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Accurate Railway Books?

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Rightontyne19

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Still trying to find books that portray railway life properly. Can anyone comment on these?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Do-Tr...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2AJ73A8VT1ENBRMDGDT7

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Right-Away...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=285KB50FFZFE7T2HVW9D

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Leice...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2AJ73A8VT1ENBRMDGDT7

I know these aren't exactly expensive but I don't want to buy any of them if they are outdated or just not very good, in terms of describing working on the railway. Ta in advance.
 
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Dr Hoo

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Surely there is an inherent tension in what you are looking for. Classic 'my life on the railway since I started as a lad/lass in 1973' biographies are inevitably going to portray 'outdated' methods of working, etc.

Sadly there don't seem to be any books about what it is like to be a 27-year-old driver of (say) DOO Class 700s under ATO and these people will probably never 'write books' anyway as it is a dying art in this digital age.
 

Rightontyne19

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Thanks for the reply.

Two of the books in the links above appear to be by Drivers who were driving within the last two or three years, and the other retired in the 1990s. I was just hoping to come across someone in the industry who's read any of them to see if they're accurate in portraying Train Driving and that lifestyle.

Don't want to go all out to try to get a Driver's job if these books are misrepresenting the profession somehow. On the other hand, I know the best way to get info is to talk to Drivers and read some of the stuff on these forums.

Would still like to know if these books are any good. As you say, not many Drivers seem to write about the job.
 

Shaw S Hunter

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Thanks for the reply.

Two of the books in the links above appear to be by Drivers who were driving within the last two or three years, and the other retired in the 1990s. I was just hoping to come across someone in the industry who's read any of them to see if they're accurate in portraying Train Driving and that lifestyle.

Don't want to go all out to try to get a Driver's job if these books are misrepresenting the profession somehow. On the other hand, I know the best way to get info is to talk to Drivers and read some of the stuff on these forums.

Would still like to know if these books are any good. As you say, not many Drivers seem to write about the job.

Writing a book of any decent length or interest is no easy undertaking and very few people working shifts are likely to have either the time or inclination to do so. Hence the majority of such publications are memoirs of retired drivers. Also consider that repeated telling of the the mundaneness of normal work will not sell very well so publishers would want something with more meat. This generally means tales of near misses or mishaps which on the railway all too often occur due to human error. As such it would take a very brave (or foolhardy) person to spill the beans while still in post.
 

70014IronDuke

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Writing a book of any decent length or interest is no easy undertaking and very few people working shifts are likely to have either the time or inclination to do so. Hence the majority of such publications are memoirs of retired drivers. Also consider that repeated telling of the the mundaneness of normal work will not sell very well so publishers would want something with more meat. This generally means tales of near misses or mishaps which on the railway all too often occur due to human error. As such it would take a very brave (or foolhardy) person to spill the beans while still in post.

All the above is very fair comment, I'd say - especially the blocked part.

The OP seems to mean 'an accurate account of life on the footplate' - which is considerably narrower than the thread title. Whatever, like beauty, a lot depends on the eye - or the nature in this case - of the beholder. Some people, reporting for a shift that starts at 03.00, will wonder at the 'beauty' of travelling the deserted roads to the depot or signing on point at that time in the morning - others will find it pure drudgery. Life is so often a very subjective thing.

I remember one fellow in Derby C&W works back around 1970 who had, on the surface, a very mundane job (I forget the details, sorry.) What I do remember is his enthusiasm for it. Just checking screw tightness or whatever on some component - which many people would find totally uninteresting - he just seemed to relish it. Had he written a book about paint drying, I'm sure he'd have made it sound fascinating.
 

Bevan Price

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Still trying to find books that portray railway life properly. Can anyone comment on these?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Do-Tr...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2AJ73A8VT1ENBRMDGDT7

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Right-Away...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=285KB50FFZFE7T2HVW9D

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Leice...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2AJ73A8VT1ENBRMDGDT7

I know these aren't exactly expensive but I don't want to buy any of them if they are outdated or just not very good, in terms of describing working on the railway. Ta in advance.
Yoy may find that you can borrow copies from a local library (if there is one.)
 

Rightontyne19

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Thanks for some really interesting posts.
I've got a bit of time on my hands so I'm going to give those books a read - none of them cost too much on the Kindle.
Also spoke to some rail staff so getting more info too.
 

Islineclear3_1

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With some books, Amazon gives you a sneak preview, i.e. "Look Inside" which might give you an idea of their flavour, style etc

Often, driving a train can be very mundane, but these authors have found their experiences very interesting - otherwise they would not have written books at all
 
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