Steam Around Basingstoke And Salisbury

Charlie Verrall explores the fascinating history of steam around Basingstoke, Eastleigh and Salisbury.

Charlie Verrall explores the fascinating history of steam around Basingstoke, Eastleigh and Salisbury.

A nostalgic look back on the heyday of steam, lavishly illustrated with rare and previously unpublished photographs.

Lavishly illustrated throughout, a fascinating record of the final years of steam on Britain's railways.

At the beginning of 1967 the writing was clearly on the wall for Southern Steam, with the intention of eliminating it altogether on the 18th June of that year. From the 2nd January, with the Brush type 4s working many main line trains including the Bournemouth Belle, steam was reduced to thirteen departures from Waterloo, three of which were in the early hours.From the 3rd April this was further reduced to just five day and three night time departures. However, by this time it was realized that due to late delivery of the new electric stock, the deadline for the demise of steam was put back to the 9th July and an interim timetable introduced from 12th June.Using information gathered from many sources, Countdown to Extinction chronicles the events of 1967, with the final five weeks in detail, including events that formed the background to the time.

In mid-1964, Keith Widdowson got wind that the Western Region was hell-bent on being the first to eliminate the steam locomotive on its tracks by December 1965. The 17-year-old hurriedly homed in on train services still in the hands of GWR steam power, aiming to catch runs with the last examples before their premature annihilation. The Great Western Steam Retreat recalls Widdowson's teenage exploits, soundtracked by hits from the Beatles, the Kinks and the Rolling Stones, throughout the Western Region and former Great Western Railway lines. He documents the extreme disorder that resulted from that decision, paying tribute to the train crews who managed to meet demanding timings in the face of declining cleanliness, the poor quality of coal and the major problem of recruiting both footplate and shed staff. This book completes the author's Steam Chase series and provides a snapshot into the comradery that characterised the final years of steam alongside the long-gone journeys that can never be recreated.

Railway Anthology is a collection of mainly previously unpublished articles and short stories, covering a lifelong interest in railways. It spans a wide spectrum over the years, from the early days in Kent in 1960, through the many hours on the line side on the Surrey Hills line and the South Western main line, to the last frantic years of steam on the Southern, and the current steam scene, as well as the privileged and exciting times spent riding on the foot plate of steam locomotives. It majors on the author’s main railway passions of steam locomotives, train running performance, including modern motive power and all matters Southern. Locomotive performance in Europe and a tramway are also included, as is a fascinating minor- and little-visited narrow gauge railway in Southern England, plus heritage traction on the London Underground. The book comprises approximately 350 illustrations, many in color, as well as contemporary timetable extracts and copies of notebook pages, which cover shed visits in Scotland. Fifty train running logs are included, together with some detailed records of days spent by the line sides of railways when steam was still the predominant motive power in parts of the south.