Steam Around Basingstoke Eastleigh 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.

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.

This book is first and foremost the story of the enginemen and their steeds which brought the steam era to an end on the Southern. It is therefore primarily about locomotive performance but enlivened by stories about how that was achieved and also about the band of young men who followed the exploits of men and machines, day and night over those last two years. It includes a substantial contribution from an ex-Nine Elms fireman and many anecdotes about the enginemen. The book contains about eighty train running logs plus records of lineside observations, detailed descriptions of the work covered by the locomotives and crews from the various steam motive power depots, copies of the actual duty rosters posted at Nine Elms, together with a unique collection of about 150 black and white and color images taken in the 1965 to 1967 period covered by this book. It is the most comprehensive story of those last few years yet produced, and it is truly The Untold Story, a fine tribute to the enginemen who performed near miracles with their doomed and run-down fleet of locomotives, in the very different world of the mid–1960's railway, unequaled anywhere else in Britain.

A nostalgic look back on the heyday of steam, lavishly illustrated with rare and previously unpublished photographs.

Michael Harvey's new book brings to its reader the excitement of trainspotting in the 1950s and 60s, the hobby's heyday. It was the advent of the famous Ian Allan ABC Locospotters books that really gave the hobby the impetus, as they gave transpotters all the information they required. Forget the Anorak sets out to provide the reader with a personal account of what the hobby entailed - teenagers roaming the railways of Britain, sleeping on deserted platforms on porters' trolleys, 'bunking' dimly lit depots and eluding capture, travelling hundreds of miles ona platform ticket, and stink bombs on the Underground. You'll be able to smell the steam, soot and unwashed socks, and taste the boiled egg sandwiches, the chips wrapped in newspaper and the hot jam doughnuts, all washed down with warm Tizer. Illustrated with Michael Harvey's own photographs and a selection of maps, Forget the Anorak will appeal to anyone who experienced the golden days of trainspotting, as well as to anyone interested in the social history of Britain after the Second World War.

A nostalgic and evocative journey along the Southern Region through the 1970s, documenting the many changes along the way with previously unpublished images.

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.