Oakwood vs Middleton

[ejstubbs]

How would people rate the Oakwood Press publications compared to the Middleton Press ones?  From what's on my bookshelf I have the idea that the Oakwood ones generally contain a fair amount of historical information and can be a bit wordy as a result.  In comparison, the Middleton Press ones tend to focus on photographic records, with rather more cursory written information.

 

I have the Oakwood Press Peebles Railways volume and I've noticed that Middleton Press published Peebles Loop: plus the Dolphinton, Penicuik and Polton Branch Lines last year.  The Middleton book seems to cover a bit more ground than the Oakwood one - I don't have anything about the Dolphinton or Polton lines in my library at the moment* - but given Middleton's tendency to concentrate on pictures over text I'm wondering whether I might end up feeling a bit short-changed with respect to historical detail (though I have no doubt that it is a worthy volume in its own right).

 

Would it be fair to say that the two publishers' products tend to be complementary, rather than covering 90% of the same ground in cases where the subject matter of the title seems to be similar - or do the differences tend to be just the odd snippet and photo?

 

* Or now that I check, Penicuik - much to my own surprise.

[The Stationmaster]

I agree with you absolutely.  the Oakwood series tend to be 'more learned and in depth' historical studies whilst the Middleton ones tend to be basically a photographic collection plus a few OS map extracts and a bit of text.  Both have their different places in the market but I do think the Middleton Press books are now over-priced for what they are (but I did acquire quite a lot of them before they got too expensive).

[eastglosmog]

I would also agree with your assessment.  Considering the Fairford (East Gloucester) line I have both the Oakwood and Middleton Press books and find both very useful, although if forced to choose I would go for the Oakwood Press book.  I agree with Mike that the MP books are a bit expensive these days - tend to only buy them second hand now. 

[Oldddudders]

Anorak versus aesthete, perhaps. Complementary is indeed the outlook to have as a consumer.

[Nearholmer]

Agree.

 

i find I get a bit disappointed by the flat/toneless reproduction of photos in the MP books sometimes, and they tend (naturally) to emphasise the 1950/60s, because photos from earlier periods are so much rarer.

[brianusa]

As Ian mentions, complimentary.  Personally my preference is for Oakwood while the greatest number of books is from OPC.

  Brian.

[Kris]

Oakwood for information, Middleton for pictures.

[John M Upton]

Middleton definitely my preferred version.  I tend to seek out good condition sensible priced second hand examples whenever I am looking to add another, there are plenty of them out there.

[The Stationmaster]

14 hours ago, Kris said:

Oakwood for information, Middleton for pictures.

In many respects yes but as 'Nearholmer' has said the pictures tend to lean very heavily towards the '50s/'60s.  Amusingly the MP volume which covers the GWR Thames Valley has one or two earlier pictures of the Windsor Branch but overall has far fewer picture in total than the Oakwood book about the branch although the latter is far thicker than the usual Oakwood offering and, not surprisingly, has more of an OPC/Wild Swan feel to it. because it dates from the time after Colin Judge took over the Oakwood range.

[TheQ]

I prefer Swan books, as they are the best for the line I'm interested in, however books from the other two companies I prefer Oakwood... I like words. However in most cases if I'm interested in a line. I eventually end up buying everything printed on the subject.

[Nearholmer]

Some of the value of MP books has been overtaken by web resources, notably NLS Maps and Disused Stations.

 

In many ways, they are now most useful as introductions to lines that are still open!

 

For any line that I’ve developed a real interest in, I e found that the MP book quickly gets superseded by something deeper ...... it only took one day I. The case of the Twelveheads book superseding the one about the Looe Branch!

[Nick Holliday]

It's interesting that no one has noticed that Oakwood Press officially ceased to exist in 2016, when Stenlake took over the range!

As for comparing the two ranges, it is a bit like comparing apples and pears, as their approach is completely different. What I would say is that the Middleton books are all produced to a similar style, so you know exactly what you are getting, apart from the first few they published, before they full got into their stride. The Oakwood/Stenlake range have been the result of years of development, and, although most of the current range are new, or updated editions, with a high quality of content, there are still several remnants of older works, which reflected their time, with few, small and poorly reproduced photos all crammed into a central section on better paper, and of course these, and earlier versions of current books, are more likely to turn up second hand, something to beware of. Also I have found that several of the more recent books are falling apart, the glued binding, particularly on the photo pages, is failing, something that doesn't occur with the hard backed Middleton books.

[ejstubbs]

4 hours ago, Nick Holliday said:

It's interesting that no one has noticed that Oakwood Press officially ceased to exist in 2016, when Stenlake took over the range!

 

Roger Kidner sold The Oakwood Press in 1984.  The business may have changed hands again before being acquired by Stenlake Publishing in 2016.  Stenlake is still using the Oakwood Press brand for the titles which originated under that imprint.

 

AFAICS Wild Swan doesn't seem to cover my end of the island!

Edited April 16, 2019 by ejstubbs

[dibber25]

As far as I'm concerned if the subject is important to me I want all the books on that particular subject and I'm not worried about who the publisher is. I'm currently 'into' the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway. I have five books - Wild Swan, Middleton, Oakwood, Becknell and Town & Country. The Oakwood book is the most thorough in terms of text - the Wild Swan is the largest format for photos. (CJL)

[Edwardian]

Start with Oakwood and then usually get a Middleton as well for extra photographic coverage. But I like to check that I will be getting worthwhile pictures; MP are unlikely to have any useful pre BR shots I haven't seen, but often do show elements of the infrastructure not covered in early 'postcard' views. 

 

 

[beast66606]

The Middleton Press book on an area I know very well has quite a few mistakes unfortunately - which makes me wonder about areas I don't know much about.

[Clive Mortimore]

Surely if researching a line, or area you intend to model all books will be helpful . All have their pros and cons but will contain that bit of information that the others do not or that photo showing the distant signal. Buy both Oakwood and Middleton and just enjoy them.

[ejstubbs]

1 hour ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Surely if researching a line, or area you intend to model all books will be helpful

 

If that's what you're buying them for then that would be true.  I'm more interested in the pure local history, for which the Oakwood books seem to be more useful.  (I've recently spent £4 on a second-hand book from the 1960s just to be able to read the four pages in there about an obscure and short-lived line that was built in 1909/1910 to carry materials to a nearby cavalry barracks.)

 

Although I will happily allow that decent photos can be interesting, and indeed quite evocative, when you're stood on a site comparing then & now.

[Clive Mortimore]

17 minutes ago, ejstubbs said:

 

If that's what you're buying them for then that would be true.  I'm more interested in the pure local history, for which the Oakwood books seem to be more useful.  (I've recently spent £4 on a second-hand book from the 1960s just to be able to read the four pages in there about an obscure and short-lived line that was built in 1909/1910 to carry materials to a nearby cavalry barracks.)

 

Although I will happily allow that decent photos can be interesting, and indeed quite evocative, when you're stood on a site comparing then & now.

Why not borrow them from your library, the inter loan system is great. I have recently moved and I am borrowing as many local railway books that I can fin. I have no interest in modelling the area I live in now but I am enjoying reading about its railway history. 

[ejstubbs]

The trouble with libraries is that they keep asking for the book back!  I like to keep such things to hand for reference at random times in the future.  I certainly don't have a good enough memory to be able to read an Oakwood book and recall every useful or interesting piece of information in it.  I can usually remember that there was "something about it" in the book, and then find the actual information by referring to the book itself.  Not infrequently I find that I had misremembered stuff that I thought I "knew".