Steam In The 1950s

A stunning new collection of railway photographs showcasing 1950s steam

This book, covering the final years of steam on Britain’s railways, presents a wonderful array of over 200 color photographs, many of them previously unpublished. All the imagery is reproduced from original transparencies that have remained carefully preserved away from daylight since the day they were taken, so the original vividness of color remains – a rare quality. This book will delight today’s railway enthusiasts who are looking for new material.

Steam on the Southern and Western is a personal record of railway views that were captured on black and white film in the late 1950s and 1960s, until the demise of steam on British Railways.The style of the book is the well-tried and- tested picture and captions format, and the majority of the pictures are black and white photography. Not every picture portrays a train as there are interesting branch line and infrastructure scenes to view as well. Furthermore, the book is intended to represent an eclectic mix of subjects and not to solely show main line scenes, for example.The book covers the Southern and Western regions of British Railways, with the Somerset and Dorset Railway included for good measure, as it fits neatly into the areas of the country for this volume. It also carries its share of photographs of British Railways standard locomotives in the locations appropriate to the regions. Where preservation starts to overlap with the still-active steam scene, some historic photographs are included.Photographs are grouped together by a particular location, for example, the Redhill to Reading line of the Southern, and Oxford on the Western. Each of these topic areas provides a flavour of the railway activity at the time. Overall, the book presents the reader with a gentle meander through the 1950's and 1960's railway scene and will stir the memories that so many of us have seen and still treasure today.

Seven friends recall the days when steam power was king in Yorkshire, England. The Golden Age of Yorkshire Steam and Beyond includes a wealth of unique memories and experiences from a collection of railway enthusiasts, who in their youth were fascinated by the steam locomotives that ruled the rails. Discover what it was like growing up in York and experiencing the sights and sounds of the giants of the former LNER system, including A4s, A3s, A2s, A1s and V2s, along with the Jubilees, the Royal Scots, and Black Fives of the former LMS system and the BR Standards. Explore life on the footplate of the engines allocated to Royston shed, right up to the end of steam. Read about the push and pull service that ran from Cudworth - Barnsley - Cudworth across the iconic Oaks Viaduct, as well as the Barnsley - Doncaster and York - Doncaster - Darlington journeys. Memories of Leeds, Normanton, Doncaster, Wath and Penistone are also included, in addition to shed layout drawings of Royston, Doncaster and York. Providing a fascinating insight into a railway system now long gone, the book is designed to ignite the memories of anyone who enjoyed the thrill of trainspotting during the 1950s and early 1960s, when steam was still king, before the rapid introduction of diesel and electric traction led to the complete elimination of steam from the rail network in 1968, with the exception of Flying Scotsman. The 1970s saw the return of steam on the mainline with steam specials powered by preserved locomotives. “All the authors have grown up with the sights and sounds of London North Eastern Region (LNER) giants, the former London, Midland Scottish (LMS) system and the British Railways Standard locomotives. The book will surely ignite the memories of anyone who enjoyed the thrill of trainspotting during the aforementioned years. The introduction of diesel and electric traction during 1968 led to the complete elimination of steam locomotives apart from those now preserved.” —Doncaster Family History Society

Kevin McCormack has written a large number of transport books mainly using previously unpublished material, much of it sourced from the Online Transport Archive. This, his latest colour album, covers the railways of Scotland in steam days and concentrates as much as possible on depicting older types of locomotives. Consequently, this volume contains a large amount of rare 1950s colour images, often depicting areas of the Scottish railway system that were later closed or cut back during the Beeching era. The pictures in this book, were taken by enthusiasts who had the good fortune to be able to afford colour film, at a time when such luxuries, were very expensive, to the average enthusiast. All the photographers concerned, travelled far and wide in Scotland with their cameras, at a time, just before most of the lines closed, between 1953–1967. The result of all this effort, is a fine collection of very rare images, depicting a lost period of railway operation, in a beautiful and picturesque part of Britain.