British Railways in the 1950s and ’60s

British Railways in the 1950s and ’60s
Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages : 57
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780747812692
ISBN-13 : 0747812691
Rating : 4/5 (92 Downloads)

Synopsis British Railways in the 1950s and ’60s by : Greg Morse

As Britain moved from austerity to prosperity in the 1950s and 1960s, it became clear that British Railways needed to modernise its equipment and rationalise its network if it was to hold its own in the face of growing competition from road and air transport. After attempting to maintain pre-war networks and technology in the 1950s, a reversal of policy in the 1960s brought line closures, new liveries and the last breath of steam, as Dr Beeching and his successors strove to break even and build a new business from the old. From Britannia to the 'Blue Pullman', Evening Star to Inter-City, Greg Morse takes us through this turbulent twenty-year period, which started with drab prospects and ended with BR poised to launch the fastest diesel-powered train in the world.

Britain's Railways in Colour

Britain's Railways in Colour
Author :
Publisher : Haynes Publishing UK
Total Pages : 0
Release :
ISBN-10 : 1844256502
ISBN-13 : 9781844256501
Rating : 4/5 (02 Downloads)

Synopsis Britain's Railways in Colour by : Colin G. Maggs MBE

This book, covering the final years of steam on Britain’s railways, presents a wonderful array of over 200 color photographs, many of them previously unpublished. All the imagery is reproduced from original transparencies that have remained carefully preserved away from daylight since the day they were taken, so the original vividness of color remains – a rare quality. This book will delight today’s railway enthusiasts who are looking for new material.

British Diesel Locomotives of the 1950s and ‘60s

British Diesel Locomotives of the 1950s and ‘60s
Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages : 88
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781784421793
ISBN-13 : 1784421790
Rating : 4/5 (93 Downloads)

Synopsis British Diesel Locomotives of the 1950s and ‘60s by : Greg Morse

After the Second World War, the drive for the modernisation of Britain's railways ushered in a new breed of locomotive: the Diesel. Diesel-powered trains had been around for some time, but faced with a coal crisis and the Clean Air Act in the 1950s, it was seen as a part of the solution for British Rail. This beautifully illustrated book, written by an expert on rail history, charts the rise and decline of Britain's diesel-powered locomotives. It covers a period of great change and experimentation, where the iconic steam engines that had dominated for a century were replaced by a series of modern diesels including the ill-fated 'Westerns' and the more successful 'Deltics'.

Wales and Western Region Railways

Wales and Western Region Railways
Author :
Publisher : Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages : 177
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781398100015
ISBN-13 : 1398100013
Rating : 4/5 (15 Downloads)

Synopsis Wales and Western Region Railways by : Brian Reading

With stunning previously unpublished photographs documenting the end of steam railways of the G.W.R.

Lines Into London

Lines Into London
Author :
Publisher : History Press
Total Pages : 0
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0752458922
ISBN-13 : 9780752458922
Rating : 4/5 (22 Downloads)

Synopsis Lines Into London by : Wrenford Thatcher

A nostalgic journey through the last years of steam and the early diesels around London

The Last Years of Steam Around the Midlands

The Last Years of Steam Around the Midlands
Author :
Publisher : Strange Chemistry
Total Pages : 128
Release :
ISBN-10 : 1781551294
ISBN-13 : 9781781551295
Rating : 4/5 (94 Downloads)

Synopsis The Last Years of Steam Around the Midlands by : Michael Clemens

ALAN MAUND lived in Worcestershire all his life and had an enthusiasm for steam. He traveled extensively in Britain and built up a large railway photographic archive from the late 1950s onwards. This book is made up entirely of Alan's collection of photographs from across the Midlands. It will appeal to railway enthusiasts, modelers, and those with an interest in local history. Alan started using color film in 1959, and color slides make up the majority of these photographs. Many enthusiasts in this era had a policy of filming steam only and ignoring the new diesel interlopers, but not Alan; diesels do make appearances, and so do some early electric classes. A particular passion of Alan's was small industrial steam locomotives, and he restored a Kerr Stuart 'Wren' class 0-4-0 to working order between 1959 and 1961. So in addition to larger British Railways locomotives, their smaller relations are also seen across the Midlands. Alan passed on in 1983 and his widow, Wendy, gave Alan's collection of railway photographs to filmmaker and author Michael Clemens, whose late father was a friend of Alan's. Alan's collection lives on today at film shows around the country and now in this book.

British Rail Diesels

British Rail Diesels
Author :
Publisher : History Press
Total Pages : 0
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0750966017
ISBN-13 : 9780750966016
Rating : 4/5 (17 Downloads)

Synopsis British Rail Diesels by : Mick Hymans

'I remember how excited I was when I saw my first diesel. I was waiting for the usual West Country Class to come through Hampden Park when a Class 33 arrived instead. It was the talk of all the trainspotters at the junior school.'Author Mick Hymans' excitement soon turned to resentment as diesels replaced his beloved steam engines. They became rarer and rarer until in 1968 they disappeared altogether. Today the diesel engine enjoys a vast following in its own right. Preserved railways now run 'diesel days', steam-free days, which prove to be some of the most popular events in their calendars. Covering the whole railway system from the north of Scotland and Wales right down to Cornwall, British Rail Diesels presents a wide collection of photographs illustrating a lost world on the nation's railways.

British Railways in the 1970s and ’80s

British Railways in the 1970s and ’80s
Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages : 113
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780747814092
ISBN-13 : 0747814090
Rating : 4/5 (92 Downloads)

Synopsis British Railways in the 1970s and ’80s by : Greg Morse

For British Rail, the 1970s was a time of contrasts, when bad jokes about sandwiches and pork pies often belied real achievements, like increasing computerisation and the arrival of the high-speed Inter-City 125s. But while television advertisements told of an 'Age of the Train', Monday morning misery continued for many, the commuter experience steadily worsening as rolling stock aged and grew ever more uncomfortable. Even when BR launched new electrification schemes and new suburban trains in the 1980s, focus still fell on the problems that beset the Advanced Passenger Train, whose ignominious end came under full media glare. In British Railways in the 1970s and '80s, Greg Morse guides us through a world of Traveller's Fare, concrete concourses and peak-capped porters, a difficult period that began with the aftershock of Beeching but ended with BR becoming the first nationalised passenger network in the world to make a profit.

A History of British Rail Engineering Limited

A History of British Rail Engineering Limited
Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword Transport
Total Pages : 299
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781399066372
ISBN-13 : 1399066374
Rating : 4/5 (72 Downloads)

Synopsis A History of British Rail Engineering Limited by : Richard Marks

In 1970, British Railways Board established a new subsidiary company to take over the design, manufacture and maintenance of its rolling stock. British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was born. The company drove a new era of rail technology and this new company history tells the dazzling story of BREL from its humble beginnings up until its sale in 1992 during the controversial privatisation of Britain’s railways. The company’s work in designing the iconic new trains that would take Britain’s railways into a new era is examined alongside its relationship with subcontractors and private manufacturers, as well as its tumultuous relationship with British Railways Board. BREL’s struggles to deal with the legacy of the outdated and obsolete stock and infrastructure it inherited are examined in the light of new research. BREL’s little known success as an international exporter of British designed and manufactured trains is explored fully. The company’s heyday as a leading-edge technology manufacturer and its relationship with British Railways Research Division left not only a history of iconic trains but a legacy which is still with us on today’s modern railway.

Britain's Lost Railways

Britain's Lost Railways
Author :
Publisher : Aurum
Total Pages : 192
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781781317730
ISBN-13 : 1781317739
Rating : 4/5 (30 Downloads)

Synopsis Britain's Lost Railways by : John Minnis

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.