes as a surprise. This is a useful and competitively priced contribution to railway history.
Along different lines. Geoff Body and Bill Parker. Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2012. 144pp, Reviewed by Veronica Edmonds
This book is a collection of 70 stories about the experiences of professional railwaymen. In addition to the book's two authors there are a further 27 contributors. The stories are an eclectic mix of reminiscences from the contributors' careers, and cover a wide range of subject matter from the 1940s on towards the present day. Each story is preceded by a brief summary of its content and so the book can easily be dipped into or read from cover to cover. The stories are well written and engage the reader but some could have been enhanced by the inclusion of dates to put them in context. Almost half the stories are illustrated which adds further interest, particularly as the photos relate directly to the content and many were taken by the contributor. There is a useful glossary of terms for those not familiar with railway terminology, but there is no index. The book is attractively produced though the font is rather small. This is not a difficulty if you use the Kindle digital edition of the book. Overall this book makes an interesting, nostalgic and enjoyable read and sheds some light on the realities of running a railway.
Number 218 (November 2013)
Michael Messenger. Light railways before 1896. 2-9.
Lists all lines in England & Wales with their engineers; including some not actually built. All have closed except Liskeard & Looe.
Carl Shillito. Sir John Fowler: portrait of an engineer. 10-21.
Excellent short biography and critical list of bibliographical sources, including an assessment of Fowler's contribution to locomotive engineering as well as to his highly rated contributions to civil engineering.
Reviews. 52
The Caledonian Railway, Scotland's Imperial Railway: a history David Ross. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing, 2013. 252pp. Reviewed by Keith Fenwick
The Caledonian was one of the two main pre-grouping companies in Scotland. Its main lines completed the West Coast route to Scotland and ran from Carlisle to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. It employed 29,000 staff at its peak and ran stylish passenger trains hauled by distinctive blue engines, but its bread and butter was the mineral traffic of Glasgow and Lanarkshire. Although there have been numerous books about smaller companies this is the first time for many years that the history of one of the larger pre-grouping railway companies has been published. In undertaking this major project, the author decided to present the story in chronological order so one gets a very good idea of the complexity of managing such a large organisation. It is hard to see what else he could have done but it does make following particular threads more difficult.
Of the sixteen chapters, fourteen are devoted to the development ofthe Company, from its gestation to the grouping. Chapter 15 reviews how the staff were treated. The last chapter gives a potted history of locomotive development; this seems out of place to your reviewer. A timeline shows major events over the years. There is a bibliography, references and an index.
The author has worked assiduously through original sources, including minute books and newspaper reports. His style is simple and direct. Each paragraph is packed with details; little seems to have been missed. Extensions to the system, abortive proposals for lines and the shady financial dealings of the early years are all described. But we do not find out much about the Company's commercial development and its relations with other railway companies and customers; the author recognises this in his Foreword, acknowledging that a book oftwice the size would have been needed.
The way the publisher has laid out the book does it no favours. The single column text is difficult to read, subheadings and captions and page titles are all in the same font. Several of photographs are from poor originals and not directly related to the text. But overall, this is a significant and substantial work which deserves to be on the shelf of anyone interested in Scottish railways or in the larger pre-grouping companies
Paddington Station: its history and architecture - Step hen Brindle 183pp, A4, 174 illustrations, maps & drawings (many in colour), paperback, English Heritage, Fire Fly Avenue, Swindon SN2 2EH, 2013, ISBN 9781 848020894, £25 Reviewed by Gordon Biddle
This second edition of Step hen Brindle's book is in a larger format than the first, reviewed in the March 2005 number of the Journal, and is much the better for it, with a more legible print size. The text has been revised and updated to include the recent refurbish- ment of the 1913-14 roof span at Paddington, achieved only after defeating controversial propo- sals to demolish it; the tricky job of rebuilding Bishops Road Bridge; and the forthcoming Crossrail platforms on the Eastbourne Terrace side of the station which will involve a redesigned entrance. There is also an account of the virtual last-minute discovery of a cast iron canal bridge designed by Brunei in Bishops Bridge Road, hitherto concealed by brickwork until it was about to be demolished in connection with the main bridgeworks. The author has played a leading role in its identification, dismantling and planned re-erection further along the canal.
The numerous illustrations, a number of which are new, are excellently reproduced. Most ofthem have considerable historical value, which together with original drawings and plans, many in colour, combine to form an attractive book. Is it too much to hope for a similar authoritative survey of another early London terminus - say Waterloo, which may lack the charisma of Paddington but has an interesting history unrecorded in any detail? GORDON BIDDLE