British Rail Scene

British Rail Scene
Author: Andy Sparks
Publisher: History Press
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2017-03
Genre: Railroads
ISBN: 9780750970136

Taking railway photographs and capturing an age of impressive locomotives and atmospheric stations is a pastime that the age of steam passed down through generations, even after its own decline in favour of diesel and electric traction. It was certainly one that avid teenage trainspotter Andy Sparks sought to take up, emulating the work of prized 1960s railway photographer Colin T. Gifford. But by the 1970s, when Andy's camera was at the ready and after Beeching's axe had come down on the British railway network, modernisation and rationalisation were rapidly sweeping away the vestiges of the previous age, and dereliction and decay intertwined much of what could be seen. Desperate to capture the scene, Andy took thousands of photographs from 1972 until the early 1980s, and his images beautifully convey the nostalgic, gritty years of that era of change on Britain's railways. From his lens to the pages of this book, this is a unique look at an oft-overlooked period of British railway history.

Coast to Coast

Coast to Coast
Author: Andy Sparks
Publisher: History Press (SC)
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008
Genre: Locomotives
ISBN: 9780750947091

British Rail Northern Scene

Britain's Railways Through the Seasons

Britain's Railways Through the Seasons
Author: David Goodyear
Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2023-01-31
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1399086510

The four seasons pass by like a gliding ship, each signalled by a transformation of changing colors and hues of light, thus providing a form of marker to these passages of time. Living in the temperate zone we experience four distinct seasons. The railway scene reflects such in its own special character - cold winter air enhances the bountiful steam escaping from the hissing steam locomotive impatiently awaiting its departure, while autumn enchants with trees that exude a variety of hues which embellish any image of even the most mundane suburban train. Springtime blossom and wild flowers bestow railway cuttings with a bounty of generous bright colors while coastal railways often look most inviting on warm sunny days as they pass alongside azure seas and golden beaches. The seasons each add their own dimension for the photographer to encapsulate, and railways passing through the ever-changing landscape provide their own tribute to this inspirational tapestry. As readers travel through each season, so they are invited to share this awe and constant source of inspiration from nature's kaleidoscope of color. Photographs are provided with captions and reflective commentary to enlighten the knowledgeable rail enthusiast alongside those who equally enjoy such a portrait of landscape and scenery through the seasons. The range of photographs ranges from the mid -1980's to the present with the majority from the last two decades.

Steam on the Southern and Western

Steam on the Southern and Western
Author: David Knapman
Publisher: Pen & Sword Transport
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2018-09-30
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 9781473892408

Steam on the Southern and Western is a personal record of railway views that were captured on black and white film in the late 1950s and 1960s, until the demise of steam on British Railways. The style of the book is the well-tried and- tested picture and captions format, and the majority of the pictures are black and white photography. Not every picture portrays a train as there are interesting branch line and infrastructure scenes to view as well. Furthermore, the book is intended to represent an eclectic mix of subjects and not to solely show main line scenes, for example. The book covers the Southern and Western regions of British Railways, with the Somerset and Dorset Railway included for good measure, as it fits neatly into the areas of the country for this volume. It also carries its share of photographs of British Railways standard locomotives in the locations appropriate to the regions. Where preservation starts to overlap with the still-active steam scene, some historic photographs are included. Photographs are grouped together by a particular location, for example, the Redhill to Reading line of the Southern, and Oxford on the Western. Each of these topic areas provides a flavour of the railway activity at the time. Overall, the book presents the reader with a gentle meander through the 1950's and 1960's railway scene and will stir the memories that so many of us have seen and still treasure today.

Britain's Railways in the 1970s

Britain's Railways in the 1970s
Author: David Hayes
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 175
Release: 2019-04-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1445685582

A nostalgic overview of the rail scene in the 1970s. The photographs in this book try to capture a flavour of the railways during this fascinating transition period.

British Railways in Transition

British Railways in Transition
Author: Jim Blake
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2018-09-30
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1526703181

An extensively illustrated history of the transition from steam to diesel and electric traction, and the last few decades before privatization. Jim Blake took a huge number of pictures capturing both the dramatic changes and decline of the railways pre-1997, both in the London area where he lived and around the country. This book provides a photographic history of the period, covering all aspects of the railway and its operations. It portrays the process of coming to terms with the post-Beeching, post-steam era, before a change of political will brought more rail investment. The volume looks not only at locomotives and trains, but also the overall railway scene during a tumultuous era.

British Rail

British Rail
Author: Tanya Jackson
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2013-10-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0752497421

British Rail was a success. It successfully carried millions of commuters to and from their jobs every day; organised its trunk route services to yield a profit under the brand name ‘Inter-City’; pioneered world-beating research and technological development through its own research centre and engineering subsidiary. It transformed the railway system of Britain from a post-Second World War state of collapse into a modern, technologically advanced railway. It did all this despite being starved of cash and being subjected to the whims of ever fickle politicians. British Rail, A Passenger’s Journey is the story of how all that was achieved, seen from a passenger’s perspective.

British railway enthusiasm

British railway enthusiasm
Author: Ian Carter
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2017-10-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 1526129744

Now available in paperback, this is the first academic book to study railway enthusiasts in Britain. Far from a trivial topic, the post-war train spotting craze swept most boys and some girls into a passion for railways, and for many, ignited a lifetime’s interest. British railway enthusiasm traces this post-war cohort, and those which followed, as they invigorated different sectors in the world of railway enthusiasm – train spotting, railway modelling, collecting railway relics – and then, in response to the demise of main line steam traction, Britain’s now-huge preserved railway industry. Today this industry finds itself riven by tensions between preserving a loved past which ever fewer people can remember and earning money from tourist visitors. The widespread and enduring significance of railway enthusiasm will ensure that this groundbreaking text remains a key work in transport studies, and will appeal to enthusiasts as much as to students and scholars of transport and cultural history.

Railways in the British Landscape

Railways in the British Landscape
Author: Robin Coombes
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2018-08-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 144568232X

A breathtaking selection of photographs showcasing railway journeys as a part of the British landscape.

The Scottish Rail Scene in the Twenty-First Century

The Scottish Rail Scene in the Twenty-First Century
Author: John Jackson
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2019-05-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1445683091

A lavishly illustrated look at the Scottish railways scene in twenty-first century. It also includes a look at the remaining freight traffic on offer.