 | Narrow Gauge Books Published |  |
| Narrow Gauge Books Published | |
| Cornwall Narrow Gauge | Middleton Press | |||
| Maurice Dart | £14.95 | 96 pages | Hardback | 2005 |
| Unlike most of this publisher's narrow gauge series, this book is predominantly concerned with historic and industrial installations, including the unusual Camborne and Redruth tramway. A worthwhile album containing many interesting photographs and research based notes on several very obscure lines, including a National Trust owned inclined tramway on St. Michael's Mount. A small section on pleasure lines includes a good set of photos of Nigel Bowman's wonderful Launceston Steam Railway, amongst others. | ||||
| The County Donegal Railways Companion | Midland Publishing | |||
| Roger Crobleholme | £14.99 | 112 pages | Softback | 2005 |
| Subtitled a handbook for railway modellers and historians, this excellent book started off as a straightforward collection of drawings and suggestions for modellers but grew in scope to become a well rounded portrait and evocation of a highly individual railway system. This is achieved through detailed descriptions and illustrations of the rolling stock and infrastructure of the system together with an intelligent and perceptive account of the railway and the area it served. There is also a small and well illustrated chapter showing how different people have modelled the line with no superfluous text or repetition of hackneyed modelling techniques. Excellent photographs and clear scale drawings are included, including a detailed examination of the wide variety of diesel railcars pioneered on the Donegal. This is a terrific book. | ||||
| Hampshire Narrow Gauge | Middleton Press | |||
| Mitchell & Smith | £14.95 | 96 pages | Hardback | 2004 |
| Although there is a higher proportion of pleasure lines featured here than in most other titles in this series, the quality and scale of at least two of them, coupled with their relative obscurity, sustains one's interest. Dean Hill is also extensively illustrated, as are several industrial and contractors lines, together with a preserved brickworks line at Bursledon which I knew nothing about. Other lines which haven't been illustrated have been listed in the front of the book, including loads on the Isle of Wight - slightly odd but then we are in the land of Middleton - God bless 'em! | ||||
| An Illustrated History of The Welsh Highland Railway | Ian Allan | |||
| Peter Johnson | £19.99 | 144 pages | Hardback | 2009 |
| A second edition of a deservedly popular book, bringing the latter day history of the Welsh Highland right up to date with the first trains across the Brittania Bridge and Network Rail crossing at Porthmadoc. As in the earlier edition, the bulk of the book covers the earlier developments and history of this fascinating undertaking and the quality of the printing and reproduction is really first class. The author has drawn upon some new sources to slightly amend the historical section and also put in some new photographs, but quite how different to the earlier editions is this part is difficult to judge. I have no knowledge of the "politics" surrounding this revival, but am fascinated to see just how well the new WHR will do in the 21st Century, I wouldn't be at all surprised if its future proves every bit as interesting as its past. Whatever one's perspective, I think this a terrific book and a worthy record and memento of the story so far. | ||||
| Industrial Narrow Gauge Album | Plateway Press | |||
| Andrew Neale | £19.95 | 108 pages | Softback | 2009 |
| After years of cajoling Andrew Neale has finally given way and produced a book devoted to pictures and descriptions of the British narrow gauge scene. The title is a rather nice tribute to the late Pat Whitehouse and his seminal book bearing the same title, the first railway book that a young train mad Andrew Neale purchased. The content is excellent,consisting of well reproduced and interesting pictures of a huge variety of subjects with extended and informative captions, all laid out on a regional basis throughout mainland Britain. Steam and internal combustion locomotives are given equal prominence and the photographs tend to concentrate on the locomotive as subject, although there are a few more general views also included. | ||||
| The Leek & Manifold Valley Light Railway | RCL Publications | |||
| Robert Gratton | £49.50 | 358 pages | Hardback | 2005 |
| Although this book has the invidious distinction of being the most expensive title that I have yet stocked, it is nonetheless proving a deservedly popular item amongst buyers. Both they and I have been won over by its presentational perfection and the utter completion of its coverage of all aspects of this 1904 first narrow gauge product of the 1896 Light Railways Act. Beautifully put together by the talented Roy Link and featuring a subtle use of colour where appropriate throughout, the quality of production of this book is utterly beyond reproach. Every aspect of the line and its surroundings are illustrated, original plans and sections come alive on the page as do postcards, original documents and the rolling stock through exquisitely well coloured drawings. There are also complete and detailed scale drawings of all stock together with a stunning and comprehensive collection of photographs of the line in operation. As the line was built by E. Calthrop, who had done much railway work in India, the line and its equipment had something of the grandeur of the Raj about it, in addition to being well thought out and engineered. The whole book is comprehensively indexed whilst appendices outline Calthrop's life and his many achievements, the "Barsi Railway", information on the lines promoters and even contemporary photographers amongst much else. I proclaim this to be a literary and artistic "tour de force" by anyones standards - hurrah! | ||||
| The Lincolnshire Potato Railways | Oakwood | |||
| Stuart E. Squires | £12.95 | 160 pages | Softback | 2005 |
| A new edition of a book which was one of my favourite and most popular titles when I started this busines in 1992. An enlarged book containing many more illustrations than the previous edition, this book describes potato carrying lines on approximately 50 farms and estates in Lincolnshire. The biggest and most well known was the system at Nocton, run by the famous "Smiths Crisps" company, details of which are very well illustrated. Most however were small outfits on family run farms which the author has worked hard to record, with maps of layouts and photographs of mainly what is left. A fascinating story and good illustration of the value of a railway before road improvement and widespread use of lorries. One of my favourite pictures in this edition is the shot of the distinctive "Liquid Fuel" contrivance alongside an LNER locomotive at Littleworth. If you go to the Hulton Picture Library website and search for "potato railway" you will find the superb original photograph from which the book's rather grainy "author's collection" image comes from. | ||||
| The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway 1895 - 1935 | Oakwood | |||
| L.T. Catchpole | £9.95 | 128 pages | Softback | 2005 |
| Just published with a very attractive facsimile of the first edition's, this new edition has a large number of previously unpublished Catchpole photographs and additional information added to the text. Now more than ever before, this book is a comprehensive history of this legendary line, detailing its construction operation and subsequent re-equipment and swift closure and selling off by the Southern Railway. An extraordinary tale in many ways, recent suggestions have been made that the promoter planned it in such a way as to guarantee a limited success in order to prevent the masses destroying his beloved Lynton. Printed on art paper throughout, the book is copiously illustrated with good photographs and contains track plans and scale drawings of much of its rolling stock. | ||||
| The Malta Railway | Oakwood | |||
| B.L. Rigby | £9.95 | 120 pages | Softback | 2004 |
| An attractively produced and well illustrated book describing a British equipped 2 foot gauge line on Malta. Given that the whole thing closed in 1931 the photographic coverage is impressive and there is also quite a lot of the line left to see today, all described and illustrated in this charming book. | ||||
| Narrow Gauge at War | Plateway Press | |||
| Keith Taylorson | £9.95 | 56 pages | Softback | 2008 |
| A third reprinting for this very popular and morbidly fascinating collection of photographs, the story of narrow gauge railways on the Western Front. This edition contains some updated and corrected appendices but is otherwise identical to the earlier print runs. Actually the interest contained in this book goes way beyond the morbid, it's just that the I am endlessly haunted by the monstrosity of the "war to end all wars" and the subsequent planting of the seeds of World War Two by the victorious bloody politicians. Are we/they any better these days? | ||||
| Narrow Gauge Rolling Stock | Ian Allan | |||
| Desmond Coakham | £14.99 | 96 pages | Softback | 2007 |
| A well written account of the story of rolling stock development on the Irish narrow gauge, which also gives an good overview of how the various lines each developed and inter related. There are a few scale drawings, but the strength of this book is in the very good photographic coverage of the subject. This is a very useful inspiration and source of material for narrow gauge and light railway modelling of any Irish or British subject, both passenger and goods. | ||||
| The Redlake Tramway & China Clay Works | Twelveheads | |||
| E.A. Wade | £9.50 | 84 pages | Softback | 2004 |
| A new edition of a 1982 book, reounting the history of an obscure 2 foot gauge line perched on the edge of Dartmoor and serving the Chine Clay industry. This new edition has more photographs than the original although the text remains the same, setting the railway into its proper context as part of the china clay industry and successor to the earlier Zeal Tor tramway, both of which are explained and described. A readable and informative description of a line which is still easily traceable on the ground, a significant survival being the engine shed - well worth a visit. | ||||
| Saga By Rail: Great Britain and The Isle Of Man | Oakwood | |||
| J.I.C. Boyd | £14.95 | 192 pages | Softback | 2007 |
| A really nice pot pourri of well illustrated reminiscences covering James Boyd's encounters with a catholic selection of railways, the majority of which are either narrow gauge or very minor outposts of the standard gauge. From school day encounters with the Somerset and Dorset through youthful wartime encounters with the Snailbeach and Festiniog to delights such as the Welshpool and Llanfair and Corris before preservation and closure. Some fascinating industrial railways are also explored, including an in depth look at the Whittingham Hospital Railway, the Isle of Man, Altrincham gasworks, Eaton Hall, Manchester's Ship Canal railway, the Tanat Valley, Talyllyn and Ravenglass and Eskdale, amongst much else. The photogaphs, mostly taken by the author, are extremely pleasing and cover the subjects very comprehensively. A super book and proving deservedly popular. | ||||
| Sierra Leone Narrow Gauge | Middleton Press | |||
| Phillip Beale and Vic Mitchell | £14.95 | 96 pages | Hardback | 2004 |
| Most recently in the news for depressing reasons, the country of "Lion Mountains" once possessed an effective railway network with modern equipment. Finally giving up in 1974, some of the stock was then purchased by the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway where several coaches and one Hunslet (survivor of a class of 30 locomotives) can be seen running today. This is an intriguing story which this book tells very well, photographs include post closure views including the "special" run for would be purchasers in 1975 and details of the separate 3'6" gauge mineral railway. | ||||
| Slate Quarry Railways of Gwynedd | Twelveheads | |||
| Michael Messenger | £14.00 | 96 pages | Softback | 2008 |
| A collection of Michael Messenger's own photographs recording the surviving slate quarries in the counties of Caernarfon and Merioneth in their last years of operation. A large proportion of these atmospheric images are in colour and nearly all have never been seen in print before. Steam engines, industrial diesels, double flanged wheels and archaic work practices are all brought back to life in a wonderfully browse-able book, which is fully up to the high expectations that this quality publisher has created with its wonderful books. | ||||
| The Snailbeach District Railways | Industrial Railway Society | |||
| Eric S. Tonks | £6.95 | 52 pages | Softback | 2008 |
| A reprint of Eric Tonks 1974 publication, which details an obscure Shropshire narrow gauge mineral railway. Well reproduced with clear photographs and complete with track plans and scale drawings of stock and locomotives. This is an ideal modelling reference and interesting record of a very minor railway, which latterly became part of the idiosyncratic Colonel Stephens grouping of lines. | ||||
| A Tale of Many Railways | Lightmoor Press | |||
| Alan Keef | £30.00 | 192 pages | Hardback | 2008 |
| An illustrated autobiography of one Alan Keef, well known in narrow gauge circles as both a dealer and constructor of narrow gauge railway equipment. Given the timescale over which Alan built up his business, this extremely well illustrated book provides an interesting commentary on the changing role of narrow gauge railways over the last few decades. From industrial grime through to "tourist twee", Alan has had an involvement in much of what has gone on in this fascinating world. A good read, although if I was forced to a criticism it might be that the story is in places a bit too "Keef-centric", I could have done with a bit more detail on the projects and organisations in which Alan has got involved. | ||||
| Tales of the Old Corris | Gomer | |||
| Gwyn Briwnant Jones | £9.99 | 64 pages | Softback | 2008 |
| Another very appealing collection of previously unpublished photographs and further stories and recollections from the Corris Railway. The author has worked hard and with the help of a number of other individuals, all acknowledged in the book, has assembled another remarkable look back at this narrow gauge backwater, currently undergoing a minor but very pleasing revival. The book is beautifully put together and produced, I think my favourite image is that of driver William Roberts photographed with his son Ieuan on the running plate of No 3 in 1914 - wonderful. | ||||
| The Thakenham Tiles Railway | Graham Lelliot | |||
| Graham Lelliot | £4.99 | 101 pages | Softback | 2009 |
| To A5 format and with a laminated cover featuring several colour views of the subject, this is a wonderfully detailed look at a uniquely simple two foot gauge industrial railway in Sussex. Whilst the photographs within the book are not of the highest quality, they are nonetheless clear and present a remarkably detailed record of the whole line and its operation, which carried on until 1980. There are also detailed site and track plans included, together with details of the railway equipment's preservation and the current conveyor operations at Thakenham. A wonderful little book, full of inspiration for the railway modeller who likes industrial subjects and a credit to its author. | ||||