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Any recommendations?

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47403

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Morning folks,
Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations on any decent railway books to read. I've recently read Arnie Furnis's and Colin Alexander's Rail Rover books, plus Colin's Tyneside Railways. All 3 were good reads but I'm looking for a something along those lines albeit less photograph based. I'd prefer to read about the diesel era, as that was my era too but I'd read about going trainspotting/bashing in the steam era too.
Any recommendations would be greatly received. Thanks for your time
47403
 
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47403

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Cheers EM2 will give it a look.
Much appreciated on the heads up on those books, currently reading Platform Souls, cant put it down.So again many thanks.
47403
 
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Merthyr Imp

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A good one is 'Capital Steam' by Hugh Ramsey. Published by Oxford Publishing Co. in the 1980s so may only be obtainable second-hand.

It deals with shed visits for spotting in the London area in 1960-ish.
 

Calthrop

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An author of whom I have written previously on these Forums: W. Elgar Dickinson -- born 1936, still going strong. Has written three books -- A Friend in Steam; Steam: The Mystic Harmony; and Steeped in Steam -- of which I've read the first; not the other two. Essentially, he writes about his experiences in pursuit of steam in Great Britain -- from birth, till 1968 when it ended "regular-wise" on BR: enterprisingly, and starting from a decidedly young age, he got to most parts of our island in this quest.

I find this gentleman a technically competent and able writer; and what he has to tell of his doings as a steam enthusiast, I find fascinating -- but going by A Friend in Steam: as a human being, he strikes me as maddening. He rather often deviates from his primary topic, into musings on "life in general" -- per which latter, he strikes me as a testy "Daily Mail reader" type: full of condemnation of "these degenerate days", and of the behaviour and attitudes of at least 80% of his fellow-country-persons. Plus, he's extremely given to smug drum-banging about how he himself is a lifelong model citizen and, altogether in sundry ways, Mr. Perfect. Going by this persona as from the book, I feel glad that I don't know the guy in real life. That said -- the rail-and-steam stuff is intensely interesting, and his experiences enviable; so long as one can "filter out" the personal stuff, or maybe if one's world-view is at least somewhat in alignment with that of the author...
 

47403

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Having finished platform Souls, which by the way I thoroughly enjoyed. These other recommendations will give me food for thought. I was hoping there'd be a similar type of thing with the diesel era, too, which is really my era.
 

John Webb

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A 'footplate' view of the transition from steam to diesel can be found in Bill Alcock's "A Locoman's Log 1937-85". He was based around Birmingham, but travelled much further afield. Silver Link Publishing, 1996, ISBN 1-85794-083-0.
 

Cowley

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Evening mister, ;)
I’ve got a few that I think you’d enjoy:
There’s the classic - Railway Adventure, by Tom Rolt.
A few Adrian Vaughan books that I really enjoyed like - Signalmans Nightmare, and Signalmans Twilight. Some really interesting stuff in them about being a signalman on the WR in the seventies.
Another book I enjoyed recently was - Forget the Anorak by Michael G. Harvey.
 

Calthrop

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Having finished platform Souls, which by the way I thoroughly enjoyed.

I much like Platform Souls. There's a paragraph in it which greatly strikes a chord with me -- it has current relevance, with the fiftieth anniversary of the end of regular BR steam, being upon us. The author muses re early August 1968: "If there had been any poets on the British Railways Board they might at least have let the lads enjoy one last glorious trainspotting summer, two more of those long hot months of pop and sandwiches and the smell of coal. But the holidays had hardly even started before steam was wiped out." I take his point, and thoroughly concur: if only... I have the feeling that sad though it is when something lovable on the railway scene ceases to be: the least melancholy-making time for such an event, is around the end of September, with the onset of autumn; it seems fitting, somehow.
 
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The Railway Series :)
(Aka the original Thomas Books)

There are books by "Jane's" that are good for trainspotting.
 

47403

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I'd like to thank folk for their reccomendation. I thoroughly.enjoyed Platform Souls and currently enjoying Paralell Lines. Both, A Locoman's Log and Railway Adventure have landed on my doorstep and they will be next.
Again many thanks folks.
 
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