Scotland's Lost Branch Lines

Scotland's Lost Branch Lines
Author: David Spaven
Publisher: Origin
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2022-05-03
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1788857224

The infamous ‘Beeching Axe’ swept away virtually every Scottish branch line in the 1960s. Conventional wisdom viewed these losses as regrettable yet inevitable in an era of growing affluence and rising car ownership. This ground-breaking study of Dr Beeching’s approach to closures has unearthed – from rarely or never previously referenced archive sources – strong evidence of a ‘stitch-up’, ignoring the scope for sensible economies and improvements which would have allowed a significant number of axed routes to survive and prosper. Acclaimed railway historian David Spaven traces the birth, life and eventual death of Scotland’s branch lines through the unique stories of how a dozen routes lost their trains in the 1960s: the lines to Ballachulish, Ballater, Callander, Crail, Crieff /Comrie, Fraserburgh, Kelso, Kilmacolm, Leven, Peebles, Peterhead and St Andrews. He concludes by exploring a potential renaissance of branch lines, propelled by concerns over road congestion, vehicle pollution and the climate emergency.

Lost Railway Journeys from Around the World

Lost Railway Journeys from Around the World
Author: Anthony Lambert
Publisher: White Lion Publishing
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2018-11-13
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 178131747X

From the great cathedral-like railways stations of the steam age to obscure lines built through spectacular landscapes to open up countries before the advent of motorised road transport, this book is a celebration of our lost railway heritage and the lines that can no longer be travelled. Through stunning images, Lost Railway Journeys from Around the World evokes the romance and drama of these journeys, taking the reader as close as they can possibly get to this lost world of dining cars, sleeping cars, station porters and international rail travel. Organised by continent, all of these routes have stories to tell and the lost journeys are captured in the old postcards and posters that accompany photographs drawn from collections and archives across the world.

Branch Line Britain

Branch Line Britain
Author: Paul Atterbury
Publisher: David & Charles Publishers
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2006
Genre: Railroads
ISBN: 9780715324165

With an array of nostalgic photographs and ephemera, this work celebrates the heritage of branchline and rural Britain. It explores surviving lines, and lines no longer in use, visits preserved lines and travels on those lines long forgotten.

Railway Maps of the World

Railway Maps of the World
Author: Mark Ovenden
Publisher: Viking Press
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2011
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 9780670022656

A collection of international railway maps and posters features a chronological timeline from the Liverpool and Manchester Railway of 1830 to the proposed 2020 high-speed networks of China in an atlas representing more than one hundred countries.

The Lost Lines of Britain

The Lost Lines of Britain
Author: Julian Holland
Publisher: AA Publishing
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2010-10-01
Genre: Great Britain
ISBN: 9780749566302

A nostalgic trip along Britain's lost railways. Retracing Britain's lost railway history, this comprehensive book explores many of Britain's more popular routes that have now been converted to footpaths and cycleways.

The Reshaping of British Railways

The Reshaping of British Railways
Author: British Railway Board
Publisher: Collins
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2013-01-01
Genre: Railroads
ISBN: 9780007511969

The Reshaping of British Railways is a piece of railway history every dedicated enthusiast will want in their collection. Bradshaw's Guide has given birth to a wave of nostalgia for our Victorian and Edwardian railway systems. The Reshaping of British Railways, another facsimile which will fascinate train buffs, is the document that decimated these systems forever. With the British Rail company's failure, by the early 1960s, to stem the network's huge annual losses, the government turned to Dr Richard Beeching. He was to save money by recommending the cutting of redundant routes and services. His two reports, The Reshaping of British Railways (1963) and The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes (1965), were published by the British Railways Board in 1965, and offer a fascinating snapshot of our nation's railways. In the first part of this historic facsimile, Dr Beeching identifies the 2,363 stations and 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of railway line for closure - over 50% of all stations and 30% of route miles. The second part recommends a small number of major remaining routes for significant investment. Well documented nationwide protests resulted in the saving of some stations and lines, but the majority were closed as planned and Beeching's name is to this day associated with the mass closure of railways and the loss of many local services in the period that followed. Now, for the first time, this iconic piece of railway history is available in its entirety, complete with the original tables and maps of routes deemed fit for closure.

Britain's Lost Railways

Britain's Lost Railways
Author: John Minnis
Publisher: Aurum
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2018-08-07
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1781317739

The beautifully restored St Pancras Station is a magisterial example of Britain’s finest Victorian architecture. Like the viaducts at Belah and Crumlin, cathedral-like stations such as Nottingham Victoria and spectacular railway hotels like Glasgow St Enoch's, it stands proud as testament to Britain's architectural heritage. In this stunning book, John Minnis reveals Britain's finest railway architecture. From the most cavernous engine sheds, like Old Oak Common, through the eccentric country halts on the Tollesbury line and the gantries of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, to the soaring viaducts of Belah and Cumlin, Britain’s Lost Railways offers a sweeping celebration of our railway heritage. The selection of images and the removable facsimile memorabilia, including tickets, posters, timetables and maps, allows the reader to step into that past, serving as a testimony to an age of ingenuity and ambition when the pride we invested in our railways was reflected in the grandeur of the architecture we built for them.

Railway Atlas Then and Now

Railway Atlas Then and Now
Author: Paul Smith
Publisher:
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2015-08-13
Genre: Railroads
ISBN: 9780711038332

This volume encompasses railway industry maps from 1923 with their contemporary equivalent from 2012. It includes information about the railway lines that have been closed and converted into either walking or cycling routes.

London Railway Atlas

London Railway Atlas
Author: Joe Brown
Publisher:
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2012-08
Genre: Railroads
ISBN: 9780711037281

This volume presents the reader with a straightforward and comprehensible study of the railways of Greater London. It shows all the lines, both open and closed, stations, including name changes and opening and closing dates and the relationship between the railway lines and London Underground tracks.

Lost Railways of the World

Lost Railways of the World
Author: Nigel Welbourn
Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2023-02-16
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1399096206

Many readers will be familiar with Nigel Welbourn’s long running series of books, covering lost railways in Britain and Ireland. This new book Lost Railways of the World is the latest by this author on the subject of disused railways. The material for this volume has been collected and researched over a period of almost fifty years of world travel by the author. Informative text records the fortunes of the world’s lost railways and every country with significant disused railways is included. Lost railways are a unifying theme, being found throughout the world, from the hottest African desert to the coldest steppes of Russia. The book has a surprisingly British flavor as historically many railways throughout the world used British equipment and operating practices. On his first trip in the 1970s the author discovered British signaling equipment in Europe. In 2020 he discovered the same firms’ equipment in South America. The world’s top ten lost lines are listed, from the seven-mile-long sea bridge on a line that ran through the Florida Keys, to the rugged mountain splendor of the Khyber Pass Railway. Some of the oldest, largest, longest, most northerly, southerly, expensive, crookedest, steepest, highest, lowest and most notorious lost railways are included. Quirky and other unique tales from lost railways are included, such as the disappearing phantom bridge, a line destroyed by molten lava, to one that sank under the sea, another that conveyed giant turtles, to a memorial to a brave railway elephant. The author also visited remote areas of Argentina and provides more information on the mysterious disappearance of the ex-Lynton & Barnstaple Railway locomotive Lew. A large number of the 300 color illustrations have not been published before, maps and stories from around the world will delight not only the railway enthusiast, but appeal to a wider cadre of readers with an interest in nostalgia, history, geography and travel. To some the book will be an informative source of information, to others it is written in a way that highlights the most amazing lost railways in the world, but either way it is a fascinating and unique book.