OAKWOOD PRESS & VIDEO LIBRARY

Introducing the latest new books from Oakwood Press
 

NORTHERN NORTHUMBERLAND’S MINOR RAILWAYS  -  Volume Three Sandstone, Whinstone & Gravel Lines     by Roger Jermy      £12.95 This book covers more of the ‘minor railways’ in the Berwick-upon-Tweed and Alnwick districts. These lines include a variety of industrial and small private lines, of a variety of track gauges and with a variety of forms of motive power: locomotives, fixed engines, horses and even manpower. The lines covered in this book were constructed for obtaining ‘hard stone’ for a variety of purposes, including stone for buildings, bridges and roads.      .... more

 

THE SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE RAILWAY - Vol Two: Walsall to Rugeley (including the Cannock Chase Colliery Lines)     by  Bob Yate     £15.95 This volume examines the story of the line from Walsall to Cannock and onwards to Rugeley, together with the complex of lines serving the collieries on Cannock Chase.  The line from Walsall to Cannock was opened in 1858 and from Cannock to Rugeley the following year.  The line from Walsall to Rugeley was of primary importance for the coal traffic, and its passenger services never really developed a satisfactory level of traffic.                 .... more

 

STEAM, DIESELS AND ON-TRACK MACHINES      by  John Meredith                £15.95 In Steam, Diesels and On-Track Machines John describes the hard life that he led as a fitter, often working at night and at weekends but shining through it is his determination to get the job done as quickly as possible, often showing great resourcefulness and determination in undertaking difficult jobs himself on the spot, while others wanted to send for a breakdown crew.   .... more

 

UNDER 10 CMEs - Vol 2  C.E. Fairburn to J.F. Harrison, 1944-1959 by  E.A. Langridge                  £16.95 Eric Arthur Langridge died in 1999, at the age of 102. He was little known to enthusiasts, until his retirement in 1959, when Eric became one of the most important contributors to locomotive history, particularly through his monumental series ‘Under 10 CMEs’, which appeared in the SLS Journal in 28 instalments between 1973 and 1988.  Vol 2 covers the period 1944-1959.        .... more

 

UNDER 10 CMEs - Vol 1  Dugald Drummond to W.A. Stanier, 1912-1944 by  E.A. Langridge                 £16.95 Eric Arthur Langridge died in 1999, at the age of 102. He was little known to enthusiasts, until his retirement in 1959, when Eric became one of the most important contributors to locomotive history, particularly through his monumental series ‘Under 10 CMEs’, which appeared in the SLS Journal in 28 instalments between 1973 and 1988.  Vol 2 covers the period 1912-1944.         .... more

 

THE HELSTON BRANCH      by  Stanley C. Jenkins                   £12.95 The Helston branch was the southernmost railway on the British mainland, and also the very last branch line to have been built in south-western Cornwall. Sadly, it was also one of the first to close (1962 for passengers, 1964 for freight), and perhaps for this reason it has not enjoyed the attention that has been lavished upon certain neighbouring ex-Great Western Railway lines.    .... more

 

THE WELLS-NEXT-THE-SEA BRANCH VIA WYMONDHAM AND DEREHAM by  Stanley C. Jenkins                  £15.95 The subject of this book is the 43 miles of railway that linked Norwich (Thorpe) to Wells-next-the-Sea on the North Norfolk coast. The line was opened in stages and had a number of distinct parts; Norwich to Wymondham opened in 1845, and Wymondham to Dereham a year later. Continuation to Fakenham came in 1849 and Wells was reached in 1857. By 1862 the entire route was in the hands of the newly-formed Great Eastern Railway.                  .... more

 

THE LYNN & HUNSTANTON RAILWAY AND THE WEST NORFOLK BRANCH by  Stanley C. Jenkins                  £15.95 Norfolk, one of England’s largest counties, is also one of its most distinctive. The sea is never far away.  The GER often relied on summer leisure traffic to make up for a lack of heavy industry. Not surprisingly, the Great Eastern system included several classic seaside branch lines, one of which - the Hunstanton branch - forms the subject of this book.                         .... more

 

THE MINEHEAD BRANCH AND THE WEST SOMERSET RAILWAY by  C.R. Maggs                  £12.95 Well-known author on railway matters in the West Country, Colin Maggs, tells the story of one of the GWR’s longest branch lines, from its beginnings in the 1830s to the present day. The line was originally built only as far as Watchet to serve the harbour there, and was later extended to Minehead, where in later times many thousands of holidaymakers would arrive to enjoy a week by the seaside at Billy Butlin’s holiday camp.                  .... more

 

THE LAMPETER,  ABERAYRON AND NEW QUAY LIGHT RAILWAY by  M. R. C. Price            £8.95 The centenary of the opening of the railway to Aberayron falls in May 2011. To coincide with this Oakwood Press announce the publication of an enlarged Second Edition of the long out-of-print title The Lampeter, Aberayron and New Quay Light Railway which includes a number of new photographs. Sixteen miles south of Aberystwyth on the wide sweep of Cardigan Bay, lies Aberayron one of West Wales most picturesque and attractive harbours.       .... more

 

NORTHERN NORTHUMBERLAND’S MINOR RAILWAYS - Volume Two: Colliery and Associated Lines        by  Roger Jermy         £10.95 This second volume examines the railways associated with the coal industry. For centuries, until the 1960s, the economy of Northumberland was dependent on coal. Much of the coal came from the south-east of the county. Other Northumberland pits were found in the Tyne valley, and near Berwick and Alnwick, these last two districts being covered in this volume. Many of these collieries were sufficiently large to warrant the use of waggonways.  .... more