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Light Railways |  |
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Light Railways | |
| The Culm Valley Light Railway | Twelveheads | |||
| Michael Messenger | £15.00 | 96 pages | Hardback | 1993 |
| A beautiful book, describing and illustrating in considerable style the photogenic light railway that ran from Tiverton Junction to Hemyock. Latterly well known for milk traffic to the dairy at Hemyock, the line survived into the blue diesel era and nearly got a bridge under the then new M5 motorway before succumbing to closure in 1975. This is a well researched and written book that also describes the work and thoughts of Arthur Pain, the line's engineer and an early exponent of light railways. All eras are covered, although photographs of the earlier and steam eras predominate. | ||||
| The Culm Valley Light Railway | Oakwood | |||
| Colin G. Maggs | £10.95 | 144 pages | Softback | 2007 |
| An informative and well illustrated history and description of a very minor railway that survived until 1975 when the dairy it served was closed. All eras are covered in a detailed text but the book's main strength lies in its photographic coverage of the line's infrastructure and the rolling stock used, especially in the BR era. There is good coverage of the latter freight only era and the types of diesels used, although classes 22 and 35 have unfortunately managed to elude the book's photographers. | ||||
| Freight Traffic on Street Tramways in The British Isles | Adam Gordon | |||
| David Voice | £12.00 | 66 pages | Softback | 2007 |
| An insight into an overlooked aspect of tramway operation, revealing that quite a lot of freight has been caried on British tramways. The relatively well known and "railwaylike" Wisbech and Upwell and Wantage tramways are featured, but there is much else besides in what is a well illustrated and fascinating book. | ||||
| An Illustrated History of the Kent & East Sussex Railway | OPC | |||
| John Scott Morgan | £19.99 | 112 pages | Hardback | 2007 |
| A pleasing large format "picture album" type book covering this famous light railway in the years before closure. Extended captions and a written introduction give a good feel for the line and its stock, and the photos are reproduced at a good size. The author is known for his interest in the subject and so I would expect the information to be accurate, although I note that the bibliography is woefully lacking and I felt that the text was at times a bit superficial. Also the track plans and scale drawings have not reproduced too well, although they are interesting as they are taken directly from the survey that BR undertook when they acquired the line. Overall though, an very pleasing book and good value for money I think. | ||||
| The Kent and East Sussex Railway | Oakwood | |||
| Stephen Garrett | £8.95 | 112 pages | Softback | 1999 |
| Arguably Colonel Stephens' most famous railway, and today enjoying a sustained revival, including a scheme to rebuild the link to the main line at Robertsbridge. The photographs are well chosen and cover the route, stations, and the eclectic collection of stock used on the railway. The story of the preservation era makes interesting reading, and brings home the fact that the line has been under the control of the volunteers for nearly 40 years. | ||||
| The Lauder Light Railway | Oakwood | |||
| Andrew Hadjucki & Alan Simpson | £9.95 | 128 pages | Softback | 1996 |
| A complete and well illustrated history of a North British light railway which connected a small market town with the famous "Waverley Route" at Fountainhall. Intriguing features were a large MOD food depot at the terminus, and the use of tank locos with tenders to keep the axle loading down. | ||||
| The Mid Suffolk Light Railway | Wild Swan | |||
| Peter Paye | £21.95 | 216 pages | Softback | 2003 |
| Reprinted in 2003 as a softback, a lavish and delightful book, with superb photograpic coverage including the work of Dr Ian C Allen and including full track plans and scale drawings of buildings - a real delight. | ||||
| The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway | Oakwood | |||
| Nicholas Comfort | £10.95 | 144 pages | Softback | 1997 |
| Laid with light flat bottomed rail and featuring a profusion of corrugated iron architecture, the "Middy" was a light railway in the truest sense of the phrase. Conceived as an ambitious network, but only achieving a straggling 20 mile long single line, it served the needs of agriculture for two generations before succumbing to the inevitable in 1952. Considered for use in the "Titfield Thunderbolt", and the inspiration for John Hadfield's "Love On A Branch Line", a fraction of the line is currently being reconstructed. This book tells this line's fascinating story well, and is greatly enhanced through the photography of the late Dr Ian C. Allen. | ||||
| The Selsey Tramway Volume One | Wild Swan | |||
| Laurie A. Cooksey | £31.95 | 188 pages | Hardback | 2006 |
| Fully up to Wild Swan's highest standards, this is a well written and fantastically detailed account of a most interesting minor railway. The photographic coverage is astonishing, revealing much more than I have ever seen in print before and all of the line's trials and tribulations are fully explained and illustrated. Laid with incredibly light rail and utilising flimsy rollng stock, the line became part of the Colonel Stephens empire and staggered on until January 1935, after which it was sold off piecemeal as the Southern Railway had sensibly declined to take it over. A second volume details all of the line's hardware and rolling stock, although this book in itself provides a very complete record of the whole enterprise. | ||||
| The Selsey Tramway Volume Two | Wild Swan | |||
| Laurie Cooksey | £29.95 | 146 pages | Hardback | 2006 |
| This second volume describes the line's route and all of the rolling stock and is an ideal source book for modellers. The locomotives that the line used were a fascinating collection of industrial types and are illustrated and described in very great detail, including the very attractive 2-4-2 "Selsey" supplied by Peckett for the opening of the line in 1897. An assortment of internal combustion based railcars were also used and this book is the most detailed record of this type of vehicle that I have yet seen. Scale drawings of the antiquated stock used are included, mostly derived from photographs, together with sketches and details of the private owner wagons that were used on the line. Another lovely book from Wild Swan. | ||||
| The Sheppey Light Railway | Wild Swan | |||
| Brian Hart | £10.95 | 104 pages | Softback | 1992 |
| By the same author as the "Hundred Of Hoo" book and every bit as interesting, this book is complete in every detail, from the articulated coaches used through to the Edwardian seaside scene. Closed in 1950, an unusual feature was a siding into an airfield. | ||||
| The Weston Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway | Oakwood | |||
| Colin Maggs | £12.90 | 160 pages | Hardback | 1990 |
| Built on a shoestring and falling into recievership soon afterwards, the "WC&P" became part of the Colonel Stephens empire and pioneered several notable light railway developments. This is a nicely produced hardback illustrated with all aspects of the line, its history, and stock. Quite a bargain at this price, the same as when it was published in 1990. | ||||
| The Wrington Vale Light Railway | Oakwood | |||
| Colin G. Maggs | £8.95 | 120 pages | Softback | 2007 |
| A competent and well illustrated history and account of the light railway that ran from Congresbury on the GWR's Cheddar Valley line to a picturesque terminus at Blagdon. Opened in 1901, a passenger service ran until 1931 while freight traffic lasted until 1950 when the line was cut back to Wrington, which itself closed with the remains of the branch in 1963. Some of the original light section flat bottom rail survived until the end and made an interesting sight under the relatively modern Ivatt 2-6-2s used in the line's last years, well illustrated in several good views in this book. | ||||