Thanks to a quirk of fate, and the survival of so many locomotives in the Barry scrapyard, the GWR is well represented in the steam preservation scene today. John Maybery takes us through the surviving Great Western locomotives, from the Kings and Castle passenger locos through Halls and Manors and onto the ubiquitous Prairie and pannier tanks. He also covers the narrow gauge locomotives of the Vale of Rheidol Railway, which was Britain’s last nationalised steam passenger railway until pri...

Who invented the flying machine? Was the Titanic really the first ‘unsinkable’ ship? How would one use a phonoscope? Using old Victorian documents, Caroline Rochford takes the reader on a guided tour of hundreds of fascinating nineteenth-century inventions from across the globe, some strange and some remarkably familiar. Think solar power is a modern concept? Think again! Today everyone has a camera, but imagine the excitement of taking a snap of a giraffe hotel! This is a surprising journ...

Have you ever wanted to travel around Europe and see all the beautiful places this great land has to offer? If you travel by airplane, you miss so much being in the air. If you travel by vehicle, you are cramped for hours and days and by the time you arrive to your destinations you are worn out. The train offers a great mode of transportation giving you the opportunity to relax while you observe the landscape from your window.Train travel is a fantastic way to see the continent of ...

The railways were the most revolutionary innovation of Victorian times. They carried Britain into the modern age with dramatic speed, transforming the pace and style of everyday life. We owe them to two men who, father and son, can lay claim to be the most important engineers of their time, George and Robert Stephenson. In this excellent biography L. T. C. Rolt, author of Brunel and Thomas Telford, assesses their life and their work. ‘This biography is a work of distinction in both the his...

In Signalman's Twilight, Adrian continues the story of his railway life in rural West Berkshire. Adrian revelled in the gentle, old-world atmosphere and seized every opportunity, on duty and off, to talk to the older railwaymen, many of whom had begun their careers on the GWR in 1919 - 21, some of whom had served in the trenches with the Wiltshire Regiment in 1916 - 18, and others of whom had worked for the Midland & South Western Junction Railway in 1913 on to 1921, 'when we took over the...

For the century after 1865 all the largest railroad companies had flagship luxury trains, spectacularly appointed steamliners offering unrivaled standards of service and thoughtful amenities including ladies' perfume and carnations for gentlemen. These luxury trains transported well-heeled passengers in grand style across spectacular American landscapes in an atmosphere of privilege and elegance. Including the iconic Super Chief of the Sante Fe Railway and New York Central System's fabled ...

The history of a railroad includes the personal histories of the individuals who worked for it. In 1880 the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in Topeka, Kansas employed executives, clerks, yard superintendents, conductors, supervisors, etc. Most of the people who worked for the railroad came from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Others moved to Topeka from Ohio and Illinois in the Midwest. Several came directly from England and Scotland. The story of the A.T.& S.F.R.R....

The branch lines of Devon were particularly numerous and this second volume on the county covers Plymouth, west and north Devon. They vary from the Turnchapel and Yealmpton commuter lines, to the Exeter and Barnstaple branch, which for many years of its life was a main line, becoming a branch line within the last forty years. One branch still open is the Plymouth to Gunnislake line, which remains because it offers the most direct route. Many of the branches have interesting histories. The ...

Railway art has existed as long as there have been Railways. Many famous names have included some aspect of railways in their paintings, notably Claude Monet and J M W Turner. This tradition has been kept alive by the formation in the UK of the Guild of Railway Artists, which now consists of over 200 artists, of which Jonathan Clay is one. Over the last few years, Jonathan has had many requests to produce his own book of pictures, and, having relented at last, this is the result.In order t...

Two men started the transformation from sleepy hilltop community into a thriving town. Gooch and Brunel chose the area near Swindon to build a factory for the Great Western Railway and for more than 140 years The Works was renowned for high-quality heavy engineering. Gooch, Armstrong, Dean, Churchward and Collett would be responsible for the design and building of some of the world’s finest locomotives and stock. In 1948 the GWR became British Railways and later diesels replaced steam. In ...

Seventies Spotting Days Around the Scottish Region is a full-colour photographic album, depicting the 1970s with coverage of both diesel and electrics from that great period of change on our railways. This volume takes us across the country, exploring the short-lived heyday of the Claytons and NBL D61xx, enjoying the haulage between the Class 26s and 27s, and more. The captions touch on items of news, culture, music and personalities from the era to bring back the memories of our youth. Lo...

Railway enthusiasts living in London in the 1960s saw steam gradually disappearing from the capital’s railways. By 1966, with a few exceptions only the south-western lines from Waterloo saw main-line steam in any quantity. Despite being in the middle of an all-electric system, steam somehow survived until July 1967 and was only outlasted by steam in the north-west of England, which lingered on f or about ano ther year. George Woods sets out to show the highs and the lows of that period, wi...