 | Narrow Gauge Books Published |  |
| Narrow Gauge Books Published | |
| Branch Line to Southwold | Middleton Press | |||
| Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith | £14.95 | 96 pages | Hardback | 1984 |
| Recently reprinted, this is a well produced book which illustrates this 3 foot gauge light railway in rural Suffolk in considerable detail. Apart from the usual selection of photographs and OS map extracts, there are also scale drawings of the stock used, and a number of the structures along the line. Considering that the line was closed by 1930, the detail and coveage of the photogaphs is really very impressive, and this remains the only book available on the line. | ||||
| The Cliffe Hill Mineral Railway | Plateway Press | |||
| M.H. Billington | £9.95 | 78 pages | Softback | 1997 |
| The story of a narrow gauge line serving a granite quarry in Leicestershire, and surviving up until 1948 and replacement by road transport. This is a well put together book including track plans, a map and scale drawings of locomotives, two of which survived into preservation - the Bagnalls "Peter" and "Isabel". | ||||
| Forestry Railways In Hungary | Locomotives International | |||
| Paul Engelbert | £9.95 | 68 pages | Softback | 1999 |
| A large format pictorial book, well printed on art paper, which gives a fascinating insight into and description of the forestry railways within Hungary, many of which are still operating carrying both timber and more recently tourists. Despite language difficulties and lack of information from the communist period, the author has put together a coherent and complete history of a group of fascinating and picturesque lines, which includes location maps and details of current operation. There are also technical details and scale drawings of the most common types of small diesel used, including a ubiquitous and highly characterful 0-4-0 of miniscule proportions. | ||||
| Light Railway Construction | Plateway Press | |||
| E.R. Calthrop | £4.95 | 34 pages | Softback | 1997 |
| An attractively laid out reprint of an 1897 paper extolling the virtues of the narrow gauge for commercial railway use. The writer is best remembered for the Leek and Manifold, but this book describes the applications of his principles to the Barsi Railway in India. | ||||
| Light Track to Arras | Plateway Press | |||
| T.R. Heritage | £8.95 | 80 pages | Softback | 1999 |
| Not available since its first publication in 1931, this is a first hand account of the working of the British narrow gauge "trench railways" during the First World War. Well written and very readable, the book is illustrated by a large number of relevant photographs, and the whole thing is produced to the usual high standards of its publisher. | ||||
| The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway | Midland Publishing | |||
| Steve Flanders | £8.99 | 64 pages | Softback | 1997 |
| A pictorial album of a long straggling system which converted all of its railway operations to road transport in 1953, and is still operating buses today. There are a few too many bus pictures for my taste, but it's still a good record of the railway, enhanced by the reproduction of several of H.C. Casserleys excellent photographs. | ||||
| The Mont Cenis Fell Railway | Twelveheads | |||
| P.J.G. Ransom | £16.00 | 92 pages | Hardback | 1999 |
| A beautifully crafted book, the history and background of a roadside Alpine mountain railway which pioneered and proved the use of the "Fell" patent adhesion system. This was a British invention for increased adhesion on steeply graded railways, where a centre rail in the track was gripped by opposed driving wheels mounted horizontally on the locomotive. The railway was for 6 years an important link for travellers from Paris into Italy before the 14,000 feet long Mont Cenis tunnel was opened to through rail traffic. | ||||
| Mountain Railways And Locomotives From Old Picture Postcards | Plateway Press | |||
| Keith Taylorson | £9.95 | 64 pages | Softback | 1999 |
| In this attractive volume the author successfully brings together a diverse collection of images from around the world. The interpretation of the subject is pretty liberal, and I was pleased to see two images of the wonderful metre gauge in East Africa included. | ||||
| Narrow Gauge at War 2 | Plateway Press | |||
| Keith Taylorson | £12.95 | 116 pages | Softback | 1996 |
| The statistics of the First World War remain truly appalling, and the wrecked terrain around the killing fields of the trenches prompted the development of a widespread network and variety of "field railways" (feldbahns) which were used to provide front line logistical support for the slaughter on both sides. This second book from this publisher on the subject takes a detailed look at the operations of Australian, British and Canadian light railway operating companies on the Western Font and further afield. The number and quality of photographs is staggering, considering the conditions under which most of them were taken and the antiquity of the whole operation. | ||||
| The Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway | Twelveheads | |||
| E.A. Wade | £15.00 | 72 pages | Hardback | 1997 |
| A rather unfortunate narrow gauge line. The quarry it served was allegedly sabotaged by misrepresentation in Birmingham, the passenger service only ever made it half way along its route, and the whole endeavour was closed by 1899. The story is interesting though and this book is a beautiful presentation of the line's story and remaining photographic and other evidence. | ||||
| Ratty. A History of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway | Plateway Press | |||
| W. McGowan Gradon | £7.95 | 50 pages | Softback | 1997 |
| A narrow gauge classic, a well produced reprint of a 1947 history of the R&ER, with a new selection of photographs. Both a mineral and a tourist railway, the line was a fascinating mixture of standard, narrow and even narrower track systems, the confusing mixture of which is explained in this book. | ||||
| Reseau Breton, A Rail Network in Brittany | Oakwood | |||
| Gordon Gravett | £10.95 | 176 pages | Softback | 1999 |
| A glorious book covering the network of metre gauge lines in Brittany, fragments of which live on today as standard gauge branches of the SNCF. Billard railcars, Piquet Mallets, overhanging eaves and stations with continental quantities of loop lines, not to mention a livery reminiscent of the County Donegal Railways - wonderful. Produced to a very high standard, since the 2005 reprint the book now includes a map. | ||||
| The Rye and Camber Tramway | Plateway Press | |||
| Laurie A. Cooksey | £17.95 | 160 pages | Hardback | 1995 |
| The larger and definitive book on this subject, nicely produced in a large format and with a wide selection of photographs illustrating every aspect of the line, its stock and even the personalities surrounding it. A particularly obscure item of rolling stock featured in several views is the "row boat" permanent way trolley - very nautical! | ||||
| Snowdon Mountain Railway Llanberis | Foxline | |||
| Norman Jones | £11.95 | 64 pages | Hardback | 1997 |
| A very appealing picture album and description of the only British rack railway. Photographs cover the line from early days to the present, (well 1997 to be precise), but the undoubted photographic highlight of the collection are Norman's lovely series of colour views taken in 1961, well reproduced to a good size and with very natural looking colours. | ||||
| The Talyllyn Railway | Wild Swan | |||
| J.I.C. Boyd | £27.00 | 326 pages | Hardback | 1988 |
| Recently reprinted, this is surely a contender for the most beautiful and complete history of a railway ever to have been published. It covers operation before 1950 and subsequent preservation, and it is a meticulously researched and constructed piece of work. A particular pleasure is the very full coverage given to the different personalities involved in keeping the line running.The author first became familiar with the line in 1940, as did other enthusiasts of the time, and another of the joys of this book are the photographs of this small group visiting and enjoying the line, including a lovely shot of Rolt in his Alvis at the quarry. "Picture Post" also recorded the operation for posterity, getting the artist Emmet to pose sketching the line and setting up various other "scenes", many of which are recorded in this book. Above all else, this is a story of how individuals successfully struggled to keep an impoverished railway running against all odds. | ||||
| The Vale Of Rheidol Light Railway | Wild Swan | |||
| C.C. Green | £26.95 | 264 pages | Hardback | 1986 |
| The author first visited the Vale of Rheidol as a boy in 1920, and after a further visit in 1954, and recognising that its future was in doubt, he decided to set about recording all details of the line and its history. He was meticulous in his work, getting to know the men who had worked on the line, researching all aspects of the line's operation, and recording what was on the ground in exacting detail. This beautifully put together book is the result of his work, a superb record of a previously neglected light railway and a lasting monument to one man's passion. | ||||