English Railway Photographers S.
2 total works
The main line from London Waterloo to Bournemouth, and on to Weymouth, had the dubious distinction of being the last preserve of regular steam-operated passenger services in and out of the capital, steam finally bowing out on Sunday 9 July 1967. In this volume, Tom Heavyside takes us on a trip from London to Bournemouth in the 1960s calling at such places as Nine Elms, Weybridge, Winchfield, Basingstoke, Winchester, Eastleigh and Southampton en route. We also take a trip across The Solent to the Isle of Wight, where steam reigned on the much-reduced network until the last day of 1966. So join us as we set out for "Steam Destination Bournemouth".
The West Coast main line, linking London Euston with Glasgow Central, is one of the most important railway routes in Britain and, undoubtedly, the section north of Lancaster is by far the most scenic part of it south of the Scottish border. In particular, the section through the Westmorland fells tempted many to visit the area during the 1950s and 1960s to sample the sight and sound of the iron horse battling to overcome the steep gradients either side of the summit at Shap. It was a spectacle that never ceased to enthrall, but inevitably it all had to come to an end and, at the close of 1967, steam locomotives were banished from the hills. Tom Heavyside, a Lancashire man born and bred, has had a lifelong interest in railways and in 1967 he travelled north to photograph those last vestiges of steam at work in the Westmorland fells. The results of his visits are reproduced here in "Shap Steam Twilight".