|
| |
|
Books Gi - Great
GIRVAN & PORTPATRICK JUNCTION RAILWAY
by C.E.J. Fryer |
|
Most railways were constructed with some consideration for the services
they could afford to places along the route. Not so with this railway, the
main object was to complete a rail route from Glasgow and central Scotland
by short sea crossing to Ulster and Belfast. Before this line’s
construction the rail route to Stranraer and Portpatrick from Glasgow had
been in excess of 150 miles. The railway became a main trunk route,
although it remained single-track for almost all its length. In this way
it resembled the main lines of the Highland and Great North of Scotland
railways from Perth to Inverness and Aberdeen to Elgin, but even these
lines could not match the G&PJR’s steepest gradients, or display bleaker
scenery than that through which the latter passed between the rivers
Stinchar and the Water of Luce. 72 pages of text, plus 32 pages containing
61 superb photographs on art paper. A5 format, square backed Linson
two-colour cover. |
 |
|
‘The book is concise and
commends itself to those who come across the line’ RCTS |
|
LP188 |
ISBN 0 85361 448 2
ISBN 978 0 85361 448 7 |
£ 5.95 |
|
GLENCORSE
BRANCH
by Jeff Hurst |
|
The author first 'discovered' the Glencorse branch in
the summer of 1963, while exploring the district by means of a recently
acquired bicycle and the local Ordnance Survey map. The Glencorse line was
one of several branches which ran south-west from the northern end of the
North British Railway's 'Waverley Route'. It remains unique in that it was
the last to be completed, the first to lose its passenger service and has
outlasted all of them in continuous use, including the Waverley Route
itself, by a considerable margin. Indeed, at the time of writing, the rails
are still in place, eight years after the passage of the last train.
Although the branch was just over eight miles long, it has never featured
prominently in the railway press, it has a story worth telling, and the
author covers its history, together with details of the various industries
it served. |
 |
|
The book is to A5 format with 176 pages, with more than 160 photographs,
maps and plans. It is printed on art paper throughout and has a glossy
laminated 2-colour cover with a square-backed spine. |
|
LP211 |
ISBN 0 85361 539 X
ISBN 978 0 85361 539 2 |
£ 10.95 |
|
GOODBYE TO VICTORIA-THE
LAST QUEEN EMPRESS
The Story of Queen Victoria's Funeral
Train
by Peter J. Keat |
 |
'All day long the Angel of Death has been hovering
over Osbourne House. One could almost hear the beating of the wings, but at
a quarter past six those wings were folded and the Queen was at rest'. These
words were written by the Special Court correspondent of The Times on
22nd January, 1901, the day Queen Victoria died. Naturally all British
newspapers carried this as their main story on the whole of its front page
with pictures of the late Queen and new King Edward over the legend 'The
Queen is dead. long live the King'. It went on to describe the nation's
grief and sorrow, the massive wave of sympathy which was sweeping the
country, the tributes from not only all over Europe but from countries and
nations worldwide and here, at home in Britain, the hasty recall of both the
Houses of Parliament to the Palace of Westminster.
Straightaway plans began to be laid for one of the
most unusual and remarkable railway journeys in history.
|
|
Three different locomotives from three
different railway companies hauled the train carrying the body of the late
Queen from the Royal Clarence Yard in Gosport to London Victoria, and then
from Paddington to Windsor. Because of the number of crowned heads
and other Royal and important personages on the train along with all the
security implications, the authorities decided that no photographers would
be allowed access to any part of the route. The whole length of all of the
lines the Royal Train traversed was patrolled by specially delegated railway
employees, the result of this was that any photographs of the Royal Funeral
Train are extremely rare. The book is to A5 format and consists of 96 pages
including 90 photographs and illustrations etc. It has full laminated colour
card cover with a square-backed spine. |
|
X69 |
ISBN 0 85361 569 1
ISBN 978 0 85361 569 9 |
£ 8.95 |
|
GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY and EAST COAST JOINT STOCK CARRIAGES from
1905
by Michael Harris |
 |
Pre-Grouping carriages? They must be out of the
ark - not so - you might well have seen them, once you appreciate
that the last of these veterans departed from BR service during the late
1960s. The two principal East Coast royal saloons lasted even longer, into
the 1970s. But there was nothing to compare with the original condition of
the GNR and ECJS carriages, in their splendid varnished teak panels and
elaborate lining-out and coats-of-arms. What splendid models they would
make! The attempt has been made to include details of carriage workings
and to identify from photographs a number of the carriages marshalled in
trains during their heyday or later. Equally, there are many photographs
reproduced of the carriages in their last days. 160 pages of text
including 52 plans, plus 64 pages of art paper with 138 photographs making
a total of 224 pages. A5 format, square-backed Linson cover. |
|
X56 |
ISBN 0 85361 477 6
ISBN 978 0 85361 477 7 |
£ 11.90 |
|
THE GREAT
NORTHERN RAILWAY (Ireland)
by Edward M.
Patterson |
The Great Northern Railway of Ireland,
maintained an independent existence for 77 years, much of that time
prosperously established as the second largest and certainly the most
enterprising of the Irish railway systems. Springing from the need to link
Dublin and Belfast by rail, the Great Northern was the result of
amalgamation of numerous smaller companies.
The system began in the mid-1830s. Ireland's population had by then risen
to more than eight million, and it was increasing. Dublin was the capital
and the only considerable city, but Belfast had embarked on
industrialisation and was growing at a phenomenal rate. Between the two
places the best means of communication was by coach, a 100 mile journey
over rough roads. It took longer indeed to travel between Dublin and
Belfast than it did to cross from either in a small vessel to the port of
Liverpool.
|
 |
Perhaps because no gathering of company
promoters could be assembled who would agree on such a far-sighted railway
policy, the Dublin-Belfast link had to be forged piecemeal. Rail access to
Londonderry was similarly done in stages. Between these routes, the Ulster
Railway had reached Clones, which was already on the course of the Dundalk
& Enniskillen Railway. Secondary and branch lines were supplementing these
main routes. Amalgamation of the four main line companies of the area took
place in 1875-6.
The disaster of the Potato Famine initiated wholesale emigration from
Ireland, and in the course of a century the population shrank by half. So
it was that the Great Northern, was presented with the difficulty of
paying its way. In spite of this the Great Northern was at its most
prosperous in the 30 years or so preceding World War I. The political and
technical changes which followed that conflict produced a rapid change in
fortunes: the political division of Ireland, civil war, tariff
restrictions, and above all the development of road transport, all
reacted against the Great Northern. Falling receipts and soaring operating
costs
brought the company to its knees shortly after the end of World War II.
Five years of shared nationalisation followed, during which much of the
system suffered closures. In 1958 what was left was divided and
administered thereafter by the Ulster Transport Authority and by
Coras Iompair Eireann.
First published in 1962, in this new edition of The Great Northern Railway
(Ireland) Dr Patterson's text remains largely unaltered, except where more
recent research has revealed new data. The book is now illustrated
throughout with 190 photographs and maps. Appendix One (List of Stations
and Halts) has been significantly revised and updated. No attempt has been
made to include a history of the former GNR(I) lines under UTA/NIR/CIE/IE
auspices.
A5 format, 240 pages, 190 illustrations. It is printed on art paper
throughout, with a full colour laminated card cover with a square-backed
spine. |
|
OL67 |
ISBN 0
85361 602 7
ISBN 978 0 85361 602 3 |
£ 14.95 |
|
THE
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY & GREAT CENTRAL JOINT RAILWAY
by Stanley C Jenkins
|
|
Contents
Introduction
Pre-History and Origins of the
Line (1846-1901)
Construction and Opening
The First Forty Years (1906-
1947)
The British Railways Era
The Route from London to
Ruislip
The Route from Ruislip to
Princes Risborough
The Route from Princes
Risborough to
Banbury
The Branch Lines
Principal Locomotive Classes
used on the GW&GC
Joint
Line 1906-1988
Sources and Further Reading
Index |
|
 The Great Western & Great Central Joint Railway, together
with its northwards extension through Bicester, was the very last main line
railway to be opened in these islands. For this reason alone, it should be
of interest to the enthusiast, yet, on reflection, it is clear that railway
historians have ignored the 'New Line' to Birmingham.
Bicester was also the
last place in the country to be served by slip coach services.
The present
monograph was first published in 1978 and it was felt that the time had come
for an enlarged edition. There have been many changes since then, the GW&GC
route having been extensively modernised by the state-owned British Rail,
and then handed over to private companies as a result of the policy of
‘privatisation’ that was then being pursued by the Conservative Government. The story of
the GW&GC Joint Line is slanted towards the earlier periods though -
evidence relating to the planning and construction of the line having
survived in profusion. Some of this material has been included in the
revised text while, to provide a counter-balance, the 'route' section has
been much-expanded, with many further details of the infrastructure at
individual stations. Most of this new data has been obtained from plans and
documents that are now in private collections.
In fact, as
far as some locations were concerned, there was an over-abundance of new
material - so much so, that the 'route' section has expanded to three
lengthy chapters. |
|
 In the past 50 years railway historians have tended to
concentrate on branch lines. The complex infrastructure of the great main
lines has been largely ignored, and stations such as Denham, High Wycombe
and Bicester North have not received the attention that they deserve. It is
hoped that this new edition of The Great Western & Great Central Joint
Railway will help to rectify this deficiency.
This much
enlarged new edition is to A5 format, and consists of 256 pages with more
than 190 illustrations. |
|
OL46 |
ISBN 0
85361 653 1
ISBN 978 0 85361 653 5 |
£ 15.95 |
|
GREAT
WESTERN BRANCH LINES: A PICTORIAL SURVEY
by C.W. Judge |
A glorious celebration of a lost era. There are photographs of just over
100 different stations, all with informative extended captions.
This book does not set out to be a history or even cover all of the GWR
system, but instead it is intended to capture the scenes of days long
gone. All the views are taken before the 1948 Nationalisation and
therefore are ‘truly Great Western’.
The photographs are laid out in approximate geographic sequence starting
from London, heading west towards the West Country, then returning towards
Wales, the border country and the West Midlands.
It is hoped that the photographs in this book bring back fond memories of
holidays taken by rail or, for the younger reader, help them understand
the network of rural branch lines that the GWR established in the heyday
of rail travel. Perhaps also the photographs will help the GWR modeller
with some small detail to make their model more authentic and prove a
valuable addition to your railway library. |
 |
|
A5 format with glossy full colour cover with a square-backed spine, 80
pages with 136 photographs. |
|
PS7 |
ISBN 0 85361 496 2
ISBN 978 0 85361 496 8 |
£ 6.95 |
|
|
|
