WILD SWAN BOOKS

John Lewis    200 pages    Hardback    1991

This volume gives an historical overview of the whole subject, including the technical means of operating and all livery variations including the British Railways era. From here, all pre-grouping vehicles are covered in detail, including the conversions from steam railmotors. Because of the uses of the prototype, the illustrations show branch line and minor station detail very well, a lot of this being in South Wales.

John Lewis    288 pages    Hardback    2024

John Lewis has taken the original text of Jack Slinn's 1986 book for HMRS and enlarged and re-written it, using his extensive knowledge, additional sources of information, and observations made since original publication. Drawing upon the considerable study of the subject and resulting information on the subject that has been found since 1986, this book also uses the extensive collection of photographs and information collected and made available by the late David Hyde. It has been produced with the full support of the HMRS, who kindly sourced original drawings from the National Railway Museum for the book. A comprehensive text on all types of vehicles and the traffics they carried are accompanied by numerous photographs of the vehicles and the trains they ran in, covering all eras, together with a good selection of clearly reproduced "original" works drawings.

Noel Coates    194 pages    Hardback    1990

A wonderfully detailed and painstakingly researched account of the wagon stock and practices of a railway which was built around industry and delivering the goods. The author observes that the wagons were quite idiosyncratic and owed little to the practices of other railways, beyond the requirements of the Railway Clearing House. This volume covers general practice, the works , liveries and then open, low and flat trucks. A second volume will cover other types, but all sorts of wagons are featured in this volume in the greneral sections. This is of particular use to railway modellers, one of which the author is, having extremely clear and explanatory drawings and sketches of the various minutae of construction and brake operation etc.

Noel Coates    260 pages    Hardback    2006

Following on from volume one, with consecutively numberd photographs and diagrams, this book completes the account with a detailed examination of covered goods, coal and mineral, bogie merchandise, livestock and special wagons - including the essential brake van. Very well illustrated with informative photographs and official drawings, the book also deals with the use of wagons and their loads, several photographs showing the great bales of cotton used by the numeroust mills served by the company. An excellent reference source and another fascinating insight into how well commerce and industry were served by the steam railway.

Peter Tatlow    248 pages    Hardback    2005

Although based upon the OPC book of 30 years ago, this is the first part of what is promised to be a four part set covering all of the wagons of the LNER. It is therefore a revised updated and much enlarged piece of work which bears little resemblance to the earlier work. This book covers ex Great Northern, Great Central and Great Eastern wagons, detailed photographs of good quality, scale drawings and numbering details.

Peter Tatlow    204 pages    Hardback    2007

The second part of a series, this volume covering the wagon stock of the Hull and Barnsley, North Eastern and Midland and Great Northern Railways. As before, detailed photographs of good quality, scale drawings and numbering details. Part 1 (still available) contained general design developments together with wagons of the Great Northern, Great Central and Great Eastern Railways. Another superlative work of reference from Wild Swan.

Peter Tatlow    186 pages    Hardback    2009

In the same format and level of detail as the earlier volumes, this book covers the wagon designs of the North British and Great North of Scotland Railways. These were both highly individual companies and had some quite unique looking stock, much of which disappeared from the rails a very long time ago, which makes the level of detail and photographic coverage in this book all the more impressive. Full scale drawings, details of diagram numbers and some wagon numbering and brake van allocations are also included.

Peter Tatlow    158 pages    Hardback    2012

This final part of the LNER wagon volumes has been split into two parts, this first part covering opens, minerals, hoppers and vans both ordinary and special purpose. This is fully up to the standards of earlier volumes, containing good quality scale drawings and very many clear and useful pictures of the wagons as built and in service, with all the varying conditions of wear that you would expect in between.

Peter Tatlow    184 pages    Hardback    2015

The final part of Peter's definitive work on LNER wagons, building on earlier books and covering amongst other types containers, steel carrying wagons, bolsters, cattle wagons, grain, lowfits, brake vans and finally BR built wagons to LNER designs. Appendices list all the different wagon diagram numbers, wagons census figures for four dates, telegraphic codes and building programs. The final page is of addenda and corrigenda to the whole series. This is "my" first book as Wild Swan and it has been a privilege to be able to complete a wonderful series of books, working with Peter Tatlow, Paul Karau and David Crossland and the team at Amadeus, my thanks to them all. I guess I'm now officially biased but this is just a great book, packed with information including detailed scale diagrams and exquisite photographs - I'm sure my late friend and LNER authority Geoffrey Ford would have approved.

The London & North Western Society    208 pages    Hardback    2001

Starting with a fascinating set of views and description of Earlestown Works, where nearly all L&NWR wagons were built, this book goes on to describe wagon construction and mechanical details in general, before then illustrating in meticulous detail a range of wagon types broadly covering open, cattle and flat (timber & furniture) trucks. The drawings are superbly detailed and very clear, and the excellent photographic coverage includes an impressive number of pre-grouping views. The authors have set themselves a hell of a task, a further two volumes will be required to cover the whole subject at this level of detail, and one wonders when these will ever be produced. Nonetheless, this is the best book on wagons I've seen to date for clarity and detail.

Peter Ellis, Peter Davis, Clive Taylor, Edited by Chris Northedge    210 pages    Hardback    2018

The final volume in a series of books, the first part of which was published as far back as 2001. Seventeen years on and despite inexorable demography, the subject retains a fair bit of interest, I hope(!) This final volume includes extensive coverage of the multifarious brake vans, in many ways the most interesting and distinctive wagons of any line, together with coal, coke, hoppered wagons, departmental wagons, rail and ballast wagons and tramcar trollies. The LNWR was arguably the most significant of the pre-grouping companies, moving huge tonnages of freight, and these books well illustrate what a complex and effective system was built up. This volume also features an interesting and detailed feature on the new tranship shed built at Crewe in 1901, an interesting and early example of the "hub" idea that now sees so many HGVs flying up and down the motorway network in the UK. Ropes and sheets are also featured and finally the book includes a comprehensive index to all three volumes in the series.

Chris Northedge    220 pages    Hardback    2016

A limited quantity of the softback edition re-worked into hardback, cased with dustjacket to match volume one and the recently published volume three of the series. Currently having another batch re-bound, estimated to be available again from the middle of April 2021.

LNWR Society    220 pages    Softback    2011

This second volume covers all of the vans and bogie trolleys of this significant pre grouping railway with clear photography, exemplary drawings and a well informed and readable text. What makes this book particularly compelling for me is the coverage of the "Rectank", not only are there detailed drawings but no less than three clear photographs showing a tank correctly loaded and secured and two views of loading and moving tanks onto and along the train. Source from Bovington tank museum and with an informative accompanying text, just this small part of the book is a fascinating insight into the railway aspects of the birth of a terrifying machine of war. I can recommend John Glanfield's "Devils Chariots" for anyone interested in this fascinating but horrifying subject.Going back to this book, please note that this second volume is only available as a softback whilst the first volume was a hardback.

James R Snowdon    172 pages    Softback    2001

Enjoying an independent existance of 70 years until its absorption into London Transport in 1933, the Metropolitian developed some very distinctive styles of rolling stock, including a surprising amount of freight stock types. This very nicely put together and illustrated book covers all the types in great detail, including numerous scale drawings and detail photographs. The book also works as a very pleasing overview and history of this very busy system, part of Edward Watkin's forward thinking railway empire.

G. F. Chadwick    94 pages    Softback    1993

Superb reference book on its subject, from the earliest through to the grouping era, wonderful prototype pictures coupled with a comprehensive text and numerous drawings. Published 20 odd years ago at the same cover price, by now this is grossly underpriced - but don't let that put you off!

Don Rowland    80 pages    Softback    2019

I am very pleased to have published this book, an appreciation of the estimable Don Rowland and the huge amount of work he has done in both recording and publishing information about the humble British goods wagon. With my own enjoyment of Don Rowland's magazine articles and David Larkin's seminal series of wagon books for Bradford Barton in mind, this book contains 80 pages of high quality images of wagons, the vast majority photographed by Don, printed mostly one image per page in order that the subjects and their myriad details of brake gear, lettering, construction and most of all the texture and finish can be fully appreciated. We have endeavoured to make the captions informative and accurate for both the wagons and settings in each case and with a very few exceptions all subject photographs are accurately dated and their locations recorded. Many of the backgrounds are also interesting on various levels, all of which serve to illustrate just how very different so much was at the Twilight of the era of traditional freight working on British Railways. I hope that this book gives half as much pleasure as I have had from those Bradford Barton books of all those years ago and also inspires those of us who model to more accurately portray the wonderful World of Wagons, sorry Don, I couldn't resists that sort of amalgamation of Peco and your Model Railway News series that I liked so much...