What's your favourite railway book?

[trash80]

Its multi-volume but Brian Haresnape's British Rail Fleet Survey series.

 

[43096]

It may have been published back in 1988, but Roger Ford and Brian Perren's "HSTs at Work" was the best HST book produced, until "Enduring Icon" was produced this year.

 

[EM2]

There's an excellent book called 'The Train That Ran Away' by Stewart Joy from 1973 which, while the title sounds like it might be a Thomas ripoff kid's book, is actually about the chronic financial failures of BR since nationalisation.

 

[morrisobrien]

"Eleven minutes late"by Matthew Engel.....A train journey to the soul of Britain.
"On the slow train"by Michael Williams.....12 great railway journeys in Britain.

 

[Nonsense]

Platform Souls by Nicholas Whittaker, a good read, that takes in the end of steam and some trips to Europe

I came to this thread looking for books with accounts from railway workers. On the strength of this post I tracked down this book and read it in a couple of sittings. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and although my train spotting days started toward the end of the author’s, I can completely relate to his experiences and sentiments. Highly recommend.

Looking for recommendations for any books that contain accounts from railway workers in the steam years? Signallers, wheel tappers, porters? The social history of the railways?

 

[Fearless]

I came to this thread looking for books with accounts from railway workers. On the strength of this post I tracked down this book and read it in a couple of sittings. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and although my train spotting days started toward the end of the author’s, I can completely relate to his experiences and sentiments. Highly recommend.

Looking for recommendations for any books that contain accounts from railway workers in the steam years? Signallers, wheel tappers, porters? The social history of the railways?

Not available in bookshops or on Amazon, but from the Great Western Society at Didcot where it's being sold as a fundraiser for the class 47xx they're building: 'Memoirs of a Western Footplateman', an account of one chap's footplate career on steam and diesel through the 1940s to the 1980s, from steam to HST, on the GWR and then BR Western Region.

 

[47403]

A bit like this one, if it is, it'll be a cracking read.

 

[Cricketer8for9]

Adding to this thread as a) it’s still open and b) having searched it seems the most appropriate, can I offer London's Local Railways by Alan A Jackson, the late, and great, historian of London’s suburbia.

 

[Peter C]

I think one of the best books about the history of the railways is "The Railways - Nation, Network & People" by Simon Bradley. The title says it all really - it covers the history of the railways and the differences it made to individuals and the communities it passed through. It's a relatively large book but it's really interesting. If you know of anyone who isn't a hardcore railway enthusiast but likes the history of the rail network, I'd say get them a copy as a present.

-Peter

 

[Nonsense]

I'm reading this at the moment and quite enjoying it "50 Stories of Railway: Short Stories Collection" by Victor L. Whitechurch, Frank L. Packard.

I started reading the sample before I got the full book.

Start reading it for free: https://amzn.eu/1mDgrAC

 

[Mushroomman]

'Signalman's morning' by Adrian Vaughan, and the two follow on books,Signalman's nightmare and Signalman's twilight. A set of real,feel good stories. Highly recommended!!

 

[SteveM70]

'Signalman's morning' by Adrian Vaughan, and the two follow on books,Signalman's nightmare and Signalman's twilight. A set of real,feel good stories. Highly recommended!!

Got all the way to the most recent post before someone mentioned these books. They’re absolutely wonderful, particularly the first which paints a vivid picture of life in and around a country station in what’s now a bygone era. I first read it when I was recuperating from an operation in 1982 and I’ve probably reread it five or six times since.

Rolt’s Railway Adventure is an admirable runner up, an amazing story but a style of writing I struggled with. But if nothing else it suggests some of the tall tales my dad told me of volunteering there as a teenager in the mid-50s are probably true!

 

[Ashley Hill]

Again,too many books to choose a favourite but many are already mentioned (Vaughan,Fiennes,Platform Souls). One book i always enjoy reading (and currently am) is "Light Relief,Tales of a Relief Signalman in the 1950s" by Jack Warland. It's about his work on the South Western section of the Southern Region,Wilton-Padstow and everywhere in between. It's quite hilarious at times especially when all four tablets went the wrong way at Halwill Jct.

 

[Mushroomman]

Got all the way to the most recent post before someone mentioned these books. They’re absolutely wonderful, particularly the first which paints a vivid picture of life in and around a country station in what’s now a bygone era. I first read it when I was recuperating from an operation in 1982 and I’ve probably reread it five or six times since.

Rolt’s Railway Adventure is an admirable runner up, an amazing story but a style of writing I struggled with. But if nothing else it suggests some of the tall tales my dad told me of volunteering there as a teenager in the mid-50s are probably true!

Yep,I have read them countless times,even though you know what's coming you still read on and enjoy the text. I never seem to get bored of the railway jargon in the book,ie dropping the backboard down the funnel and calling new starters, Strappers. Read them again,you know you will,cheers.

 

[Committee man]

One of my favourite, perhaps all time favourite, railway books is 'Footplate and signal cabin' by Norman Marlow and published in 1956.
Norman was a lecturer at Manchester University. The first half of the book is devoted to his railway memories as a boy growing up near to the Midland main line in Northamptonshire. Then plenty of locomotive observations and tales.
The most remarkable part is his account is of working as a fully passed out signalman at Glendon and also Kettering signal boxes during the University holidays between 1944 and 1947! Its nicely written with some interesting tales and a good account of how the system worked. Perhaps one of the very first books on a signalman's experiences?
He was a friend of my late father (who was a relief signalman) and he did visit us on day when I was about 14.
I still treasure the copy he gave to my dad in 1958 with a nice Manchester University headed note inside.
So I suppose its my favourite book for sentimental reasons and is in the centre of my book case.