A Quiet Country Town

A Quiet Country Town

Author: David Gibbings

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2015-04-06

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 0750964464

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It has been 100 years since the first airfield was established in the country town of Yeovil. Since 1915, aircraft have been designed, manufactured and tested at Westland, including the Lysander, used to transport British agents to Europe during the Second World War. In 1948 the company focused solely on helicopters and its aircraft have been sent all over the world since then, used in lifesaving with Air Ambulance and Search and Rescue and deployed in warfare such as Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. To celebrate the centenary of the UK's only major helicopter manufacturer, David Gibbings has collated an anthology of writings that retell Westland's history and its special relationship with Yeovil, which has rarely been quiet since the first aircraft took off from the airfield that now lies at its heart.


Rail Operations Viewed From South Devon

Rail Operations Viewed From South Devon

Author: Garth Pedler

Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd

Published: 2017-07-04

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 1784622583

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South Devon, a thriving county with the sea, estuary and moorland for recreation, owes much of its success and vibrant economy to the railways that provide day return services, allowing people to travel freely to and from London and the North. Rail Operations Viewed From South Devon is a comprehensive exploration of the railways in and around South Devon, with chapters drawing on areas across the country such as Totnes, Carlisle and Bristol. Embracing a wide range of topics to help the reader understand how railway engineering reached its current state, this book aims to encourage discussion about the rail network as an entity. Chapters include the history of the sea and cliff issues associated with Dawlish, as well as how the Victorians built a congestion-free rail system around Bristol, with another chapter detailing the Cross Country timetables of 1925. This extensive insight into the railway also draws on the author’s personal experience of undertaking a rail tour to Carlisle and back to Totnes in 1999, following the re-privatisation of the rail network, in comparison to a previous excursion in 1961. Illustrated throughout with dozens of detailed maps and diagrams, as well as useful statistics, Rail Operations Viewed From South Devon will appeal to readers who are curious about railway history and the recent management of the rail networks.


The Great Western Steam Retreat

The Great Western Steam Retreat

Author: Keith Widdowson

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2022-01-06

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 0750999772

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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.


Seventy Years of the South Western

Seventy Years of the South Western

Author: Colin Boocock

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2022-07-28

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1526780917

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The South Western main line is one of the most important railways in the south of England. Colin Boocock spent a significant part of his life living on and researching the history of this centre of railway operations in the South and South West of England. This book looks at the network over the last seventy years, from Nationalisation through to the present day. The system provides a vital link between the South and South West of Britain and London, operating a mixture of commuter services and important main line passenger trains. Throughout the seventy years covered in this book, the South Western network also had significant flows of heavy freight between the capital and Southampton Docks and the West Country. Today there are still frequent, well-loaded container trains from Southampton to the Midlands and the North via Basingstoke and Reading. This volume also covers the transitions from steam traction to diesel and electric in stages from the 1950s through to the late 1980s


Guide to Britain's Working Past

Guide to Britain's Working Past

Author: Anthony Burton

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 9780393325522

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A fascinating photographic chronicle of Britain's industrial heritage.


The Branch Lines of Somerset

The Branch Lines of Somerset

Author: Colin Maggs

Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited

Published: 2011-06-15

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 1445625644

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A lavishly illustrated title from acknowledged railway expert Colin G. Maggs, presenting the story of Somerset's branch lines.