The Great Western Steam Retreat

The Great Western Steam Retreat
Author: Keith Widdowson
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2022-01-06
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 0750999772

In mid-1964, Keith Widdowson got wind that the Western Region was hell-bent on being the first to eliminate the steam locomotive on its tracks by December 1965. The 17-year-old hurriedly homed in on train services still in the hands of GWR steam power, aiming to catch runs with the last examples before their premature annihilation. The Great Western Steam Retreat recalls Widdowson's teenage exploits, soundtracked by hits from the Beatles, the Kinks and the Rolling Stones, throughout the Western Region and former Great Western Railway lines. He documents the extreme disorder that resulted from that decision, paying tribute to the train crews who managed to meet demanding timings in the face of declining cleanliness, the poor quality of coal and the major problem of recruiting both footplate and shed staff. This book completes the author's Steam Chase series and provides a snapshot into the comradery that characterised the final years of steam alongside the long-gone journeys that can never be recreated.

Great Western Railway Stations

Great Western Railway Stations
Author: Allen Jackson
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2017-04-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1445670127

A lavishly illustrated survey of a wide range of GWR stations.

GWR Locomotives: The Prairies

GWR Locomotives: The Prairies
Author: Allen Jackson
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 106
Release: 2022-11-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1398109649

The latest volume in Allen Jackson's series examining the locomotives of the Great Western Railway. Profusely illustrated throughout.

GWR Locomotives: The Manor Class

GWR Locomotives: The Manor Class
Author: Allen Jackson
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 119
Release: 2019-10-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1445693038

A fascinating and lavishly illustrated guide to this iconic Great Western Railway locomotive Manor Class.

The West Country

The West Country
Author: John Payne
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2011-11-10
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 190849350X

The English West Country is a land of exceptional landscapes: many miles of wild, unspoilt coastline and vast expanses of wild moorland; great cities such as Exeter, Plymouth, Bath and Bristol; and market towns, villages and hamlets. Farming, mining, quarrying, fishing and trade are the traditional industries of the counties of Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. On one level, the West Country is the most English of all English regions, home of clotted cream, thatch, church spires, folksong, hobby horses and Cecil Sharp. Yet the area was trading with Mediterranean Europe before the Romans. For many years Bristol was the centre of the slave trade, and many of its great mansions were built on the proceeds of slavery. Great swathes of land in Dorset, Wiltshire and Devon are still used by the military and are off-bounds to visitors. And within the West Country is the special case of Celtic Cornwall, and the even more remote Isles of Scilly. People lived in the West Country long before Britain, or England, were invented. From the great stone circles of Avebury and Stonehenge in Wiltshire to the menhirs of Cornwall, and the wealth of prehistoric remains on the Isles of Scilly, this has always been an inhabited landscape, crafted by men and women working closely with nature and natural forces. John Payne explores this culturally rich and varied region, revealing many facets of its distinctive and much-loved identity.

Great Western Revival

Great Western Revival
Author: John Maybery
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2015-12-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1445639920

Tells the story of those GWR locomotives that have survived into preservation.

A History of the Great Western Railway

A History of the Great Western Railway
Author: Colin Maggs
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2025-01-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 9781398125391

New paperback edition - A narrative history of the most iconic railway company of the great age of steam.

Great Western, Grange Class Locomotives

Great Western, Grange Class Locomotives
Author: David Maidment
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2019-03-30
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1526752026

The renowned British railroad historian delivers “a well-illustrated account of the rationale behind Collett’s construction of this 80 strong class” (West Somerset Railway Association). English railway engineer George Jackson Churchward proposed a 5ft 8in wheeled 4-6-0 for mixed traffic duties in 1901 and it was seriously considered in 1905, but it took until 1936 before his successor, Charles Collett, realized the plan by persuading the GWR Board to replace many of the 43XX moguls with modern standard mixed traffic engines that bore a remarkable likeness to the Churchward proposal. David Maidment has written another in his series of “Locomotive Portfolios” for Pen & Sword to coincide with the construction of a new “Grange” at Llangollen from GW standard parts to fill the gap left by the total withdrawal and scrapping of one of that railway’s most popular classes—to their crews at the very least. As well as covering the type’s design and construction, the author deals comprehensively with the allocation and operation of the eighty locomotives and in particular has researched their performance and illustrated it with many examples of recorded logs from the 1930s as well as in more recent times. As in previous volumes, the author has added his own personal experiences with the engines and has sourced more than 250 photos, over 40 of which are in color. “Superbly researched . . . another extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to . . . British Railroading History collections.” —Midwest Book Review “Granges worked off-region quite widely, so this is not just a book for the copper-capped chimney brigade; enthusiasts for whom these capable machines are favorites will definitely want this volume on the bookshelf.” —Railway Modeller

Railway Posters 1923-1947

Railway Posters 1923-1947
Author: Beverley Cole
Publisher: Laurence King Publishing
Total Pages: 166
Release: 1992
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 9781856690140

Between 1923 and 1947 the railway poster in Britain was in its heyday. These were the years of the so-called 'Big Four' companies: the Great Western Railway, Southern Railway, London Midland and Scottish Railway, and London and North Eastern Railway. In the competition for passengers, each of the companies developed its own distinctive style of poster advertising. This book contains over 200 of the most striking and innovative designs of the period.