 | Whats New ! |  |
| Whats New ! | |
| New books in the Titfield Thunderbolt bookshop. New titles are being added all the time! |
| Alex Jackson The Man and the Coupling | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Dave Booth | £6.00 | 55 pages | Scalefour Society | 2009 |
| I have to confess that part of the appeal of this book to me is the biographical detail on Alex Jackson, a talented modeller who rose to some sort of prominence in the immediate post war period with a very well engineered and modelled 3/8 scale "Gauge One" garden railway. Defecting to 4mm scale he was one of the group of Manchester modellers who pioneered a more "finescale" approach to modelling, espousing 2 rail pick up and more precise track standards amongst other things. Alex also developed a novel coupling, which is the main subject of this book. Aside from being a really practical guide to making and using these unobtrusive couplings, this is also a good read and an intelligent discourse that touches on many aspects of modelling, including names from the past and their influence on the post war scene. I have one tiny gripe, the book is not laminated so the cover will eventually mark. This minor quibble aside the book is superbly well produced and printed. | ||||
| A Bowaters Album | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Dave Hammersley | £11.95 | 80 pages | Noodle Books | 2009 |
| A comprehensive and really well illustrated record of the very extensive railway operations that once existed around the paper mill at Sittingbourne. Latterly well known in part as the Sittingbourmne and Kemsley light railway, which has recently survived an attempt at its extinction by developers, the original system was much larger and featured standard as well as narrow gauge railway workings. The best aspect of this book to me is the way in which the author managed to record the railway in its industrial setting, which makes for a much more interesting record than would a loco-centric book. The photographs include a number of good colour shots and at the price this book is good value indeed. | ||||
| British Railway Journal Number 75 | 2010-03-10 | |||
| Various | £9.95 | 80 pages | Wild Swan | 2010 |
| A pleasingly eclectic collection of subjects. The largest is a comprehensive feature on the Aldeburgh branch complete with scale track plans, an appealing collection of photographs of all stations and joy of joys - pictures of "Sirapite" and Garrett's amazing rail connected works at Leiston. Next is part one of a photographic journey along the Metropolitan's Brill Branch and also featured are Byfield SMJ, a visit to industrial railways near Stoke and the Tylwch Accident revisited. All within laminated boards and printed on art paper, this is a very welcome return to form of a somewhat lapsed periodical. | ||||
| The East Somerset and Cheddar Valley Railways | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Richard Harman | £24.99 | 272 pages | Lightmoor Press | 2009 |
| At last, a comprehensively researched, well written and copiously illustrated book that covers the "Strawberry Line". The historical development and relationship with the Somerset and Dorset and its antecedents are very well covered and comprehensive plans, scale track plans and a set of the later signalling diagrams give a very full account of what the line looked like. Operation is also well covered, with train workings, locomotive diagrams and accounts of several incidents and a very good selection of photographs. The very end of operations and the move into preservation are not really covered although the various quarries and their operations are, including the by now vast Foster Yeoman operation at Merehead. | ||||
| Great North Of Scotland Railway Carriages | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Keith Fenwick | £19.95 | 148 pages | Lightmoor Press | 2009 |
| The relatively small size of GNoSR coupled with the survival of many of its drawings at its works in Inverurie has meant that this single volume is both comprehensive and superbly illustrated. The need for thrift led to the company somewhat lagging behind its contemporaries although several of its more modern designs saw more than a few yeards in BR service. These two factors make this book a real joy, comprehensive drawings and details of carriage construction from its earliest days, complemented by a large number of good photographs, including some (astonishingly good) examples of preservation. This book has appeal way beyond the adherents of this specific company - a superb bit of work. | ||||
| GWR Goods Services Part 2B Goods Depots and their Operation | 2010-03-10 | |||
| Tony Atkins | £25.95 | 199 pages | Wild Swan | 2010 |
| This, the third of a series of three, cover goods yards and their operation and is far and away the most pictorial of the series so far. It covers all of the Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff area depots in detail in addition to Ross on Wye to represent one of the many smaller depots. A final chapter details various improvements across the system and features very good detailed pictures of improving and evolving freight facilities. These include two cracking views of the new (1906) facilities at Bath and loading china clay directly from lorry to wagon at St Austell in 1931, amongst much else. Details of station truck working over several time periods and also direct wagons being run on a regular basis in 1923 further illustrate the complexity of freight operations being run - and all done without computers. | ||||
| A History of The Fullers Earth Mining Industry Around Bath | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Neil Macmillen with Mike Chapman | £15.00 | 152 pages | Lightmoor Press | 2009 |
| This well produced and illustrated book contains the intriguing and hitherto completely unrecorded history of a once significant industrial activity around Bath. Fuller's earth and its myriad uses are comprehensively explained, a fascinating subject in itself, whilst the many other details of the industry and its development are comprehensively recorded. Ordnance survey map extracts are included to show the exact location of the several sites, all of which are also depicted in a good selection of photographs. Despite the arcane and obscure nature of the subject the author has used his local knowledge, contacts and some surviving records to produce a really interesting and readable account, to which the publishers have done full credit. On a "railway note", this book told me that the Fullers Earth being loaded into box vans in Midford goods yard as frequently recorded by Ivo Peters photographs was destined for the oil refinery at Llandarcy. A "mine" of information and compelling reading for Bathonians on several "levels" - ouch! | ||||
| An Illustrated History of The Welsh Highland Railway | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Peter Johnson | £19.99 | 144 pages | Ian Allan | 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 | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Andrew Neale | £19.95 | 108 pages | Plateway Press | 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 Kent and East Sussex Railway | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Brian Hart | £34.95 | 282 pages | Wild Swan | 2009 |
| A well researched and well written account of the development and operation of Colonel Stephens' favourite railway up until closure by BR in 1961. It is also a beautiful record of an era and world that has entirely vanished - a real light railway publishing tour de force. | ||||
| LMS Wagons Volume 1 | 0000-00-00 | |||
| R.J. Essery | £19.95 | 180 pages | Noodle Books | 2010 |
| A very welcome reprint of one of the OPC "standard works" that so changed the face of railway publishing thirty odd years ago. This has been a consistently hard to find title second hand and contains detailed information on the brake vans, vans and open wagons that formed the backbone of freight operations on the steam railway. The drawings, all reproduced to 4mm scale, are taken from diagram books and so generally show details of bodywork but not underframe detail but the photograhic coverage of each type is very well done. This doesn't match the quality current generation of wagon books by Wild Swan, or example, but is nonetheless an invaluable source for modellers and those interested in the subject and well worth the cover price. | ||||
| A Modellers Handbook of Painting and Lining | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Ian Rathbone | £21.95 | 154 pages | Wild Swan | 2008 |
| A very complete account of how an experienced painter sets about finishing railway models. Right through from tools, materials, preparation, cleaning, priming, top coating and the multifarious complexities of lining, every single stage is explained and illustrated in great detail. Apart from a very few prototype reference shots, every single photograph in this book is in colour - a first for Wild Swan and beautifully and believably printed too. The only thing is that the quality of Ian's work is so good that it makes me wonder whether I could or would ever produce anything even approaching his standard. Patience and practice are the keys according to Ian. Oh well - I believe he accepts commissions! | ||||
| Private Owner Wagons An Eighth Collection | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Keith Turton | £19.95 | 168 pages | Lightmoor Press | 2009 |
| Enlivened by the opening up of further archives and photographic collections on the subject, this latest volume is easily on a par with the best of those produced so far. In this volume there appear several salt wagons with a low arc roof rather than the normal "peaked" tops and various small stone wagons that operated on the Shropshire and Montgomery, amongst much else. | ||||
| Red Panniers Last Steam on The Underground | 0000-00-00 | |||
| John Scott Morgan and Kirk Martin | £27.00 | 176 pages | Lightmoor Press | 2008 |
| Featuring many previously unpublished photographs, many of them in full colour and enlivened by some very good writing and memories from the men who worked with them, this is the story of the 13 ex GWR "Pannier Tanks" that went to London Transport between 1957 and 1971. Briefly covering the Panniers' origins and earlier LT steam operations, this is an absolutely glorious celebration of its subject. The photography is phenomenal, both in its quality and coverage, and the writing is equally interesting - covering many aspects of the locos, their LT operations and not ignoring the human side of things. This is one of my favourite railway books of all time and is a real credit to its publisher, Kirk Martin, Geoff Plumb, and all the other names that helped put it together. | ||||
| Sailing the Rails | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Howard M. Frost | £11.30 | 80 pages | Spurn Heritage Coast | 2007 |
| This is an enlarged edition of a booklet about the fascinating Spurn Peninsula and its military railway, written by one of the two original co-authors. The late Ken Hartley had provided most of the railway content, including a scale drawing of the glorious Hudswell Railcar, and this remains in this new edition. It is supplemented by some additional reminiscences concerning the railway in addition to a lot of extra information on the history and geography of the ever changing Spurn Peninsula itself. The railway used only a few "proper" steam locomotives in its life but was host to a fascinating variety of other rail-borne vehicles, from a converted Itala racing car through various wind powered trolleys to a catholic collection of (slightly) more normal i.c. powered railcars. This is a fascinating book, the production is excellent and the variety and quality of photographs is also excellent, including colour pictures of more recent scenes. My one criticism is that the text has rather too many exclamation marks(!) | ||||
| Scottish Layout Projects | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Ian Futers | £12.99 | 64 pages | Santona | 2009 |
| Ian Futers, for a while synonymous with circular North British branch line layouts, in this book takes us on a colourful, inspiring and "whistlestop" tour of Scottish layout possibilities. Combining model photography with prototype details and pictures and also featuring full colour and scenically developed track plans, the themes are all pleasing adaptations or combinations of fact and fantasy. I especially liked the sketches of the schemes by Neil Ripley, in some ways a sort of updated and coloured version of Alex Bowie's visualisations in the old "Model Railway News". | ||||
| Severn and Wye Railway Volume 4 | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Ian Pope and Paul Karau | £29.95 | 174 pages | Wild Swan | 2009 |
| After a very long wait, coverage of the mineral loop - a delightfully obscure piece of freight railway linking Drybrook Road in the north with Tufts Junction in the south. Largely disused from 1940, collieries along the line loom large with extensive photographs showing their features and operation well, less so for the more obscure ones but the whole is nonetheless a great record of a railway backwater from a lost age. | ||||
| Slate Quarry Album | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Gordon & Ann Hatherill | £24.00 | 188 pages | RCL Publications | 2009 |
| A much enlarged (over twice the size) new edition of a beautiful book, containg many more photographs and much more information than the original, but again providing a striking and memorably well produced testament to the slate industry of North Wales. The main quarries covered are those at Maenofferen, Penrhyn and Aberllefenni although another chapter discusses what is left to see at Dinworic, including some good historic shots. Other chapters describe in detail the physical activities and equipment associated with slate quarrying, quarrying itself, inclines, trackwork and tramways, wagons, locomotives and also Blondins - including a heart stopping account of a final inspection of one of these machines. A final chapter features some walks along tramways and into remote quarry sites, all beautifully photographed. As with the first edition, the quality and detail of Gordon and Ann's writing, sketches, photographs and observations is first class and the standard of presentation and design of the book is fully up to the high standards that we have come to expect from its publisher, the talented Roy Link. | ||||
| The Snailbeach District Railways | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Eric S. Tonks | £6.95 | 52 pages | Industrial Railway Society | 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 | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Alan Keef | £30.00 | 192 pages | Lightmoor Press | 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. | ||||
| The Thakenham Tiles Railway | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Graham Lelliot | £4.99 | 101 pages | Graham Lelliot | 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. | ||||
| The Titfield Thunderbolt Now and Then | 0000-00-00 | |||
| Oliver Fosker | £8.95 | 75 pages | Up Main | 2008 |
| Having become interested in the Titfield Thunderbolt, and being further inspired in 2003 by a small "penny dreadful" by one Simon Castens, a surprisingly young man called Oliver Fosker set out to photograph the locations of Titfield with a view to creating a "then and now" compilation. After several field trips and a deal of research, this book is the happy result of his endeavours. Having obtained permission from Studio Canal to use stills from the film, Oliver has largely succeeded in providing a complete series of matched "then and now" views, all produced in colour. I say "surprisingly young" as Oliver was born many years after the end of steam, and yet has applied himself to achieve what no one before has managed for his subject, over 50 years after the event - wonderful. So much for wearisome and trite predictions of the impending demise of our wonderful hobby. | ||||