MAINLINE OPERATIONS AROUND MANCHESTER

[paul 27]

New Title by Bob Pixton,   any reviews on this please.

Edited February 15, 2020 by paul 27

[65179]

I'll bite.

First impressions of this book are a good chunky hardback of 270 odd pages. As someone whose main area of interest is the MR, GC and CLC railways of the Manchester area, this volume still has a good number of photos I've not seen before, although many have appeared in various Foxline/Booklaw books by E.M. Johnson and others in the past. I know little about the railways within the Trafford Park estate so the few photos of locos within the estate were of interest. The photo reproduction is oddly variable, with some quite clear whilst others are rather washed out. Anyone familiar with the work of BKB Green, T Lewis and William Lees will have seen their wonderful photos reproduced far better elsewhere.

The text is up to this author's usual standard - which is sadly to say not particularly well-written and frequently under-researched.

To illustrate the point, a sample caption:

"Levenshulme, 1948. With the gradient, 1 in 100, against the train, the engine is having to work harder to maintain time. B9 class 4-6-0 No 1475 has just passed under the Broom Lane bridge, in the background and is passing the suburban goods yard accessed from the lane, the goods shed is about to be obscured by the engine. The line here is in a shallow cutting and the 20 lever signal box is behind us. For most of its life, 1906-1949, it was allocated either to Old Trafford or Gorton sheds and, so it was frequently employed on such night-time duties, hence few pictures of them. They were the Deansgate to Ardsley and to Colwick as well as two originating in Ardwick goods sidings, to Lincoln and to Marylebone. (Unknown)"

Despite the talk of night duties, the photo is one of a number showing 1475 on the morning Halewood-Dewsnap goods. This was the return working of the Liverpool mail (the previous night's Marylebone-Manchester dropped a portion at Godley Jct which was taken forward to Liverpool Central). This was a longstanding Heaton Mersey turn diagrammed for the Stockport shed's B9s 1469 and 1475. All available in several previous books on the area.

Overall I'd say this is a book to view before you buy. If the photos are of interest all well and good, but the 3 Foxline/Booklaw Woodhead volumes by E.M. Johnson are a better bet for history and detail in a picture book format.

Simon

Edited February 20, 2020 by 65179