Steam locomotives - Great Britain: books - history (2/2)

Steam, Soot and Rust : The Last Days of British Steam

When the government announced the Modernisation Plan for Britain's railways in 1955, under which steam was to be phased out in favour of diesel and electric traction, few people took it seriously. Steam locomotives were an integral part of our daily lives and had been for almost one and a half centuries. Furthermore, they were still being built in large numbers. It was popularly believed that they would see the century out and probably well beyond that.

But the reality was that by 1968 - a mere thirteen years after the Modernisation Plan - steam traction had disappeared from Britain's main line railways. It was harrowing to witness the breaking up of engines, which were the icons of their day, capable of working long-distance inter-city expresses weighing 400 tons on schedules faster than a mile a minute. Top speeds of 100mph were not unknown.

This book chronicles the last few years as scrap yards all over Britain went into overtime, cutting up thousands of locomotives and releasing a bounty of more than a million tons of scrap whilst the engines, which remained in service, were a shadow of their former selves; filthy, wheezing and clanking their way to an ignominious end. The pictures in this book are augmented by essays written by Colin Garratt at the time.

Although steam disappeared from the main line network it survives in ever-dwindling numbers on industrial systems such as collieries, ironstone mines, power stations, shipyards, sugar factories, paper mills and docks. In such environments steam traction eked out a further decade and during this time many of the industrial locations closed rendering the locomotives redundant. The British steam locomotive was born amid the coalfields and was destined to die there one and three quarter centuries later.

Britains Railways Through the Seasons: Iconic Scenes of Trains and Architecture

The four seasons pass by like a gliding ship, each signalled by a transformation of changing colours 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 colours 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 colour.

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 in the British Coalfields

Many enthusiasts would mark August 1968 as the end of 'proper' steam locomotives in the United Kingdom, the date when British Rail withdrew their final examples.
However, for those in the know, steam continued to contribute to the British economy in industrial settings for nearly a further two decades.

In the coal and ironstone mining industry, in power generation, in chemical factories, steelworks and foundries, small, rugged locomotives continued to toil away on a daily basis. Some were lovingly cared for, while others were worked into the ground.

The author discovered colliery steam by accident and often explored this world while accompanied by his younger, equally enthusiastic, brother. This led them to some of the more obscure and less traditionally scenic parts of the country, but some of these industrial settings had a haunting beauty of their own.
The photographs featured here give a taste of this particular setting for steam workhorses.

Scottish Steam: A Celebration

Scotland is renowned worldwide for its engineering prowess, which of course included locomotive building. This lavishly illustrated and detailed publication celebrates standard gauge steam locomotive building North of the Border.

Focussing not only on the achievements of the major companies, North British Locomotive Co Ltd, Neilson & Co Ltd, Neilson Reid & Co Ltd, William Bearmore Ltd, Sharp Stewart & Co Ltd,and Andrew Barclay, Sons & Co Ltd it also highlights the contribution made by several of the smaller, but nevertheless significant locomotive builders.

Details of the output of the several railway company locomotive building works are also included. All of the Scottish built locomotive classes which came into British Railway's ownership are featured ,and a large majority of the carefully selected images are published for the first time.
"Scottish Steam" celebrates the significant contribution made by Scottish railway engineering workshops to steam locomotive development.

One More Glimpse: Steam in the British Landscape

Main line steam officially ended on British Railways in 1968. Fortunately, steam has continued on preserved railways and even on the modern main line, and the essence of everyday steam working can still be captured.
Here, father and son team Robin and Taliesin Coombes document their search for one more glimpse of the magic of steam power on the rails of Great Britain.

This evocative collection of more than 120 photographs show both the romance and practicality of steam power. Documenting everything from express passenger trains storming up Ais Gill to the locomotives of quiet rural branch lines and working steam sheds, this book is sure to delight anyone who enjoys the sight of a classic locomotive at work.

Last Rites - From the Track to the Scrapyard

Steam's final fling proved a melancholy experience for the many enthusiasts who had witnessed the gleaming giants of the rails in their prime. One day's highly burnished rail tour favourite was the next day's candidate for the breaker's torch.

This book takes a look at those latter days of steam, with an unashamedly nostalgic approach. As the modernisation plan gathered force in the mid-1960s, British Railways simply could not cope with a rejected army of steam engines that would previously have met their end discreetly at their own workshops, so a myriad of scrapyards sprang up to deal with Britain's hurried race to abolish steam, while yards and locomotive sheds seemed to have as many rusting hulks as working steam engines.

John Evans took his camera to some of these haunts for one last look at some old friends, caught in their final hours. The sheds and yards he visited, like steam itself, are already part of history, but here you can visit them with him one last time.
Sadly, almost none of the engines he pictured escaped the cutter's torch, so these are precious memories, published for the first time.

Barry Scrapyard

Keith W. Platt made his first visit to Woodham's scrapyard, Barry, in the late 1960s at a time when steam locomotives could still be seen on the national network, going about the everyday business of working goods and passenger trains.
With the final withdrawal of steam operations, he began to make more visits to Barry as it became the very last bastion of British Rail's steam locomotives. Keith sought to record, on slide film, the images of locomotives and the photos taken on those trips inadvertently reveal the gradual blossoming of the preservation movement. The number of locomotives in the yard shrunk - not because they had been cut up, but because they had been sold to individuals and societies. They had been removed to one of the many preservation sites and steam railways.

The appearance of the locomotives began to change over the years; firstly as the damp and salty sea air took its toll on the paintwork and bare metal, and then as different preservation groups set about the task of de-rusting, cleaning, and painting. Many locos were adorned with various painted messages proclaiming the status of the ownership and asking that parts should not be removed.

Keith's last visits to the yard were very different. There were only a few locomotives left waiting to find a new home; the lines of hundreds of locomotives, which had been packed closely together, were now a mere memory.