Shed Side in South Lancashire and Cheshire

Shed Side in South Lancashire and Cheshire
Author: Kenn Pearce
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2012-07-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0750959991

In the 1950s and 1960s south Lancashire and Cheshire was criss-crossed by a web of railway lines, servicing the various needs of local industries. The region was a haven for railway enthusiasts who pursued the hundreds of steam workhorses based at British Railways depots in 'chemical towns' such as Warrington, Widnes, Wigan and Sutton Oak, besides Southport and Northwich. While these facilities appeared less glamorous than larger counterparts in Liverpool or Manchester, the stories of the engines, trains and the men who were based at the depots in these towns was no less fascinating. Shed Side in South Lancashire and Cheshireprovides a fascinating portrait of the daily operations of the freight and passenger trains of the region during the final decade of Britain's steam era. It evokes a period of grimy, metal-clattering, smoke-filled industry, and of an era forever etched in our industrial heritage.

The Steam Rail Motors of the Great Western Railway

The Steam Rail Motors of the Great Western Railway
Author: Ken Gibbs
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2015-06-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0750965959

Self-propelled carriages were a major innovation at the beginning of the twentieth century, and the GWR was quick to develop a large number of steam motor cars to link farms and scattered villages across the South West to the new branch lines. Their steam motor cars ran from 1903 to 1935, stopping during the war, and were so effective at making rural areas accessible they became victims of their own success. Wagons brought in to meet the high demand proved too heavy for the carriages and they struggled on hills. Soon the steam rail motor services were in decline. After its cancellation all ninety-nine steam carriages were eventually scrapped. Engineer Ken Gibbs reveals the unique GWR carriages, a window into early twentieth-century transport, and the modern replica he helped build, now the only way of viewing these charming historic vehicles.

The Little Book of Cheshire

The Little Book of Cheshire
Author: Roger Stephens
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2018-11-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0750989637

Did You Know? In medieval times, Cheshire was a County Palatine with its own independent parliament. The village of Willaston hosts the annual World Worm Charming Championships. With 86,000 ponds, Cheshire claims to be the pond capital of Europe. Cheshire cheese is the oldest named cheese in England. The Little Book of Cheshire is a fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information no one will want to be without. Here we find out about the most unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous sons and daughters and hundreds of other facts, plus some authentically bizarre bits of historical trivia. This is an ideal book to have by your bedside or to while away the hours on a long train journey. And if you like to take part in pub quizzes – or set them – then you will find this book a veritable treasure trove of useful information.

Lancashire & Cheshire: Past and Present. Volume 1.

Lancashire & Cheshire: Past and Present. Volume 1.
Author: Thomas Baines
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 740
Release: 2012
Genre: History
ISBN: 1471078388

This is volume one of the highly acclaimed and comprehensive History of Lancashire and Cheshire originally published in 1868. Every parish, hundred, city, town and village is described in great detail. Due to boundary changes after the publication of this book it also encompasses a history of Manchester and Merseyside.