Anthony Burton

John Scott-Morgan

First published in 1985 by Moorland Press, The Light Railways of Britain & Ireland has remained unavailable for more than twenty-five years, until now. Re-released by Pen & Sword, this is a thorough and engaging book that covers, in depth, the fascinating story of Britain's last railway development, the Rural light railways, constructed as a result of the Light Railways Act 1896.Rigorously detailed, it charts the overall history of the last great railway boom in Britain the light railway boom from 1896, to the beginning of the Great War in 1914. During this period a large number of narrow and standard gauge lines were constructed in both Britain and Ireland, in order to serve and open up areas in both countries that, at the time, lacked adequate transport links. This book tells the story of how these lines were constructed and why, in most cases, they eventually failed, due to post-First World War road competition.Authored by two highly acclaimed writers of transport history, this is a true testament to, and a timely reminder of, Britain's last railway development.

The Light Railways of Britain & Ireland

Southern Railway Gallery is the first volume in a new series of picture books, designed to be of interest to railway historians and modellers. The series subjects are themed to include an interesting mixture of useful historic illustrations, depicting locomotives, rolling stock and infrastructure.Southern Railway Gallery covers the history of the Southern Railway from its beginings in 1923, to nationalisation in 1948, covering most aspects of its fascinating history and operations. The book looks at aspects of the Southern from the early years in the early 1920s, when the company had old worn-out stock on many of its lines, through to the introduction of new modern rolling stock and the electrification of much of its network in Kent, Sussex, Surrey and parts of Hampshire.The company operated an extensive rail and bus network on the Isle of Wight, which covered the whole island and is well remembered to this day.Although the Southern introduced a number of modern new steam classes, its main goal was to electrify as much of the network as possible, however this did not preclude the company from introducing two classes of successful Pacific type locomotives in the 1940s.The company owned and operated docks and harbours throughout its existence, having an extensive fleet of ferries and cargo vessels, some of which served with the Royal Navy in the Second World War as hospital ships. The Southern, also operated bus and road services, which covered many areas not served by a local railway station on the system.The Southern Railway ceased to exist at midnight on 31 December 1947, after a remarkable existence of twenty-four years.

John Scott-Morgan

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