Jump to content
 

Class 47: 50 Years of Locomotive History


slilley
 Share

Recommended Posts

I am delighted to be able to report to you all that we were advised by the publishers today that copies of the book Class 47:50 Years of Locomotive History have now been received by them.

 

Furthermore I am delighted to announce that we are planning a launch of the book at the Mid Norfolk Railway's Class 47 Golden Jubilee Gala, 21 to 23 September.

 

There will be a further announcement regarding how to pre-order the book from us. All the author royalties from this book are going towards the restoration of 47771. The more copies the Class 47 Preservation Project is able to sell, the more money we will raise for the loco.

 

Best wishes as always

 

Simon Lilley

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Now that we have had it confirmed that the book Class 47:50 Years of Locomotive History is safely in the distributors warehouse, I am pleased to be able to provide details of how to pre-order the book, ready for its planned launch at the MNR's Gala on 21 to 23 September.

 

The cost of the book is £29.99 and we can reserve you a copy for collection from our stand at the MNR Gala Weekend. Alternatively, P&P is £5.75 if you choose to have it posted to you. P&P for multiple copies available on application.

 

To pre-order send an email to class47preservation@yahoo.co.uk with the following information. Please do not leave a message on this forum as there is the chance your order could be missed.

 

1. The number of copies you require.

 

2. If you are paying by cheque or by Paypal.

 

3. If you wish to collect from the MNR Gala or have posted to you.

 

4. If you want the book posted to you we need a full postal address.

 

We will confirm your order by email and include details of how to pay by cheque if applicable.

 

All the author's royalties from this book are going towards 47771's restoration and we will raise even more money for the loco if you buy your copy from the Class 47 Preservation Project.

 

To be sure of being able to collect your copy at the MNR Gala please order by no later than 15 September.

 

Thank you all for your help with this book, it is greatly appreciated by three of the authors.

 

Further details of the book launch will follow.

 

Best wishes

 

Simon Lilley

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

As you know the book Class 47: 50 Years of Locomotive History will be launched at the Mid Norfolk Railway gala this weekend.

 

The book will be available from the Class 47 Preservation Project sales stand at Dereham from Friday onwards to purchase (or collect if you placed a pre-order with us).

 

On Saturday there will be a book signing session at Dereham between 14.10 and 14.40. Over the course of the weekend all three authors and several of the people who contributed photographs will be at the gala. We will be delighted to see you all, have a chat about anything and everything Class 47 related, and explain how this project came to fruition.

 

I would like to say thank you to everyone at the Mid Norfolk Railway for the help and assistance they have given us in putting together the launch of this book.

 

Looking forwards to seeing as many of you as possible over the course of the weekend. This forum was a big help when we were writing the book so thank you to all of you for the help you gave us.

 

Best wishes

 

Simon

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • RMweb Premium

My copy arrived from Amazon a few days ago. So far I've dipped into various chapters and I have to say there's a lot of very interesting information, some contradicting what has previously been thought so its good the record has been put straight.

 

I was, however, a bit disappointed with the collection of photos. As a definitive record of the Class, I would have preferred less emphasis on shots taken on the ex-GN and GE and more elsewhere - particularly in Scotland - to show their go anywhere do anything pedigree. And more use of colour to have at least one colour photo of each livery variant - they do exist out there. Perhaps this is down to the photographers' collections used - I recognised a few names associated with Class 47 preservation - but maybe doing so increased the royalities being reinvested in 47771.

 

Overall well worth the cover price.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

There has been more good news about Class 47 50 Years of Locomotive History.We recently had our Royalty Statement from the publishers and over 800 copies of the book had been sold by the end of November 2012. That's nearly half of the total print run, and it was only launched in mid September!

 

My co-authors and I want to say many thanks to all of you who so far have bought copies of the book so aiding the return to working order of locomotive 47771. If you have yet to buy your copy please contact us at class47preservation@yahoo.co.uk  and we will be happy to oblige.

 

Best wishes

 

Simon
 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

Just to let people know that this book is almost out of print now. Amazon for some weeks have not had copies and most retailers likewise do not have copies.

 

If you have not yet bought a copy then the Class 47 Preservation Project has a few copies left. They can be contacted at class47preservation@yahoo.co.uk Once they have sold out then that will be it.

 

Some thought is being given to the possibility of a photographic supplement. No decisions either way have been made and the publishers would need to be convinced there would be a market. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on that one way or the other.

 

Thank you to all of you who have bought the book. It has made all the work that went into making it happen worth it.

 

Simon

Link to post
Share on other sites

Simon, fantastic book. Wish there were similarly detailed works for other classes rather than the more normal picture books...

M

Matt

 

Thank you very much for the feedback. It was a long time in the researching, it began as a magazine article for Traction published in 2009 and the work on that had started as far back as 1998. When we decided to turn it into a book, it was back to the national Archives, NRM, and where the remaining Brush papers are kept at Leicester Co Record Office. We had help from Brush themselves, so we were able to come up with something that people have enjoyed. I ended up with over 1200 pages of material, excluding technical reports, accident reports, manuals, drawings etc.

 

Best wishes

 

Simon

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

Simon, fantastic book. Wish there were similarly detailed works for other classes rather than the more normal picture books...

M

I'm currently on holiday in Scotland (Markinch to be precise!). I've brought my copy of the book with me to read. Very interesting with lots of detail, but still very readable. Excellent book.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm currently on holiday in Scotland (Markinch to be precise!). I've brought my copy of the book with me to read. Very interesting with lots of detail, but still very readable. Excellent book.

Colin

 

Thank you for the feedback and delighted that your holiday reading is proving so enjoyable.

 

Best wishes

 

Simon

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Just let people know that the book has been unavailable on Amazon (sold out) apart from the odd second hand copy at inflated prices for some months now.

 

The Class 47 Preservation Project have around 5 copies left now, with no realistic prospect of obtaining more. the wholesaler has sold out.

 

If you have yet to buy this book, this is probably your last chance. Send an email to class47preservation@yahoo.co.uk to reserve your copy.

 

All proceeds from sales via the Class 47 Preservation Project and the authors' royalties go to support the restoration of no 47771 to working order again.

 

Best wishes and thank you for your support.

 

Simon

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Can anyone spare me a copy - stupidly (perhaps) didn't buy it when first published! Anyone needing to sell their copy please get in touch...  Amazon are selling the gold plated hand written signed by Basil Brush copy.

 Signed by Basil Brush, most signed copies are just the authors. I wonder if Mr Derek knows. Cripes.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Can anyone spare me a copy - stupidly (perhaps) didn't buy it when first published! Anyone needing to sell their copy please get in touch...  Amazon are selling the gold plated hand written signed by Basil Brush copy.

 

If I ever get to own a 31 or 47 I am going to call it Basil!

Link to post
Share on other sites

I wonder if a repeate run of this cold be done via blurb as a limited run, but with photos to differenciate it from the original ones?

 

There is a discussion going on regarding the possibility of a reprint as per the original book, given the ongoing demand. Also being looked at is a pictorial history of the 47s as a supplement to the the original volume.

 

Simon

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

There is a discussion going on regarding the possibility of a reprint as per the original book, given the ongoing demand. Also being looked at is a pictorial history of the 47s as a supplement to the the original volume.

 

Simon

 

Excellent. a book much needed for my collection. Also, these people appear to have photos of every loco in the class- http://class47.co.uk/c47_numbers.php?index=2&jndex=0&kndex=46&s_loco=47447

Link to post
Share on other sites

Even if you dont like 47s its a damn good read,

 

Dont tell anyone I said that though.

 

Signed an EE and class 50 fan.

 

It does give you an insight as well into how the Class 50s happened. Indeed the Class 47 might have been a Brush built loco with an EE engine if things had taken a slightly different turn.

 

Really glad that you and so many other people like it.  It makes all the work writing and researching it worthwhile.

Best wishes

 

Simon 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...