The Lost Joy Of Railways

Takes you back to the 1950s and 60s, reminding you not just of the trains but of personal accounts, journey logs, timetables and photographs. Divided into six regions of British railways, this book documents the favourite sections and engine sheds. It also includes records of trainspotting trips and the final days of steam.|"The Lost Joy of Railways" will transport you back to the 1950s and 60s, reminding you not just of the trains but of personal accounts, journey logs, timetables and photographs. Divided into six regions of British railways, each chapter documents the favourite sections and engine sheds that were a magnet to the spotter. The book also includes records of trainspotting trips and the final days of steam, along with feature pages on famous railway photographers, schedules, works, scrapyards and essential clothing, equipment and survival kit for spotters. Each chapter also encompasses a section on the introduction of diesels throughout the system.

A nostalgic look back at the top spots for trainspotters in the 1950s and 60s. A wealth of memories for those once and always train enthusiasts who can remember the excitement of close encounters with steam and speed, tracks and trains, engines and engineers. Divided into the six British railway regions, each chapter documents the favourite stations and engine sheds that were a magnet to the spotter. An evocative look at the golden age of British railways in the post-war years, this book revisits the bestselling The Lost Joy of Railways with the addition of new photographs, personal note book pages, and other ephemera. A perfect gift for train spotters, old and young.

Journey back to the 1950s and 60s with this nostalgic look at Britain's railways in their glory days. Packed with hundreds of photographs, journey logs, trainspotting notebooks and ephemera. This is a vivid recollection of the whole atmosphere of the railways during that glorious era. Organised by the six regions of British Railways, each chapter is a roll call of the top spots to visit in search of that elusive number, the best sheds for an unusual sighting and, of course, the star locomotives that plied the lines. With detailed records of trainspotting trips, region miscellany and information on the locomotives that survived, The Joy of Railways, is a journey down memory lane to the final days of steam, and the move to diesel on Britain's beloved railways.

Sunday Times History Book of the Year 2015 Currently filming for BBC programme Full Steam Ahead Britain's railways have been a vital part of national life for nearly 200 years. Transforming lives and landscapes, they have left their mark on everything from timekeeping to tourism. As a self-contained world governed by distinctive rules and traditions, the network also exerts a fascination all its own. From the classical grandeur of Newcastle station to the ceaseless traffic of Clapham Junction, from the mysteries of Brunel's atmospheric railway to the lost routines of the great marshalling yards, Simon Bradley explores the world of Britain's railways, the evolution of the trains, and the changing experiences of passengers and workers. The Victorians' private compartments, railway rugs and footwarmers have made way for air-conditioned carriages with airline-type seating, but the railways remain a giant and diverse anthology of structures from every period, and parts of the system are the oldest in the world. Using fresh research, keen observation and a wealth of cultural references, Bradley weaves from this network a remarkable story of technological achievement, of architecture and engineering, of shifting social classes and gender relations, of safety and crime, of tourism and the changing world of work. The Railways shows us that to travel through Britain by train is to journey through time as well as space.

Julian Holland provides a collection of first-hand accounts from people whose lives have been changed by the fortunes of Britain's railways. Each of the 45 stories provides a wealth of anecdote about historical and social change in Britain.

SOMETIMES you come across a lofty railway viaduct, marooned in the middle of a remote country landscape. Or a crumbling platform from some once-bustling junction buried under the buddleia. If you are lucky you might be able to follow some rusting tracks, or explore an old tunnel leading to...well, who knows where? Listen hard. Is that the wind in the undergrowth? Or the spectre of a train from a golden era of the past panting up the embankment? These are the ghosts of The Trains Now Departed. They are the railway lines, and services that ran on them that have disappeared and gone forever. Our lost legacy includes lines prematurely axed, often with a gripping and colourful tale of their own, as well as marvels of locomotive engineering sent to the scrapyard, and grand termini felled by the wrecker's ball. Then there are the lost delights of train travel, such as haute cuisine in the dining car, the grand expresses with their evocative names, and continental boat trains to romantic far-off places. The Trains Now Departed tells the stories of some of the most fascinating lost trains of Britain, vividly evoking the glories of a bygone age. In his personal odyssey around Britain Michael Williams tells the tales of the pioneers who built the tracks, the yarns of the men and women who operated them and the colourful trains that ran on them. It is a journey into the soul of our railways, summoning up a magic which, although mired in time, is fortunately not lost for ever. THIS EDITION REVISED AND UPDATED TO INCLUDE MAPS.

Julian Holland's Dr Beeching's Axe 50 Years On is a unique memorial to all that was lost following the publication of the ‘Beeching Report’ on 27 March 1963. Uniquely, the author has tried to include every railway line that was closed as a result of the ‘Beeching Report’, and more. They are all shown on Map 9 in Part 2 of the ‘Report’ and have been annotated for clarity at the beginning of each regional chapter in the book. Needless to say it is not plain sailing: there are lines that were marked for closure on the maps but were closed before publication of the ‘Report’; there are lines that were not originally on Beeching’s original hit list but which were closed anyway; there are lines that were originally marked down for closure but which were fortunately reprieved. There are even one or two which seem to have not existed at all! The author has included them all.