The Great Days of the Country Railway

by Thomas, David St. John; Whitehouse, Patrick

• ISBN13: 9780715313794
• ISBN10: 0715313797
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-06-01
• Publisher: F & W Media Inc

Summary

Unique in its coverage, evocative and beautifully illustrated, this celebration of the British country lines in their heyday captures the total experience of railway life--the sights, the sounds, the smells, the very essence of the steam age. There is authoritative coverage of every aspect of country railways, from the stations to the engines, from passengers to the men who operated the trains, the bustle of activity, and the long, lazy summer days. Throughout are a wealth of anecdotes and quotations, cameo studies and superb illustrations.

Table of Contents

Introduction	7	(20)
Branch Line motive power	23	(4)
Exploring by Train	27	(23)
Trains in the Marches	46	(3)
Working the Goods to Stranraer	49	(1)
A Day in the Life of a Country Station	50	(15)
Clerk's eye view	63	(2)
Retrenchment and Despair	65	(24)
Ireland	84	(5)
Engines and Engine Sheds	89	(32)
Locomotive allocations at selected depots	108	(10)
The Country carriage	118	(3)
Independents and Oddities	121	(18)
Country engines	136	(3)
Country Junctions	139	(29)
Heads of the Valleys	159	(2)
Station interludes	161	(5)
Up to the Mound	166	(2)
Summer Saturdays on the M & GNJ	168	(10)
Single line signalling	174	(4)
Trouble on the Branch	178	(11)
Tow ropes	187	(2)
The Country Year	189	(17)
Acknowledgements	206	(1)
Suggested reading	207	(1)
Index	207