A recent discovery -- and acquisition (at a "distress sale" price) -- the book The Light Railways of Britain & Ireland by Anthony Burton and John Scott-Morgan, publ. Pen & Sword Books: a 2015-published, and amplified, second edition of a work which appeared in 1985. The book is an album-type offering, measuring 12 in. by 8 in., containing a wealth of black-and-white photographs from a wide range of dates, of the great majority of public narrow-gauge, and independent standard-gauge light, railways which have run in these islands -- few of said pictures seen before, by me.
Illustration-wise, all fine: but as far as this reader is concerned, the work as a whole is let down by the text -- which alternates between un-illustrated chapters outlining the different categories into which the authors divide the various lines; and a caption (often at some length) to each photograph. Both varieties of text are absolutely riddled with mis-spellings -- literally half-dozens of them over the 150-odd pages -- largely of place-names and names of locomotives: maybe the "best" or "worst", depending on whether one chooses to be amused, or annoyed, being the Talyllyn's No. 3 Sir "Haydon", and the Ffestiniog's "Moeyn" Tunnel. (The "caption text" tends to do less mis-spelling, than the "chapter" ditto: the former sometimes giving the correct spelling of a name which the latter gets wrong.)
And the text, "both kinds", features a disquieting number of glaring factual errors. A very few instances of same: the claim that Abergynolwyn station was always the end of steam working on the Talyllyn -- for the slate traffic, a further approx. mile was operated by steam, up to the present-day Nant Gwernol, foot of the first incline. The Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway is said to have "closed its rail services in stages from the late 1940s, until the last section of line finally closed to freight traffic from Londonderry to Buncrana in August 1950". Also, waxing and waning of the fortunes of two very different lines -- Leighton Buzzard, and Campbeltown & Machrihanish -- are ascribed to circumstances attendant on World War II; where World War I is clearly meant. (Furthermore, I found much of the text more than a little trite and hackneyed -- regurgitating stuff which has been said a hundred times before.)
I may here be inviting adverse criticism for mean-spirited petty nitpicking, concerning a book which contains many splendid and fascinating pictures; with suggestion to the effect that if the reader knows his stuff, he'll spot the errors and accordingly discount them. Maybe I'm old-fashioned; but I consider that anyone putting together a non-fiction book, should do their utmost to see to it that the information which it contains, is accurate -- I cannot feel otherwise than that as regards this volume, on the "words" side the authors display such gross carelessness and sloppiness, as to be outright insulting to their readers. (Mention is made in a brief preface, of textual alterations between the first edition, and this one: I cannot but wonder whether such alteration might have been characterised by deterioration -- and if so, to what extent.)
I was able to purchase this book in the final week of the Ian Allan bookshop in Birmingham -- regrettably closing down w.e.f. 14 / 9 / 2019. Prices in those last days, dramatically slashed to a fraction of the displayed amount. I was able to get The Light Railways of... for £2.50 instead of the labelled £10.00. To be frank -- with the text appearing to have been edited so shamefully poorly, if at all: I regard £2.50, as pretty well what the book is worth to me.
Illustration-wise, all fine: but as far as this reader is concerned, the work as a whole is let down by the text -- which alternates between un-illustrated chapters outlining the different categories into which the authors divide the various lines; and a caption (often at some length) to each photograph. Both varieties of text are absolutely riddled with mis-spellings -- literally half-dozens of them over the 150-odd pages -- largely of place-names and names of locomotives: maybe the "best" or "worst", depending on whether one chooses to be amused, or annoyed, being the Talyllyn's No. 3 Sir "Haydon", and the Ffestiniog's "Moeyn" Tunnel. (The "caption text" tends to do less mis-spelling, than the "chapter" ditto: the former sometimes giving the correct spelling of a name which the latter gets wrong.)
And the text, "both kinds", features a disquieting number of glaring factual errors. A very few instances of same: the claim that Abergynolwyn station was always the end of steam working on the Talyllyn -- for the slate traffic, a further approx. mile was operated by steam, up to the present-day Nant Gwernol, foot of the first incline. The Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway is said to have "closed its rail services in stages from the late 1940s, until the last section of line finally closed to freight traffic from Londonderry to Buncrana in August 1950". Also, waxing and waning of the fortunes of two very different lines -- Leighton Buzzard, and Campbeltown & Machrihanish -- are ascribed to circumstances attendant on World War II; where World War I is clearly meant. (Furthermore, I found much of the text more than a little trite and hackneyed -- regurgitating stuff which has been said a hundred times before.)
I may here be inviting adverse criticism for mean-spirited petty nitpicking, concerning a book which contains many splendid and fascinating pictures; with suggestion to the effect that if the reader knows his stuff, he'll spot the errors and accordingly discount them. Maybe I'm old-fashioned; but I consider that anyone putting together a non-fiction book, should do their utmost to see to it that the information which it contains, is accurate -- I cannot feel otherwise than that as regards this volume, on the "words" side the authors display such gross carelessness and sloppiness, as to be outright insulting to their readers. (Mention is made in a brief preface, of textual alterations between the first edition, and this one: I cannot but wonder whether such alteration might have been characterised by deterioration -- and if so, to what extent.)
I was able to purchase this book in the final week of the Ian Allan bookshop in Birmingham -- regrettably closing down w.e.f. 14 / 9 / 2019. Prices in those last days, dramatically slashed to a fraction of the displayed amount. I was able to get The Light Railways of... for £2.50 instead of the labelled £10.00. To be frank -- with the text appearing to have been edited so shamefully poorly, if at all: I regard £2.50, as pretty well what the book is worth to me.
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