Rivercider Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 I am very fortunate that my book 'Freight Trains of the Western Region in the 1980s' is being published by Amberley in March 2021. The book follows the usual Amberley format with 182 photos, colour and black and white, with captions. There are 24 photos taken on the London Division, 96 pictures of the West of England Division, and 62 photos taken on the South Wales Division. My friend and BR colleague Roland Carp kindly looked through his photos and supplied 30 pictures for the book, his photos were mostly taken between 1985 and 1989, while mine date from 1980 to 1986. I have tried to make all the captions informative, and hope that the book gives a good representation of freight traffic of the time. The top photo from the front cover is one supplied by Roland. At Cardiff Central 45029 heads west with 6A85 12.40 Llanwern to Margam. The train conveys coil loaded on a mixture of BAA and BBA wagons. The loco was allocated to Toton where all 23 members of class 45/0 were allocated at the time. RLC 19/5/86. cheers 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tim Hall Posted January 6, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 6, 2021 Just reading your "Railways of the West of England in the 1980s", very enjoyable, thanks. Ended up with two copies, though.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold C126 Posted January 7, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 7, 2021 18 hours ago, Rivercider said: I am very fortunate that my book 'Freight Trains of the Western Region in the 1980s' is being published by Amberley in March 2021. The book follows the usual Amberley format with 182 photos, colour and black and white, with captions. There are 24 photos taken on the London Division, 96 pictures of the West of England Division, and 62 photos taken on the South Wales Division. My friend and BR colleague Roland Carp kindly looked through his photos and supplied 30 pictures for the book, his photos were mostly taken between 1985 and 1989, while mine date from 1980 to 1986. I have tried to make all the captions informative, and hope that the book gives a good representation of freight traffic of the time. The top photo from the front cover is one supplied by Roland. At Cardiff Central 45029 heads west with 6A85 12.40 Llanwern to Margam. The train conveys coil loaded on a mixture of BAA and BBA wagons. The loco was allocated to Toton where all 23 members of class 45/0 were allocated at the time. RLC 19/5/86. cheers It has been added to my procurement list for Easter, along with Andy Gibbs's offerings and a few others from Amberley (the Hereford trains title looks very useful as well). Looking forward to reading it very much, and hope it does well. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted April 30, 2021 Author Share Posted April 30, 2021 I have just received my copies of the book, which after some delay should now be released on 15 May 2021. Here is a scan of the rear cover. My photos were taken between 1980 and 1986, and I have included 30 photos taken by my friend Roland Carp, most of which were taken between 1985 and 1989 to cover the later part of the decade. The rear cover features a view of Swansea Burrows. Swansea Burrows pilot 08780 shunts MDOs of export coal which had recently arrived from Onllwyn, this being one of the last uses of unfitted 21t mins. 19/9/86. cheers 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold C126 Posted May 15, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 15, 2021 Just wanted to say I picked up my copy to-day, and I am glad to have purchased it. Pictures of the (to me) neglected Bridgewater Yard freights which are useful, several Speedlinks, a couple of photos of wagons being unloaded (posted here before, but good to have access to without having to switch on a computer!), and full informative captions. I hope it sells well. Thanks for taking the trouble to get your pictures into print and accessible. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy stroud Posted May 15, 2021 Share Posted May 15, 2021 I am looking forward to getting a copy. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted May 16, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 16, 2021 If you have not yet ordered this book is currently on offer from Amazon for £10.99. Looking forward to receiving it. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted May 16, 2021 Author Share Posted May 16, 2021 On 15/05/2021 at 17:35, C126 said: Just wanted to say I picked up my copy to-day, and I am glad to have purchased it. Pictures of the (to me) neglected Bridgewater Yard freights which are useful, several Speedlinks, a couple of photos of wagons being unloaded (posted here before, but good to have access to without having to switch on a computer!), and full informative captions. I hope it sells well. Thanks for taking the trouble to get your pictures into print and accessible. Many thanks. My friend Roland who supplied quite a few of the photos was also interested in freight traffic, and as he lived in Bridgwater he took a number of photos in the area, some were included in the book, cheers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted May 16, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 16, 2021 11 quid here avoiding Amazon, free P&P, just ordered. https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Kevin-Redwood/Freight-Trains-of-the-Western-Region-in-the-1980s/24830033 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flagman Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 I have recently purchased the book and although i haven't fully read it yet, it is excellent. I agree with the previous comments about Bridgwater, photos and detailed captions about anything between Bristol and Taunton are always good to see. On the basis on this book I have now ordered 'Railways of the West of England in the 1980s' and 'Railways of the Western Region in the 1970s and 1980s' and although i model late 80s to 93ish, these books will be great for nostalgia as well as inspiration. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grampus Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 Thoroughly enjoying my copy - thank you, Kevin (Rivercider) for a really interesting volume. Freight trains as I remember them during my early spotting years; really good to learn a bit more about the nature of the trains and the traffic, too. I particularly like some of the shots showing everyday activity, rather than just the sometimes clinical imagery of locomotives and wagons that we are used to: one of my favourites so far is the picture on page 55 of the two gentlemen unloading sackloads of beet, by hand, from a VDA onto the back of a flatbed lorry. Seems a bit incongruous somehow; images of a bygone railway, despite the relatively young (at the time) air braked van. Great stuff - glad it wasn't me helping with the unloading! Best wishes, Paul 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted August 1, 2021 Author Share Posted August 1, 2021 On 27/07/2021 at 18:21, Flagman said: I have recently purchased the book and although i haven't fully read it yet, it is excellent. I agree with the previous comments about Bridgwater, photos and detailed captions about anything between Bristol and Taunton are always good to see. On the basis on this book I have now ordered 'Railways of the West of England in the 1980s' and 'Railways of the Western Region in the 1970s and 1980s' and although i model late 80s to 93ish, these books will be great for nostalgia as well as inspiration. Thanks for your kind comments. I have loads of railway books (too many Mrs Rivercider might say), but I always enjoy those where the captions are informative and enhance the photos, and I have tried to do the same. cheers 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caradoc Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 There are many great photos in the book. I'm thinking especially of Swansea Docks, and of course my home town of Oxford, with one picture taken from the same platform I was on waiting for the approaching train ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenrithBeacon Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 Just bought the Kindle edition. Same price as the paperback. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenrithBeacon Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 (edited) The text on the book is very good but the reproduction of the photos in the Kindle edition is very poor. The Kindle edition should be avoided but I'm sure the print edition is worth having. EDIT: The Kindle edition has been returned and the print version ordered instead. I'm sure it's a lot better. Edited August 2, 2021 by PenrithBeacon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted August 2, 2021 Author Share Posted August 2, 2021 On 28/07/2021 at 21:52, Grampus said: Thoroughly enjoying my copy - thank you, Kevin (Rivercider) for a really interesting volume. Freight trains as I remember them during my early spotting years; really good to learn a bit more about the nature of the trains and the traffic, too. I particularly like some of the shots showing everyday activity, rather than just the sometimes clinical imagery of locomotives and wagons that we are used to: one of my favourites so far is the picture on page 55 of the two gentlemen unloading sackloads of beet, by hand, from a VDA onto the back of a flatbed lorry. Seems a bit incongruous somehow; images of a bygone railway, despite the relatively young (at the time) air braked van. Great stuff - glad it wasn't me helping with the unloading! Best wishes, Paul Thanks Paul. I was lucky to capture some scenes from the end of an era. Some of the traffic might not have been economic to work, but it was interesting, cheers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted August 2, 2021 Author Share Posted August 2, 2021 4 hours ago, caradoc said: There are many great photos in the book. I'm thinking especially of Swansea Docks, and of course my home town of Oxford, with one picture taken from the same platform I was on waiting for the approaching train ! Many thanks. The first time I went to Swansea Docks was with my dad, he was on duty hunting lost civil engineers wagons. When I got my first views from off the road bridge I could hardly believe such a place still existed! cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenrithBeacon Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 On 02/08/2021 at 15:35, PenrithBeacon said: The text on the book is very good but the reproduction of the photos in the Kindle edition is very poor. The Kindle edition should be avoided but I'm sure the print edition is worth having. EDIT: The Kindle edition has been returned and the print version ordered instead. I'm sure it's a lot better. The print edition has arrived and it's fine, no problems at all. Nice book! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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