2nd book review

British Steam Railway, by David Ross

British Steam Railway was written by David Ross and first published in 2002 by Parragon books. Having worked in publishing for over 25 years before becoming a full time author and transport historian, David has written or contributed to over 40 books.

                                                     

Covering the history of the train from the first steam powered ‘travelling engine’ 1804 built by Richard Trevithick, a Cornish Engineer, through the pioneering years of Stevenson Rocket that shocked spectators after achieving a top speed of 29 mph to the modern steam trains of the early twentieth century.

The book is a not only comprehensive history of the development of the steam train but also provided insight into the four main companies as they grew building the railway network including maps before being nationalised under the amalgamation and railway act in 1921. During the building of the network the author provides details of the problems that arose during the construction of some engineering masterpieces including the Tay and Forth bridges and the Severn tunnel which opened after 14 years of excavation.

As you read through the history, there are some excellent black and white and colour photographs of the 

steam trains for each era intertwined between the text. With many well know steam included within the book including The Mallard, Duchess, The Great Marques, Caerphilly Castle, Flying Scotsman and many more not only to see but to read their specifications such as weight, cylinders, fuel, steam pressure etc. David has also included carriages in his book, again with great detail of their full history.

Not all images are photographs with engravings made during the world’s first underground railway being built in 1868 by digging out the junction at Baker Street for the Uxbridge line which opened in 1963. Other later engraving shows divers recovering an engine that fell into the river Tay, after being hoisted up and repaired it ran for many years after although "The Diver" as it became known would not be taken by any engine driver over the new Tay Bridge.

Although I am not an avid reader especially historical books, I enjoyed reading this not only as I saw and photographed a couple of the trains contained within, but because David has provided great insight without becoming too technical. The history intermingled with the maps, drawings, photographs and specifications has a good balance which keeps the reader’s attention and makes you want to learn more. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone interested in steam trains and their history.

Minehead

West Somerset Railway

Minehead

Although I probably had enough trains to use for my book I wanted another that was working with the smoke billowing from the chimney as it moved tirelessly down the track. With this in mind  we headed to our final destination the West Somerset Railway.

As a working railway there are a number of stops along the line and the first port of call was to Blue Anchor which is run by a small team of volunteers. With its quaint little station built in 1870 next to the seaside village with a long sandy beach the station has a small gift shop and ticket office on the one platform and museum and book stall the other. Whilst speaking a volunteer working in the museum regarding my college project he asked whether we would like to see the signal box and after quickly arranging access we were allowed entry and a description of the signals and purpose of all the levers which operated the track, lights and level crossing.

After photographing the steam train and signal box and a few hours to spare before heading to Minehead we stopped at Dunster which is also the next stop on the trains’ destination. The town was built around the Norman castle which is now owned by the National Trust. This is worth a visit especially the castles gardens with the river meandering through.

The final stop on the route following the railway was Minehead, a coastal town which grew in popularity in the 1800s as a seaside holiday destination and the station was built in 1874. As we were too early for the arrival of the last train we wandered along the promenade towards the harbour to gain some fresh sea air.

As the time was close to arrival we made our way to the station and waited for the train to arrive. In the distance we caught sight of the steam as the train was puffing its way through the countryside towards the town. As it came closer I realised that it was a different steam train to the one I photographed in Blue Anchor. Once all the passengers had alighted from the train she was uncoupled from the carriages and with the tracked changed she then puffed her way back into the shed for the evening after completing the last journey. The photographs taken during the day are shown below.

Planes,Trains, Automobiles (&Ships)

Planes, Trains, Automobiles (&Ships)

Finally all the hard work is over and the book is now complete. 

Overall I must admit that I am extremely pleased with the finished book once I received the printed version. The Colours of the images have come out really well and I was a little concerned that the two page images would not print correctly but as my first book I could not have wished for better. I have since shown the copy to a few family and friend before handing it in and they could not believe that I created it which hopefully means that I pass my course. Fingers crossed.

If you read my blogs and think I should publish this through Blurb and Amazon please let me know as all feedback would be gratefully received.