Author: Kevin McCormack

Publisher: Ian Allen Pub

Published: 2004-07-20

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13: 9780711030275

Now recognised as a World Heritage Site, the ex-Great Western Railway's main line into London and Paddington station provides one of the great triumphs of the railway age in Britain. Engineered by the mercurial Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the line and station represented a triumph of construction, with the designs often pushing to the limits of known skills and practices. Whilst Brunel's broad gauge may, ultimately, have proved short-lived, the route that he planned and the station that he initially masterminded remain a tribute to him more than 150 years after completion. Eventually, Paddington was to become one of the greatest of all London termini, sitting at the apex of routes that headed to the West Country, South Wales and to the Midlands, lines that were served by some of the finest and most powerful steam locomotives built in Britain.In his latest railway title for Ian Allan Publishing, noted author Kevin McCormack follows on from his highly successful The Southern Around London: A Colour Portfolio with an examination of the Western Region's operations into and out of London Paddington in the period between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s, when steam was gradually being supplanted by modern diesel traction. Covering the main lines west to Reading and Didcot and north towards Bicester and Banbury, as well as the associated branch lines, the author draws upon the collections of many notable railway photographers to provide over 80 colour illustrations, all of which are believed to be previously unpublished, which provide the reader with a fascinating snapshot of the railway industry in transition.