Recomended Reading?

[sb67]

I recently bought this from a second hand  shop and really enjoyed it. It's the story of one mans life on the Great Eastern Railway. The first time I've actually read a railway book as opposed to look at pictures!  I was wondering if anyone can recommend any similar type of book.

Regards

Steve.

 

[kandc_au]

In Search of a Dream. the Life and work of Roye England by Stephen Williams.

ISBN: 9781874103622

The story of Pendon Museum.

 

Khris

Edited August 31, 2016 by kandc_au

[Branwell]

It's a while since I read them, admittedly, but Adrian Vaughan's "Signalman's" series stick in the memory, as does "Ganger, Guard and Signalman" by Dick Fawcett.

 

Happy reading!

[Old Gringo]

I recently bought this from a second hand  shop and really enjoyed it. It's the story of one mans life on the Great Eastern Railway. The first time I've actually read a railway book as opposed to look at pictures!  I was wondering if anyone can recommend any similar type of book.

Regards

Steve.

 

14159940_10210999052679230_893983720_n.jpg

 

Hi Steve,

 

"Buckjumpers, Gobblers and Clauds" by Jim Hill, 1981, is one of several similar books in a series of A5 sized paperbacks, published by Bradford Barton in the late 1970s, early 1980s.

From the series, here are some of the titles I've read;

 

* "Through the Links at Crewe", 'Piccolo Pete' Johnson, (3 volumes?), 2nd Volume, 1975, Bradford Barton, ISBN 0-85153-378-7.

"LMS Locos from the Footplate", George Bushell, 1975, Bradford Barton, ISBN 0-85153-455-4.

"Both Sides of the Footplate", (LMSR) Ken Stokes, 1975, Bradford Barton, ISBN 0-85153-453-8.

* "When there was Steam", (BR/WR, Kidderminster shed in the 1950s) Tony Barfield, 1976, Bradford Barton.

* "On the Footplate", (GWR - BR, 1923-1973) John Drayton, 1976, Bradford Barton, ISBN 0-85153-299-3.

* "A Loco Fireman Looks Back", (BR/WR, Laira & Swindon) Ray Gwillam, 1979, Bradford Barton.

* "Nothing like Steam", (SR) B.W. Aynsley, 1980, Bradford Barton, ISBN 0-05153-393-0.

* "Drawn by Steam", (WR, Tyseley shed) L.C. Jacks, 1980, Bradford Barton.

"Living with Locos", (LNER - BR, Thonton shed, Fife) Charles Meacher, 1980, Bradford Barton.

* "Firing Days at Saltley", (BR/LMR, 1950-1959) Terry Essery, 1980, Bradford Barton.

"More Firing Days at Saltley," Terry Essery, 1981, Bradford Barton.

"LMS Locoman, Wellingborough & Willesden footplate memories", George Bushell, 1982, Bradford Barton.

 

Edit: All those titles marked with an asterisk are listed on the back cover of my copy of "Buckjumpers" along with "Ganger, Guard and Signalman", Dick Fawcett, 1981 (Settle & Carlisle line) mentioned by Branwell.  And there are even more titles in the series listed on the back of my copy of "Both Sides of the Footplate". 

 

A similar sized series of paperbacks was produced by the Oxford Publishing Company and I used to have six of them, but in the passage of time I've either lent or given them away excepting;

 

"Footplate Days", (GWR) by Harold Gasson, 1976, O.P.C., ISBN 0-902888-51-X.

 

The others in the series that I know of are:

 

"Firing Days", Harold Gasson, 1973; "Nostalgic Days", Harold Gasson, 1980 and "Signalling Days", Harold Gasson, 1981. (GWR - BR/WR memories)

 

In this same series by O.P.C. was also, "Mendips Engineman", by Peter Smith, 1972 and "Footplate over the Mendips", by Peter Smith, 1978. (S.&D.J.R. memories in BR days)

 

Of a similar size and format, but privately published is "A Railwayman's Life", the Memoirs of a Staffordshire Railwayman, by Fred Perks, 2008 and "A Railwayman's Life - Part 2", the Memoirs of a Staffordshire Railwayman, by Fred Perks, 2009.

 

Another book containing a varied collection of stories from railwaymen of the steam age is, "Life on the Lines", by John Farrington, 1984, Moorland Publishing, ISBN 0-86190-012-X.  This book also has a list of references including many of the titles listed above and many of the other biographical studies from the steam railway era.

Edit: Recommended as an anthology and for the references, which act as a short bibliography.

 

All the best, John.

[Old Gringo]

Following on from the previous post, here are some more of the books by railwaymen of the steam age:

 
One of the first books to describe life on the footplate was: "Engine Driving Life", by Michael Reynolds, 1882, published by Crosby, Lockwood & Co., London.  Battered copies turn up in junk shops, often with a couple of pages missing! I'm not sure whether it was reprinted in the 1970s?

 

An even earlier work and difficult to acquire is "Stokers and Pokers", Sir Francis Head, 1849, published by John Murray, London.

 

Another similar work is "Life on the Iron Road", by Henry Chappell, 1924, published by John Lane, The Bodley Head, London and a contemporary volume, "Life in a Railway Factory", by Alfred Williams, 1915, has been reprinted in paperback by Alan Sutton, 1986 (ISBN 0-86299-287-7) for those wishing to discover what it was like in Swindon Works around WW1.

 

Back on the locomotives and there's lots more footplate biographies and auto-biographies in hardback, following the surge of interest in railways after WW2.

 

One of the first was "Queen Mary of the Iron Road" (The life story of Fred Bishop, the engine-driver who took Coronation Scot to America), by Fred Bishop, edited by M. Wilson & A. Robinson, 1946  and published by Jarrolds, London.  Unfortunately, Fred died just before the book was published, but this is a little book well worth looking out for.

 

Many titles written for the railway enthusiasts during the 1950s and 1960s were published by Ian Allan Ltd.  All were finished with brightly coloured dust-jackets and had just couple of pages of photographs.  Most volumes turn up regularly on the S/H shelves of the preserved railways and here's a few to choose from;

 

"Men of the Footplate", by P. Ransome Wallis, 1954 has mini-bios of Walter Harris (GWR), Percy Cox (SR), Albert Young (LMSR) and C.H. Simmons (LNER). Ian Allan.
"Engineman Elite", by Norman McKillop, 1958 (NBR / LNER Memories), Ian Allan.
"My Life with Locomotives", by Rivington, 1962 (Eric Mason, L&YR to LMSR), Ian Allan.
"Reflections on a Railway Career", J.M. Dunn, 1966 (LNWR to BR, 1913 - 1963), Ian Allan.
"Engineman Extraordinary - Bill Hoole", P.W.B. Semmens, 1966, Ian Allan.
"London Midland Fireman", M.F. Higson, 1972, Ian Allan.
"Steam in the Blood", R.H.N. Hardy, 1971 (Footplate to Superintendent), Ian Allan.
"Railways in the Blood", R.H.N. Hardy, 1985 (Sequel to "Steam"), Ian Allan.

 

A couple of books published by George Allen & Unwin in the 'Steam Past' series are similar;

 

"Man of the Southern" - Jim Evans looks back, edited by Peter Grafton, 1982, G.A. & Unwin.
"South West Railwayman", by Donald King, 1983, G.A. & Unwin.

 

And if you'd like a French version of life on the footplate try, "Pacific Senator" - A Train Driver's Life, by Marcel Peroche, 1984 (translation and introduction by Roland Wilson), published by Argyll Publishing in 2005, ISBN 1-902831-85-3.

Edit: Recommended as it shows a completely different approach to the method of training the footplate-men in France and also for Peroche's views and experiences of WW2.

 

Hope these lists give you plenty to look out for!

 

All the very best, John.

[Adrian]

 

In this same series by O.P.C. was also, "Mendips Engineman", by Peter Smith, 1972 and "Footplate over the Mendips", by Peter Smith, 1978.

 

 

 

Highly recommended - very readable, amusing and informative.

[Old Gringo]

Apologies, here's yet more books of footplate-men and signal cabins!

 

As might be obvious, this subject had me wondering just how many more railway-service, and  footplate-orientated, biographies might be out there?

 

Mention was made in post 3, by Branwell, of the trilogy of books by Adrian Vaughan and for those who haven't seen them they are; "Signalman's Morning", 1981, "Signalman's Twilight", 1983, and "Signalman's Nightmare", 1987, all published by John Murray, London.

 

It's interesting to note that a much earlier volume combined both the fascination of the footplate and signalling duties. "Footplate and Signal Cabin", by Norman Marlow, 1956, George Allen & Unwin, London, contains an account of the author's experiences as a wartime temporary signalman, essays on driving, extracts from early diaries, followed by narratives of journeys, etc.

 

Another railwayman author was David Smith, who wrote many articles and books on the railways of south-west Scotland, especially the G. & S.W.R.  Two volumes are full of stories about the men and the operational aspects:  "Tales of the Glasgow & South Western Railway", by David Smith, 1962, published by Ian Allan, and "Legends of the G.&S.W.R. in LMS Days", David Smith, 1980, published by David & Charles (The Sequel to Tales with memoirs between 1923-1947).

 

Contrasting footplate stories from the south west of Wales are found in an excellent book entitled, "Behind the Steam", by Bill Morgan and Bette Myrick, 1973, Hutchinson, London (Footplate memoirs from 1916-1964 on the GWR at Neyland) ISBN 0-09-117670-0. This book was 'recommended reading' (on page 2) in the earlier topic using this heading - begun in 2009, but with a more general scope intended.  

See: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/399-recommended-reading/hl=%2Brecommended+%2Breading

 

And to draw this short-list to a close, a book about railway activity compiled to show "the lighter side of railway life" and illustrated by Richard Potts is: "Behind the Lines", by C. Burton, edited by Harold Parsons, 1979, Barbyn Press, Birmingham (recollections of an GWR Goods Agent in the West Midlands).

[Old Gringo]

Jim Hill's, "Buckjumpers, Gobblers and Clauds" covered his railway career from 1913 until his retirement in 1960 and was one of a flood of books published in the 1980s containing reminiscences of the steam era.

 

This outpouring flourished as many railwaymen, who had spent most of their career on steam, retired after over a decade or more on diesels and electrics and picked up the pen to set down their memories.  They found a ready market of enthusiasts (mainly ex-trainspotters) ready to re-live the steam age in their armchairs, soaking up the lost way of life of the 'age of steam'.

 

Here's a list of some more of the output from Bradford Barton, Truro:

 

"Smoke and Steam", by Harold Bonnett, 1981 (GNR / LNER in the 1920s), B/B.
"LNER Footplate Memories", Charles Meacher, 1978 (25 years on and off shed, based at Haymarket and St. Margarets sheds, Edinburgh) B/B.
"North Eastern Engineman", Peter Semmens, 1980 (Driver Syd Midgeley and Fifty years of steam, from 1914 - 1963), B/B.  Almost the same time-span as Jim Hill's career.
"Panniers and Prairies", Tony Barfield, 1981 (More memoirs of Kidderminster shed) B/B.
"Fifty Years with Scottish Steam", A. Dunbar & I. Glen, 1982 (Dunbar's recollections from 1912, including his experiences as a fitter on the Caledonian Railway) B/B.
"Southern Locoman", George Hollands, 1982 (SR fireman at Tunbridge Wells West), B/B.
"Yorkshire Locoman", N. Dixon, 1983 (LNER footplate memories 1920-1968) B/B.
"Engineman SR", Michael Jackman, 1982 (footplate-man at Bricklayers Arms, 1947-1967) B/B.
"Footplate Days on the Southern", H.Norman, 1983 (Stewarts Lane, 1948>) B/B.
"Working with LMS Steam", H.C. Burgess, 1983 (Shed-fitter 1932-1960s) B/B.
"Nine Elms engineman", Bert Hooker, 1984 (Fireman 1940-1948 then Driver) B/B.
"Signalman", Mike Burke, 1982 (in North West England from 1953) B/B.
"Steam Supreme", R.D. Stephen, 1983 (More Scottish recollections) B/B.
"Bankers and Pilots", G.C. Potts, 1984 (Footplate memories at Mexborough, 1922-52) B/B.

 

And Oxford Publishing were there too:

 

"Great Western Reflections", T.H. Terry, 1984 (footplate memoirs around Birmingham 1919-1963).
"Engines, good and bad", A.W. Summers, 1985 (Old Oak Common, 1923-1970), OPC.
"A Footplate-man remembers the Southern", J.A. Rowe, 1985 (Reading shed 1937-1982), OPC.
"Loco's , Men and steam memories", Cyril Birchall, 1986 (Warrington area, 1940-1968) OPC.

 

Plus!!

 

"Small Coal and Smoke Rings", Derek Brock, 1983 (GWR fireman at Barry, 1942-1953), Murray, London.
"From Shedmaster to Railway Inspectorate [1926-1978]", Christian Hewison, 1981, published by David & Charles, Newton Abbot.
"On and Off the Rails", Bill Bishop, 1984, published by Kingfisher (from Southern Railway boiler-smith to Eastleigh's Breakdown Gang, 1925 - 1967).

 

And then there's the cross-over from the operational side of footplate, shed and signalling operations to the engineering side and then the management.

 

More next time . . . .

[sb67]

Found a couple of Bradford Barton books today;

LMS Locoman,

LMS Locos from the footplate.

Both by George Bushell.

Looking forward to reading them.

 

[runs as required]

For tales by old enginemen, "The LNWR Recalled" compiled by Edward Talbot, OPC 1987, is a wonderful read - both about hard running mainline drivers and of incredible endurance in wintery spots like Buxton.

Crewe works and FWW et al feature too!

 

I discovered it second hand a year or two back.

 

dh

[Old Gringo]

I recently bought this from a second hand  shop and really enjoyed it. It's the story of one mans life on the Great Eastern Railway. The first time I've actually read a railway book as opposed to look at pictures!  I was wondering if anyone can recommend any similar type of book.

Regards

Steve.

 

14159940_10210999052679230_893983720_n.jpg

 

Hi Steve,

 

Typical of people with probably too many books and possibly too much time on their hands, my enthusiasm for your original question has led me to post the previous lists of 'similar' subject matter, with the occasional recommendation hidden amongst the titles.

 

Of course, I suppose what I should have done is narrowed down what you were really looking for and maybe then just put a few of those options that satisfy a more specific brief.

 

For instance: Was it the career of men working on the footplate which is top of your list?  And was it the period of Jim Hill's career (1913 - 1960), or interest in the steam age railway in more general terms, anywhere between 1830 to 1968?

From your member display details it appears that you reside in Essex, so was it perhaps the Great Eastern Railway sphere of operation within the LNER that interested you most?  Or was that just a coincidence and does footplate work on any region of British Railways interest you?

 

However, whilst starting to look for biographies and books specifically written about men who spent their life on the footplate (or began as a cleaner/fireman and finished up as a shed-master or inspector), so far I've found quite a few books that would satisfy the more general specification!

 

It was also interesting to speculate how, as the education system improved during the Twentieth Century, the number of railway-connected books had increased.  Perhaps reflecting not just the immediate social changes, but more likely the affluence of both the authorship and readership?

 

There is also another topic in the Books section of RMweb which has a list and a discussion regarding all the pictorial albums produced by the Truro publishers, Bradford Barton.  Whilst looking for more 'footplate' book possibilities, I produced a list of many of the paperbacks in the series like "Buckjumpers, Gobblers and Clauds" and have added this list into the Bradford Barton topic.  See post 13: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/68136-bradford-barton-books/

 

With many of the entries, where the man worked and what period the book covers has been added in brackets after the publication date and in some cases there's also a four or five figure number, which refers to the book's entry in "The Bibliography of British Railway History" begun by George Ottley in 1965 and currently continued by members of the Railway & Canal Historical Society.

 

More on early stuff to follow . . .

[Old Gringo]

The long history of books written by those who worked on the railways was touched on previously in post 5 of this topic.  "Some of the earliest works to describe life on the railway and especially the footplate are:  "Stokers and Pokers", by Sir Francis Head (1849) and "Engine Driving Life", by Michael Reynolds (1882), followed by, "Life on the Iron Road", by Henry Chappell (1924) and a contemporary volume, "Life in a Railway Factory", by Alfred Williams (1915), tales of what it was like in Swindon Works before WW1".

 

Off topic, but relevant to the development of railway literature:  As the steam-powered railway was reaching its zenith, there was a surge in railway literature between 1910 and 1914, with quality volumes like: "Modern Railway Working", edited by John Macauley & Cyril Hall (8 vols, from 1912) and "Railways of the World", Fred Talbot (2 vols, 1913 - revised printing 1924) to quote just two examples.

 

In contrast to the information and promotion books on railways to those written by railway employees, one of the first titles to describe the role of management on the railways was published in 1889, "The Working and Management of an English Railway", by George Findlay - General Manager on the London & North Western Railway.  Highly regarded it ran to six editions [Ottley 3727, 5563].  Possibly the first personal view of a life spent in railway management is; "Fifty Years of Railway Life (in England, Scotland & Ireland)", by Joseph Tatlow, which was published in 1920 and covers Tatlow's career from 1867 to 1917 [Ottley 1653/5733].

 

Maybe from where Norman Marlow (1956), and later Harold Gasson and Adrian Vaughan (1980) all found the inspiration for their books might be "Fifty Years on the Railway", A. Stokes, self-published in 1936 - "Yarns by a Methodist Signalman", from Solihull box, 1892 - 1936 [Ottley 3977].

 

Few managers from the Grouping period appear to have left us details of how they operated the railway system.  William Wood and Josiah Stamp being the exception with "Railways", published in 1928 and later works during the Big Four's "Square Deal" campaign.  However, Felix Pole of the G.W.R. left us "Felix J.C. Pole: His Book", first published Xmas 1954 for private circulation of course!  The book was later reprinted by Town & Country Press in 1968 for the general public to read of his reminiscences and comments, chiefly regarding his career on the Great Western Railway. [Ottley 5990].

 

A Great Western driver, who rose from footplate and Union Boss to 'respected' Politician gave us, "J.H. Thomas: My Story" by J.H. Thomas, published in 1937 and hard to find [Ottley 11010].

 

Thomas's autobiography brings us back to the locomotive department and there were lots more footplate biographies written following the surge of interest in railways after WW2.  An interest possibly increased by the 'abc series' of books, which was published by Ian Allan and gave momentum to a generation of 'trainspotters'!

 

As quoted in an earlier post, one of the first biographies was published in 1946, "Queen Mary of the Iron Road" by Fred Bishop, edited by M. Wilson & A. Robinson.

 
Fred's story was followed by an autobiography entitled, "I drove the Cheltenham Flyer", by J.W. Street, published by Nicholson & Watson in 1951 [Ottley 3982] and "How I became an Engine Driver", by Norman McKillop, (1953, reprinted 1960) which described Norman's career on the NBR and LNER [Ottley 3994].

 

These books paved the way for the outburst of volumes published as the steam railway became popular 'history' and a profitable commodity for Ian Allan, David & Charles, Bradford Barton and the Oxford Publishing Company, all mentioned in the previous posts.

 

So, lots more out there for those of us who like railways and books!

 

All the best,

John.

[sb67]

Thanks for the reply's. I've definitely got some to look for now! My preference would be the GER/ER of British Rail and it would be good to read about some Diesel era memories as well.

If I find anything I'll post it on here.

Steve. 

[Old Gringo]

A few more books which deal with operations on the 'steam' railway.

 

Whilst helping with a book sale held at Kidderminster Railway Museum during October, another couple of books dealing with railway workers turned up.

 

The first was a slightly battered copy of "GWR Steam, My personal encounter", by Douglas Trigg, 1992, published by Pathfinder Books.  It's an account of life for a young man on the footplate during the austerity years of World War 2 and I found it a really good read.

 

Then there was "Tales of Old Railwaymen", by Tom Quinn, published by David & Charles, 1988 ISBN 0-7153-0544-1.  This unusual book contains a series of reminiscences about life on the railways with photographs and illustrations by Philip Murphy.  A range of characters, from shed-master and station-master to fireman and signalman, recount their experiences in this well-illustrated book, although personally I would have enjoyed just a bit more text!

 

Mentioned by 'runs as required' in post 10, was  "The LNWR Recalled", by Edward Talbot, OPC 1987: a book highly recommended to all those interested in the LNWR and which has an extensive bibliography on pages 7/8, containing almost every book and reference regarding the London & North Western Railway published up to that date. 

Another book that is similar in concept is "The North Western at Work" by R. Preston Hendry & R. Powell Hendry, published by Patrick Stephens Limited in 1990, ISBN 1-85260-129-9.  A well produced book which also gives a good insight to working life on the railway in the Edwardian era.

 

All the best,
John.

[David Bigcheeseplant]

Memoirs of a station master is really interesting as it was writen in 1864ish and deals with being a station master on the GWR broad gauge it is a fantastic read.

[Old Gringo]

Memoirs of a station master is really interesting as it was writen in 1864ish and deals with being a station master on the GWR broad gauge it is a fantastic read.

 

David, I've tried searching for the "Memoirs of a Stationmaster" (1864ish), mentioned in your post above, and have come up with two titles dealing with station-masters working on the Great Western around that period.

 

The full title of the book that I think you might be referring to is; "Ernest Struggles, or the comic incidents and anxious moments in connection with the life of a stationmaster by one who endured it", by H.A. Simmons, published in London, 1879, in two volumes (1/240pp, 2/236pp).  Simmons was at Windsor station on the GWR and had 15 years service, which would put him at work around 1864 [Ottley 4024].

 

The other volume is the, "Life of Roger Langdon, told by himself with additions by his daughter Ellen", by Roger Langdon, published in London, 1908 (pp104).  Langdon was the stationmaster at Silverton, GWR between 1867 and 1894 [Ottley 3962/5941].

 

Both titles sound like a good read about a stationmaster's life in the late Victorian period and especially the operations of the Great Western Railway in the broad gauge era.

 

Previously mentioned in post 12 were some other well-known titles of late Victorian railway literature, where the choice is as deep as your pocket, with volumes like; "The Working and Management of an English Railway", by George Findlay, Whittaker & Co., 1889: a classic text-book written by the General Manager of the London & North Western Railway. 

Dealing with the same railway in a similar period is; "Railway Reminiscences", by G.P. Neele, London, 1904 (pp504). A book which recalls Neele's fifty year career, beginning on the Eastern Counties and the South Staffordshire Railway, but is principally focussed upon his time on the LNWR as a Railway Superintendent [Ottley 6348].

 

Both Findlay and Neele's careers overlapped with another LNWR employee who wrote about his time on the railway, Stevenson D., "Fifty years on the London & North Western Railway", edited by Leopold Turner, London, 1891 (pp153), memoirs of LNWR life between 1838 and 1890 [Ottley 6327].

 

And there's plenty more to look out for from around the last two decades of the 19th Century.

 

Happy reading over the festive season!

All the best, John.

[David Bigcheeseplant]

Hi John

 

it is the first book you mention, I have checked the chapter when he was staion master at Thame and the things he quotes seem to be based on fact, which makes it more interesting in the days before things like sinal boxes etc!

 

David

[runs as required]

This looks like the most suitable place to plug a bargain currently on offer at  £6.00 in "The Works"  chain of shops

 

"Great Railway Maps of the World" by Mark Ovenden

 

The last 40% of the book is a worthily adequate atlas of the world's railways shewn by continent and country.

But it is the first 60% that proved a delight to me, particularly the sections labelled 'CartogralFibs' which display extraordinary feats of wishful thinking by railway publicity departments.

 

The author has evidently been a longtime collector of graphic ephemera and the material is well reproduced in colour. I did enjoy his thoughtful ways of categorising the material.

 

Two favourites examples?

The first might be the attractively illustrated cover of the Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coat Railway 1897 timetable which pictorially claims to already reach Chatsworth !

The second is the US Northern Pacific which ingeniously displays the route map of its rather indirect transcontinental line as the head and back of a greyhound racing across the States from coast to coast.

 

Snap a copy up while you can.

 

dh

(I have no connection with the author)