MikeO Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 My main interest is Midland Railway locomotives so I am interested in the various volumes about the subject written by Bob Essery and Stephen Summerson. I will likely end up buying both sets of volumes but for now (since I have not seen either yet) I would appreciate feed back from members about the relative merits of the two series. Since it will of necessity be a gradual process of purchase, which do you think is the better author to go with initially - Essery or Summerson - or are there other books I am not aware of yet? cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeandnel Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 Hello Mike Personally I would recommend Summerson. A good source of competitively priced railway books is Grosmont Bookshop: http://www.grosmontbookshop.co.uk/railways.php If they haven't got a particular book they will look for it Amazon is another source, of course. Michael dJS 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 Thanks for that - I'll have a look at the bookshop you mention/ I thought Summerson may have been the suggestion so nice to have that confirmed. cheers, Mike 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Clive Mortimore Posted September 26, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 26, 2013 Hi Mike I have both sets of books and both are very detailed and contain information that is not found in the other set. Both sets compliment each other. LMS Locomotives Vol 4 Pre group Midland by Essery and Jenkinson is another book I have found helpful. There is also the class specific series of books by the Wild Swann and the NRM on Midland and LMS locomotives. You can never have enough Midland locomotive books. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bike2steam Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Personally I would recommend Summerson. As Bob Essery was a former Saltley fireman, with first hand knowledge - why??? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold farren Posted September 26, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 26, 2013 I can recommend the class specific books as I have been building the MR and LMS sets up for my self,I can't recommend the others as I don't own any but just reading this thread and looking them up on the net my book wish list has just got bigger. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold DaveF Posted September 26, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 26, 2013 I too would recommend both, but would start with the books which cover the classes you need to know about to cut the initial cost. As Bob Essery was a former Saltley fireman, with first hand knowledge - why??? The books cover a much wider range of locomotive classes than Bob Essery would have had personal experience of. For example the original Johnson classes. The two sets of books are, as Clive wrote earlier, complementary. I frequently refer to both sets when looking for information about specific locos. They also contain different photos. David 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian777999 Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 (edited) Which particular book has the most information about the Midland Single (Spinner) locomotives. I want as many photos as possible in order to build both a OO gauge white metal kit and a OO gauge etched brass kit. Edited September 28, 2013 by brian777999 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterR Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 (edited) Hi, You ask about the Midland Railway singles; The Wild Swan book 'Midland Locomotives' Vol 2 (ISBN0 906867 59 2) by Essery & Jenkinson, has a whole chapter (P146 - 179) on them, with lots of photos and some drawings as well. There are others as well (the Irwell press (I think) series) but I do not know those as I do not have them. For general and detailed information the whole set of the Wild Swan books (4 vols - V1 general V2 passenger V3 goods, V4 Tank Engines ) are good, and a more general ones on MR Locos is by Jack Braithwaite - titled S W Johnson Midland Railway Locomotive Engineer Artist (Wyvern Publications) ISBN 0 907941.17.6 I find it good - it covers all S W Johnson's locos with photos though no drawings. Yours Peter. Edited October 2, 2013 by PeterR 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 Thanks Peter for your info - I was wondering if the Braithwaite book was worth getting - I will look for a copy now. cheers, Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohand Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Hello Brian Look at the Wild Swan Midland Record No.25.It has General Arrangements of the 7ft.6in. and 7ft 9in versions,loads of superb photos and a history of building and alterations of the classes. You could try the Wild Swan Midland railways books which have good Modellers drawings and pictures and the Somerson books which have details of features and where shedded. Wish you luck with getting a single wheeler to work. Mind they where called "spinners"! Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
technohand Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 My main interest is Midland Railway locomotives so I am interested in the various volumes about the subject written by Bob Essery and Stephen Summerson. I will likely end up buying both sets of volumes but for now (since I have not seen either yet) I would appreciate feed back from members about the relative merits of the two series. Since it will of necessity be a gradual process of purchase, which do you think is the better author to go with initially - Essery or Summerson - or are there other books I am not aware of yet? cheers Mike Hello Mike Somerson for details and build history Essery and Jenkinson for the Drawings and variations and class variations. I as a modeller prefer the latter. Tony 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted January 2, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 2, 2014 I use both sets as mentioned above. In particular Sunmmerson has lots of tables which are very useful for selecting a number for a locomotive that has various characteristics built into it eg cab style. The photos in Summerson are usually different to the Jenkinson Essery ones so I would definitely recommend both. Jamie 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poor Old Bruce Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 If you can find a copy of F.C.Hambleton's 'Locomotives Worth Modelling' (Model and Allied Publications 1977 - SBN 0 85242 5805) ther are four different side elevations of Spinners. Also one in Maskelyne's 'Locomotives I Have Known'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 Hi Mike, I can thoroughly recommend the series of magazine-style books 'Midland Record' for all things Midland. Sadly out of print I think but available through Titfield Thunderbolt or eBay from time to time. I was lucky enough to find the whole set recently so am selling my duplicates if anyone is interested, from the Preview issue through to about number 21 I think. Richard 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted May 29, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 29, 2017 (edited) The Summerson books are very good if you are after detailed information on the history of individual engines - I'd say essential for anyone modelling ex-Midland engines in LMS and BR days. I've found the layout and typeface make them hard going though. The Essery and Jenkinson books benefit hugely from Wild Swan's high standards of layout and photo reproduction. If you just want to sit back and wallow in the splendour of a Johnson engine in original livery, these are the books to have. Like many of Essery and Jenkinson's books, they are exactly as advertised, an "Illustrated Review". They give tables of basic dimensions and numbering history and an overview of later condition but are essentially picture books - and none the worse for it. The short-lived "Midland Engines" series, along with related articles in "Midland Record" are the most comprehensive accounts of the classes they cover. Like the companion "LMS Locomotive Profiles" series, it was a great pity that a combination of factors led to the publication of further volumes ceasing before the series had really run their course. There was, I believe, a large amount of research done on other classes that seems now unlikely to see the light of day. EDIT: Membership of the Midland Railway Society is of course also recommended. Edited May 29, 2017 by Compound2632 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now