More Amazing & Extraordinary Railway Facts

More Amazing & Extraordinary Railway Facts

Author: Julian Holland

Publisher: F+W Media, Inc.

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1446356833

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Another fascinating miscellany that will delight railway buffs everywhere. The branch lines of transport history are fully explored and all who love trains will delight in stories of the old railway companies, famous engines, discontinued lines, and all sorts of other railway trivia.


The Railways

The Railways

Author: Simon Bradley

Publisher: Profile Books

Published: 2015-09-24

Total Pages: 607

ISBN-13: 1847653529

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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.


Steam Trains and Jigsaw Puzzles

Steam Trains and Jigsaw Puzzles

Author: David Platt

Publisher: Author House

Published: 2007-07-18

Total Pages: 69

ISBN-13: 148178644X

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Steam Trains and Jigsaw Puzzles strikes most people as an intriguing title. The origin is simple,however my trainspotting youth has been synchronized with a later interest in jigsaw puzzles. The result is expensive I have a collection of over 250 jigsaws depicting British steam railways. The conclusion is impossible there are over 500 steam railway jigsaw puzzles to collect and they are being supplemented annually. The Liverpool & Manchester Railway marked the arrival of the true passenger railway service in 1830 and presented jigsaw manufacturers with another subject on which to focus. Prior to this date the jigsaw experience, started by John Spilsbury in c1760, was restricted to subjects such as religion, geography, history, monarchs, the alphabet and art. Many characteristics combine to form the basis of nostalgic images buried indelibly in the minds of people who travelled in the steam railway age. Manufacturers have not been slow to tap into this nostalgia and produce jigsaws aimed at stirring those memories and inviting people to reflect on past experiences, good, bad or indifferent. Chad Valley, Victory, Good Companion,Falcon, Waddingtons and Arrow are just a few manufacturers who produced steam railway jigsaws in the past. Most of these companies are now a distant memory while others are in foreign ownership. Equally famous names such as Wentworth, Ravensburger (Germany), House of Puzzles, Gibsons, JR Puzzles and King Puzzles (Holland) continue the manufacturing tradition. Output is generally superb thanks to the efforts of fine railway artists such as Terence Cuneo, George Heiron, T. E. North, Don Breckon, John Austin, Barry Freeman and Malcolm Root. The book is aimed at anyone with an interest in jigsaw puzzles and at those enthusiasts and aficionados who refuse to allow those evocative memories of the Golden Age of Steam to die.


Images of the British Railway Landscape

Images of the British Railway Landscape

Author: David Goodyear

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2022-05-05

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1399011316

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David Goodyear's approach to railway photography has always been to capture the context of the railway within the landscape in which it finds itself. The railway train itself embraces each scene, providing the soul and atmosphere where it may dominate or be dominated by the landscape in which it is portrayed, alongside the special manner through which it expresses its very character. The landscape expresses the train as much as the train expresses the landscape. The magnificence and splendour of a railway viaduct such as that at St. Germans or Brunel's engineering masterpiece of the Royal Albert Bridge makes a statement of the railway within the location it is placed. The train crossing the viaduct finds itself enveloped by the architecture of the viaduct and yet characterises the very function for which the viaduct was built. Steam locomotives always bring a very special sense of mood and movement to a railway landscape, but a modern train can equally also contribute its own soul to the landscape in which the railway participates. Diesel and electric trains contribute their own appeal and character, such as through an eye-catching livery which conveys a sense of stage-appearance on a scene where the aesthetic of the passing train is expressed alongside the location or architecture embracing it. Inspirational scenery, big skies and brooding hills or a patchwork of color in springtime fields can help instil a sense of admiration for beauty in nature through which the train passes. Equally expressive are sunlight and shadows, as also the quality of light through the different seasons, each contributing to the essence of each location. The author lives in an area with access to many such awe-inspiring vistas to explore within Devon and Cornwall. Join him as he explore a series of journeys setting out from the south west towards the north and east, each reflecting his own journey directions.


On The Slow Train

On The Slow Train

Author: Michael Williams

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2010-04-01

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1409050890

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'A trip back in time' DAILY TELEGRAPH A love of railways, a love of history, a love of nostalgia. ______________________________ Get ready to board the slow train to another era, to a time when travel meant more than hurrying from one place to the next. On the Slow Train will reconnect you with that long-missed need for escape, and reminds us to lift our heads from the daily grind and remember that there are still places in Britain where we can take the time to stop and stare. This book is a paean to another age: before milk churns, train porters and cats on seats were replaced by security announcements and Burger King wrappers. These 12 spectacular journeys will help free us from what Baudelaire denounced as 'the horrible burden of time.' ___________________________________ 'Captivating' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Deep in our soul, the railways represent an idyll that we love' INDEPENDENT 'A magical world, barely changed since the golden age of rail' DAILY MAIL 'Superb' RAILYWAY MAGAZINE 'Memory lane . . . An intriguing social snapshot' HERITAGE RAILWAY


Real Railway Tales

Real Railway Tales

Author: Geoff Body

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2014-05-05

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 0750957026

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Running a railway is a complex business, constantly throwing up drama, misadventure and the unexpected. Geoff Body and Bill Parker have collated a rich selection of railwaymen's memories and anecdotes to create an enjoyable book of escapades and mishaps, illustrating the daily obstacles faced on the railways, from handling the new Eurostar to train catering, nights on the Tay Bridge to rail 'traffic cops', and from mystery derailments to track subsidence. However interesting the infrastructure of the large and varied railway business may be, the real heart of this great industry lies in its people, the complex jobs they occupy and the dedicated way in which they carry them out.


Boat Trains: The English Channel & Ocean Liner Specials

Boat Trains: The English Channel & Ocean Liner Specials

Author: Martyn Pring

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2021-01-18

Total Pages: 636

ISBN-13: 1526761939

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A study of the specialty train, including its history, development, and operation beginning at the end of the nineteenth century. In many ways this title, featuring the evolution of cross-channel boat trains and the many dedicated services responsible for moving international passengers to and from trans-Atlantic steamers, is an extension of luxury railway travel. But that’s not the full story as it encapsulates more than 125 years of independent and organised tourism development. At the end of the nineteenth century, faster and more stable twin-screw vessels replaced cross-channel paddlers resulting in a significant expansion in the numbers of day excursionists and short-stay visitors heading to Belgium, France and the Channel Islands. Continental Europe, as it had done since the end of the Napoleonic Wars beckoned, introducing ideas of modern-day mass tourism. Numerous liners bestriding the globe were British domiciled. Major ports became hives of commercial activity involving moving freight and mail, as well as transporting all manner of travellers. Not only was there intense competition for passenger traffic between the Old and New World and Britain’s imperial interests, greater numbers of well-heeled tourists headed off to warmer winter climes, and also experimented with the novel idea of using ocean steamers as hotels to visit an array of diverse destinations. Cruise tourism and the itinerary had arrived as ‘Ocean Special’ boat trains became essential components of railway and port procedures. Whilst some railway operations were dedicated to emigrant traffic, continental and ocean liner boat trains were also synonymous with the most glamorous travel services ever choreographed by shipping lines and railway companies working closely in tandem. This well illustrated book explores the many functions of boat train travel. “This book should appeal to the rail fan, the ship enthusiast, the connoisseur of travel posters and those interested in the business of transportation. I know of nowhere else one can find so much information on boat train operation in one book. . . . Well worth a read by anyone interested in the interconnectivity of different means of public transportation.” —Charles H. Bogart, Steamship Historical Society of America


The 1896 Light Railways Act

The 1896 Light Railways Act

Author: John Hannavy

Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited

Published: 2019-08-15

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1445693453

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The fascinating story behind a Victorian law with a welcome and unexpected side effect - it allowed today's heritage railways to come into being.