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Books
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NARROW GAUGE RAILWAYS IN NORTH CAERNARVONSHIRE Volume
Two - The Penrhyn Quarry Railways
by J.I.C. Boyd |
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The subject of this account has engaged James Boyd's curiosity for over 50
years; it concerns on of the most captivating railway sites in North Wales.
This work includes a feast of photographs and delightful drawings, with maps
specially prepared for this erudite coverage of an era now vanished. Not
only railways, but people, places, industries, ships, social orders - now
all a memory - are faithfully recorded, for the Penrhyn railways were
amongst the first 'private' systems born of the French Wars and the
Industrial revolution. The author brings an unassailable, lifetime's
involvement in his subjects.
The series, of which this volume forms a part, are not
only backed by the author's own unique, close personal knowledge in both
fieldwork and documentation, but also by a team of enthusiastic assistants,
each a specialist in his own field.
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The book consists of 232 pages in all, with 95
photographs. It has printed endpapers and is casebound with a gold-blocked
spine. This book has a full colour laminated dustjacket. |
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B5B |
ISBN 0 85361 312 5
ISBN 978 0 85361 312 1 |
£ 18.95 |
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NARROW GAUGE RAILWAYS IN SOUTH CAERNARVONSHIRE Volume One:
The Embankment Tramway, Gorseddau Tramway, Festiniog & Blaenau Railway,
Merionethshire Railway, Croesor Tramway, Bettws-y-Coed & Festiniog
Railway, North Wales Narrow gauge Railway, Portmadoc Beddgelert & South
Snowdon Railway
by James I.C. Boyd |
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In 1971 the First Edition of
this title drew readers’ attention from James Boyd’s previous book about
the Mid-Wales Narrow Gauge Railways, to a treasury of long-abandoned
railways in South Caernarvonshire which, until the 1960s had been hardly
investigated. In this Second Edition (in two volumes) the author builds
still further on his life-long and close knowledge of the subject. He
recounts the politics and infighting of the Cambrian, Great Western and
London & North Western Railways to secure a greater foothold and share in
the then-lucrative North Wales slate industry traffic, and wrench more of
it from the monopoly of an entrenched Festiniog Railway.
Within this theatre of marrow
railway plotting, Hugh Beaver Roberts aspired to dominate the scene for
over a decade; then Charles Easton Spooner, finding the Festiniog Railway
too restrictive for his empirical ambitions, contrived his own ascendancy;
finally Henry Joseph Jack cunningly manipulated to dictate electrical and
transport undertakings in this part of the country. |
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Mr Boyd deals with the complexities of
competitive promotions which baffled the Board of Trade, and holds our
attention with amusing extracts from the documents of those times until
the formation of the Welsh Highland Railway…. the subject of the second
volume.
The book consists of 320 text pages
with 64 pages of art paper containing more than 100 photographs. The book
is casebound with
a gold-block spine, printed endpapers and a laminated 2-colour dust
jacket. |
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B4A |
ISBN 0 85361 365 6
ISBN 978 0 85361 365 7 |
£ 22.95 |
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NAVIGATION on the YORKSHIRE DERWENT
by Pat Jones |
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The middle
reaches of the Yorkshire Derwent were said to offer the finest scenery of
any navigable river in Britain, but today, alas, they lie beyond our reach.
This book outlines the history of the river as a trade route serving Malton,
Stamford Bridge and a number of smaller communities, which for some time
competed successfully with George Hudson’s York & Scarborough Railway. It
tells how its attractions were enjoyed by visitors from York and Leeds. It
describes the motor-boating era of the 1930s and the valiant but ultimately
unsuccessful efforts to reopen all the river’s derelict locks. It also looks
at nature issues, and the equation of conservation with neglect, which
ultimately contributed to the severity of the disastrous floods in March
1999. A5 format, 144 pages, 98 photos/plans with a laminated colour card
cover and a square-backed spine.
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C10 |
ISBN 0 85361 563 2
ISBN 978 0 85361 563 7 |
£ 9.95 |
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The stories in this book have been
collected by Bryan King from the close-knit community of West Glamorgan
railwaymen. They tell of life on the railway in another era, primarily
working from the two Neath engine sheds - Court Sart and N&B - but also
included are stories from Swansea and Margam. Over the years there has
been plenty of incidents and accidents and this is recalled by those who
were there. Some of the railwaymen can remember the days of the Great
Western, but most of what is told dates from the British Railways years
when the big ‘42XX’ 2-8-0Ts and the numerous smaller tank engines were the
regular motive power. The decline of the Vale of Neath and Neath & Brecon
lines are recorded as the South Wales industry contracted.
A5 format, 192 pages, more than 200
illustrations. |
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Contents |
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Acknowledgements
Introduction
A Brief History of the Railways serving
Neath
Neath Engine Sheds
Firing Techniques
Neath & Brecon Duties
12.40 pm Neath N&B to Swansea St
Thomas
4.10 pm to Brecon
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The Afternoon Glyncorrwg (1955)
Freight Traffic on the Neath & Brecon
Rough Trips
Tales of the Trains
Steam to Severn Tunnel Junction
The Llandarcy Tanks
The ‘Pembroke Coast Express’
The end of passenger services on the
Vale of Neath
Other
People’s Memories |
My 47 Years of Railway service by John
Last
Steam Day Memories by Danny Counsell
District Lampman to Yard Inspector by
Jack Jones
Faggot boy to HST Driver by Howard
Jones
Railway Wives by Pat King
David John Morgan by Adrian Jones
Appendices |
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RS20 |
ISBN
978 0 85361
691 7 |
£ 13.95 |
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NELSON and
YNYSYBWL BRANCHES of the TAFF VALE RAILWAY
by C. Chapman |
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The history of these two principal branches interlocked and over-lapped at
various times. Both lines were originally basic mineral branch lines
focusing on exchange sidings at Stormstown Junction, but were later to see
their orientation changed in favour of the important traffic centre of
Pontypridd, at the hub of the TVR system. Both lines also played an
important part in the steam railcar revolution that gripped the TVR in the
decade after 1903. Finally, in the retrenchment of later years both lines
ended their days by reverting to short mineral branches off the former TVR
main line, with Stormstown Junction regaining its former pre-eminence. The
book is to A5 format with a square-backed Linson cover and consists of 144
pages of art paper, which include 103 photographs and 25 maps/plans.
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LP200 |
ISBN 0 85361 512 8
ISBN 978 0 85361 512 5 |
£ 10.95 |
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NORTHAMPTON &
BANBURY JUNCTION RAILWAY
by S.C. Jenkins
LAST FEW COPIES AVAILABLE - Order now to avoid disappointment |
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112 pages printed on art paper throughout. This
detailed text is supplemented by 7 maps and over 50 photographs plus
timetables, Acts, etc. A5. Two-colour Linson cover. |
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OL78 |
ISBN 0 85361 390 7
ISBN 978 0 85361 390 9 |
£ 5.95 |
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NORTH
EASTERN REGION:Pictorial Reminscences
by Ron Goult |
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An evocative collection of photographs from the
1950s and early 1960s. The author tells of his memories of those days
through his fine collection of pictures. The area covered is from
Newcastle in the north to Selby in the south. There is a surprising range
of motive power from the ageing ex-NER locomotives through the LNER types,
to the ‘Standards’ and then the diesels and dmus that replaced them, plus
visitors to the region. The author’s cine film, which is already well
known, makes up the Oakwood Video Library Programmes Railways of the
North East In Retrospect Volumes 1 & 2. Over 140 photographs, 80
pages of art paper, A5 format, with a glossy 4-colour card cover. |
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PS5 |
ISBN 0 85361 489 X
ISBN 978 0 85361 489 0 |
£ 7.95 |
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This is the first volume
covering the minor railways of northern Northumberland (essentially the
administrative districts of Berwick-upon-Tweed and Alnwick). This book
draws together the area’s most diverse and eclectic railways, both
standard and narrow gauge, some were short-lived while others operated for
many years. Most of the lines are now consigned to history. However, the
Heatherslaw Light Railway has taken delivery of a new steam engine in
2010.
The north of Northumberland had numerous brick and tile works. At least
six of them employed small tramways or railways.
Before the start of World War I Britain used some 900,000 tons of
home-produced timber annually. This compared with the annual 11,500,000
tons which were imported via the Baltic ports. After the start of
hostilities these imports largely dried up. |
The railways operated by the
Canadian Forestry Corps at Harbottle, Thrunton and Chillingham and
Colonel Leather’s line at Middleton Hall played their part in the war
effort. Included in the book are some fascinating photographs of these
forestry lines. There was a continued demand for timber between the two
World Wars. The woods near Swarland were exploited in the mid-1930s with
the use of a small railway. In World War II several short-lived forestry
or timber railways existed in the Rothley and Ewesley areas to the south
and south-west of Rothbury. Another railway was located close to Chathill,
north of Alnwick, whilst the Duke of Northumberland’s Sawmill at Hulne
Park, Alnwick, was served by a railway dating from the same period.
Military target railways have existed at three locations in the north of
Northumberland. The first location was at Ross Links on the North Sea
coast during World War II. This railway was relocated, in the 1950s, to a
new site north of Redesdale Camp on the Army Ranges at Otterburn. Another
target railway, using novel construction methods, was built later at a
remote location known as ‘White Spot’, also at Otterburn.
Two passenger-carrying ‘pleasure railways’ have operated in the Berwick
District, whilst a third was planned but not built. The first of these was
a short-lived miniature railway at Spittal Promenade, whilst the second,
the Heatherslaw Light Railway, continues to operate very successfully,
between stations at Ford Forge, near Heatherslaw Mill, and Etal.
Contractor’s railways were built to assist large civil engineering
projects such as railways, piers, docks and harbours, reservoirs and
estates of industrial housing. Whilst the northern part of Northumberland
is largely rural, its pastoral landscape was to become crossed by various
major railways and roads. Its sparse population meant that opposition to
the building of water reservoirs for the large conurbations to the south
was minimal so that several, of large size, were constructed in the
region. Finally the minerals and other natural resources demanded outlets
and hence ports and harbours were constructed and enlarged.
Inevitably when placing lines into groups of similar type there are some
that do not fit conveniently into any category. The Marshall Meadows
Seaweed Railway, Dewars Granary Railway, Lemmington Hall Railway and
Little Mill Preservation Society are examples of these.
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Contents |
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Brickworks Tramways
The Scremerston
Brickworks Tramway
The Chatton Brickworks Tramway
The Thrunton Brickworks Railway
The Learchild Tramway
The Shilbottle Brickworks Tramway
The Amble Brickworks Railways
The Forestry and Timber Railways of World War I
The Canadian Forestry Corps Railway at
Harbottle
The Canadian Forestry Corps Railway at
Thrunton
The Canadian Forestry Corps Railways at
Chillingham
Colonel Leather’s Railway at Middleton
Hall, Belford
The Later Forestry and Timber Railways
The Swarland Wood Forestry Railway
The Rothley Forestry Railways
The Ewesley Forestry Railway |
The Chathill Forestry
Railway
The Alnwick Sawmill Railway
The Sanctuary Wood Sawmill Railway at
Denwick, near AlnwickThe
Military Target Railways
The Ross Links
Target Railway
The Silloans Target Railway, near
Redesdale Camp
The White Spot Target Railway
The Passenger-carrying Railways near Berwick
The Spittal Miniature Railway
The Heatherslaw Light Railway
Contractors’ Railways
McKay & Blackstock’s Royal Border Bridge
Contractor’s Railways
Meakin & Dean’s Alnwick to Coldstream
Branch Contractor’s Railway
Sir John Jackson’s Seahouses Harbour
Contractor’s Railway
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The Whitaker Brothers
Contract for the
North Sunderland Railway
The Reservoir Railways at Fontburn
A Varied Collection of Other Railways
The Marshall Meadows Seaweed Railway
The Dewar’s Granary Railway at Berwick-
upon-Tweed
The Lemmington Hall (Felbridge
Monument) Railway, near Alnwick
The Little Mill Preservation Society’s
Railway
Proposed Railways
Sir Francis Blake’s Railway
The Berwick & Kelso Railway
The Flodden to Barmoor Railway
The Marquess of Waterford’s Railway
The Holy Island Branch Railway
The Seahouses Miniature Railway
The Aln Valley Railway
The Military Railway at Bellshiel,
Otterburn |
Almost any area of
Britain had its share of proposed railways, those of northern
Northumberland are dealt with in the final chapter. The book is to A5
format, 128 pages, 99 illustrations.
The Northern Northumberland Minor Railways is planned to be published
in four volumes with the three later volumes, detailed below, already
in preparation:
North Northumberland’s Minor Railways: Colliery Lines
North Northumberland’s Minor Railways: Sandstone, Whinstone and Gravel
Lines
North Northumberland’s Minor Railways: Limestone Industry Lines
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LP234A |
ISBN
978 0 85361
703 7 |
£ 10.95 |
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NORTHERN
NORTHUMBERLAND’S MINOR RAILWAYS - Volume Two: Colliery and
Associated Lines
by Roger Jermy |
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The second volume in this
series 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.
Several collieries were worked on a commercial scale to the south and
south-west of Berwick. Further south, small collieries were associated
with the lime industry at Seahouses, Beadnell and in the area of Ancroft.
Numerous collieries developed in the Alnwick area, near to Shilbottle.
Others were found close to Amble at Radcliffe, Broomhill and Hauxley.
Finally several collieries were located in a line from Longframlington
towards Elsdon including those at Healeycote, Forestburngate and
Longwitton. Many of these collieries were sufficiently large to warrant
the use of waggonways or railways, both underground or on the surface. |
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In early years men or horses
were the source of motive power for the coal wagons. In later years some
of the bigger collieries became linked with the national rail system and
were busy enough to employ their own locomotives. Much local coal was
exported from ports such as Tweedmouth and Amble, its destination being
ports in Europe as well as those in the south of England. Other coal was
taken by rail to power stations for the generation of electricity.
Some mines, though constructed
mainly for the extraction of coal, produced other commercially important
products. Those at Scremerston and Radcliffe, for example, yielded clay
which allowed the creation of substantial brick and tile works close to
the collieries. A nearby pit produced good quality ironstone as well as
supplying coal for the Brinkburn Ironworks. The colliery railway or
tramway systems were often employed for transporting these ‘secondary
products’, such as the wagonway and later railway which transported clay
from the Radcliffe Colliery to Amble Brickworks. Occasionally the use of
colliery lines became shared, for example stone from the Forestburngate
Quarry, was moved along the line of the Forestburngate Colliery Company.
A5 format, 128 pages, 108
images, with a laminated card cover with a square-backed spine. |
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LP234B |
ISBN
978 0 85361
704 4 |
£ 10.95 |
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NORTHERN
NORTHUMBERLAND’S MINOR RAILWAYS - Volume Three: Sandstone,
Whinstone & Gravel Lines
by Roger Jermy |
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This book, like the two
previous volumes in the series, covers ‘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. Excluded are lines belonging to the ‘main line’ companies
and those which were operated as sidings from these lines. Nevertheless a
few liberties have been taken. For example this volume includes the story
of the narrow gauge railway linking the Blaxter Quarry in Redesdale with
Knowesgate station even though, soon after leaving the quarry, it departs
from the Alnwick District.
The lines covered in this
book were constructed for obtaining ‘hard stone’ for a variety of
purposes, including stone for buildings, bridges and roads. Descriptions
of various quarry lines associated with the limestone industry will appear
in the final volume of the series. |
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This book aims to place these
small railways into their social, geographical and historical context.
Whilst researching for the book it has been considered a top priority that
original sources be consulted, and that visits be made to as many of the
sites as is practicable or possible. Anecdotal evidence, and evidence from
secondary sources, such as newspaper reports, has been used on various
occasions. However, memories, particularly of events that happened nearly
a century ago, may have become clouded, and every effort has been made to
find written or photographic material which corroborates the evidence of
the spoken word.
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Contents |
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The Railways and Cableways of the Wooler and Berwick
Districts
1 - The
Doddington Quarry Railway
2 - The Scott’s Quarry Railway at Wooler
3 - McLaren’s Railway at Yearle Quarry
4 - The Breamish Valley Railway at Ingram
5 - The Scremerston Gravel Works Cableway
The Quarry Lines around Bamburgh and Belford
6 - Brand’s Railway at Bamburgh
7 - Brunton’s Waren (Budle Bay) Waggonway
8 - The Red Barns Quarry Tramway
9 - The Railway at Brada Quarry
10 - The Crag Mill Quarry Railway, Belford
11 - The Brownieside Quarry Railway
The Embleton and Craster Quarry Railways
12 - The Embleton Quarry Railway
13 - The Craster Quarry Railways and Cableway
Some Quarry Railways around Alnwick
14 - The Little Mill Whinstone Quarry Railway
15 - The Howick Quarry Railway
16 - The Longhoughton and Ratcheugh Quarry Railway |
The Quarry Railways of Northumberland County Council
17 - The Moor House Railway
18 - The Hare Crag Railway
19 - The Breamish Gravel Works Railway near Powburn
The Quarry Railways near to Rothbury
20 - The Wards Hill Whinstone Quarry Railway
21 - The Forestburn Quarry Railway
22 - The Ewesley Quarry Railways
23 - The Biddlestone Quarry Railway in the Coquet Valley
The Blaxter Quarry Lines
24 - The Blaxter Quarry Tramway
25 - The Blaxter Quarry Railways and Craneway
Proposed but not built Railways and Cableways
26 - The Budle New Town Quarry Railway
27 - The Low Newton Quarry Tramway
28 - Mark Appleby’s Quarry Railway at Craster
29 - Lord Howick’s Craster Railway & Craster to Little Mill Aerial
Ropeway
30 - McLaren’s Howick Scar Farm Quarry Tramway
31 - The Haggerston Estate Railway
32 - The Middleton Hall Quarry Railway |
A5 format, 160 pages, 132
images, printed on art paper, with a glossy card cover with square-backed
spine. |
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LP234C |
ISBN
978 0 85361
705 1 |
£ 12.95 |
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