Railways & Recollections
3 primary works
Book 5
1975 was the year in which Margaret Thatcher defeated Edward Heath to become leader of the Conservative Party, Charlie Chaplin was knighted by the Queen and the Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon. On the railways, two major accidents at Moorgate and Nuneaton resulted in considerable loss of life, and the prototype High Speed Train reached speeds in excess of 150mph on the London to Bristol main line.
Book 16
This new title in the growing Recollections series takes us back through the years using archive pictures of The Severn Valley Railway, selected to show the line in day-to-day use, we see pre-preservation scenes and preserved era scenes along the route. The Severn Valley Railway that we can travel on today was closed to passenger traffic in stages during the 1960's and early 1970 - the final section from Bewdley to Kidderminster closing on 5 January 1970. That as we now know was not to be the end. In 1965 a small band of enthusiasts met in Kidderminster and formed The Severn Valley Railway Society. - Initial efforts succeeded in raising 25 per cent of the GBP25,000 purchase price for the closed 5-mile section of the Severn Valley line from Bridgnorth to Alveley. By 1967, the first rolling stock, an engine and four coaches, had been received. From this small 'base camp' the ever growing numbers of enthusiasts started to climb the initial mountain and over the ensuing forty years have scaled many more! The line has not just reopened from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth it has restored, grown and developed - with new station facilities, carriage sheds, workshops, signal boxes etc., etc.
For the enthusiast there are classic shots of the railway operating during the year, but this is not just a book for enthusiasts - memories are made of these pictures. The station scenes, fashions, old carriages, wagons, buildings, advertising, etc, will evoke memories of days past.
For the enthusiast there are classic shots of the railway operating during the year, but this is not just a book for enthusiasts - memories are made of these pictures. The station scenes, fashions, old carriages, wagons, buildings, advertising, etc, will evoke memories of days past.
Book 23
The Ffestiniog Railway has a long pedigree stretching back to the mid-Victorian age, yet it survived until 1946, long enough for a determined group of enthusiasts to pick up the pieces in the early 1950s. Since then the FR has undergone enormous change and progress, growing in stature and reputation to become, as it claims, 'the little railway the whole world talks about'. In his earlier books on the railway author and photographer John Stretton shadowed original photographers to provide a fascinating array of past & present comparative views, showing the volume of change and how much still remains, and capturing both the magic and the potential of this most fascinating railway. In this 23rd volume in the Recollections series he presents a trip along this scenic line in a more general public and tourist approach with carefully selected views from different periods in colour and black and white.