GreenDiesel Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I recently learned that there is a new series of S&DJR books in the works, the first volume is already available. They're called The S&D From the Air or something to that effect. Just curious if any members have already seen or purchased these and what their reviews were, etc.? Also, are there any other new S&D books available that you'd recommmend? Thanks in advance, Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted January 2, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 2, 2014 Rob - I'd recommend contacting Simon Castens at The Titfield Thunderbolt railway bookshop in Bath, UK - http://www.titfield.co.uk/ Simon has a very good knowledge of things S&DJR, and also of the book trade. There is a fairly recent aerial view book covering all or part of the S&D, and he'll be able to tell you if he's got it and whether there are any more coming out. In terms of what's already out there, why not have a peruse of his lists on the website for starters? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 As regards the S&DJR, then AIUI there will only be two volumes, of which the first is already available. Whether those responsible for it intend to cover other railways, then I suggest that you need to ask the publishers. Notwithstanding that, I would support the Captain's comments and encourage you to give Simon at TTT as much custom as possible <creep mode>. Having had a very slight involvement with the S&DJR volumes, I do have a copy of Vol 1, which covers the main line north of Evercreech Jcn. My view would be that: a) you should check one before you buy, to see if it really provides what you want B) whilst the aerial pix are no doubt of excellent quality, the subject matter is a little variable. For example, the 'Bath Junction' section provides superb aerial views of Bath, but the actual railway content is barely noticeable. c). the pix were taken apparently at the height of the summer foliage growth period, which means that in many pix the trackbed area is totally hidden under a canopy of trees :-( d). In many pix it is difficult to pick out the railway content at all - it might perhaps have benefitted by 'pointer arrows' superimposed to highlight the relevant parts. But other may disagree.....:-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 Rob - I'd recommend contacting Simon Castens at The Titfield Thunderbolt railway bookshop in Bath, UK - http://www.titfield.co.uk/ Simon has a very good knowledge of things S&DJR, and also of the book trade. There is a fairly recent aerial view book covering all or part of the S&D, and he'll be able to tell you if he's got it and whether there are any more coming out. In terms of what's already out there, why not have a peruse of his lists on the website for starters? Thanks! I've ordered from domain before and will contact him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 As regards the S&DJR, then AIUI there will only be two volumes, of which the first is already available. Whether those responsible for it intend to cover other railways, then I suggest that you need to ask the publishers. Notwithstanding that, I would support the Captain's comments and encourage you to give Simon at TTT as much custom as possible .Having had a very slight involvement with the S&DJR volumes, I do have a copy of Vol 1, which covers the main line north of Evercreech Jcn. My view would be that:a) you should check one before you buy, to see if it really provides what you want B) whilst the aerial pix are no doubt of excellent quality, the subject matter is a little variable. For example, the 'Bath Junction' section provides superb aerial views of Bath, but the actual railway content is barely noticeable.c). the pix were taken apparently at the height of the summer foliage growth period, which means that in many pix the trackbed area is totally hidden under a canopy of trees :-(d). In many pix it is difficult to pick out the railway content at all - it might perhaps have benefitted by 'pointer arrows' superimposed to highlight the relevant parts.But other may disagree.....:-) Thanks. This is helpful and kind of what I expected -- that the books might not be that useful. I'll still see if I can view a copy first. However, since I live in Canada and since this is a specialized British book, this might have to wait till my next trip to the UK (which will hopefully be this summer :-) ). , Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim V Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 One S&D book I'm looking forward to is "The Convenience of the S&D". Saw a cover of this, featured a "gentleman" sign..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 "This is helpful and kind of what I expected -- that the books might not be that useful....." Well, when you say "useful", it depends of course for what purpose you were intending to buy the book. I forgot to mention that the book does contain also some previously-unpublished 'historical' colour pix of trains on the line at various locations from the collection of the late Mark Warburton. Again, very nice, but...essentially a 'variation on a theme' of similar shots of similar trains in similar places by other photographers. IMHO nothing obviously startlingly new. Given that Vol 1 cost GBP 25, and no doubt Vol 2 will be similar, do you want to spend GBP 50 for a nice set of colour pix of the modern countryside in Somerset and Dorset just to get some different historical pix? Incidentally, having now looked again at the Preface by the publishers (Ian Allan), I see that they refer to "plans....to cover other iconic and long lamented lines". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Think this has been mentioned before, but the website "Britain from Above" at http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk has a wonderful collection of aerial images covering the period 1919-53. On some images you can even make out the loco number. Often the locations are industrial, so much railway material is evident. You can search by location so have a look at Bath, Radstock etc. All for free. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 "This is helpful and kind of what I expected -- that the books might not be that useful....."Well, when you say "useful", it depends of course for what purpose you were intending to buy the book.I forgot to mention that the book does contain also some previously-unpublished 'historical' colour pix of trains on the line at various locations from the collection of the late Mark Warburton. Again, very nice, but...essentially a 'variation on a theme' of similar shots of similar trains in similar places by other photographers. IMHO nothing obviously startlingly new. Given that Vol 1 costGBP 25, and no doubt Vol 2 will be similar, do you want to spend GBP 50 for a nice set of colour pix of the modern countryside in Somerset and Dorset just to get some different historical pix?Incidentally, having now looked again at the Preface by the publishers (Ian Allan), I see that they refer to "plans....to cover other iconic and long lamented lines". By "useful" I probably mean track plan ideas (but Judge & Potts book "An Historical Survey of the Somerset & Dorset Railway" pretty much fills that bill) or colour 1960s S&D photo albums (but I have lots of those). Basically, I had just learned about these new aerial photo books and was wondering if I was missing out on anything important! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted January 3, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 3, 2014 By "useful" I probably mean track plan ideas (but Judge & Potts book "An Historical Survey of the Somerset & Dorset Railway" pretty much fills that bill) or colour 1960s S&D photo albums (but I have lots of those). Basically, I had just learned about these new aerial photo books and was wondering if I was missing out on anything important! I would say not. If I was you I would put the £25.00 towards a Bachmann 7F. ..... Rob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 "By "useful" I probably mean track plan ideas ......or colour 1960s S&D photo albums ..." In which case, you were certainly not get the former and for the latter I would suggest you were better going for actual books of that type. From a personal viewpoint, I found "Sabotaged & Defeated" far more useful as a 'historical record' of the S&D at time of closure, whereas with the 'from the air' book you have to use an awful lot of imagination! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 I would say not. If I was you I would put the £25.00 towards a Bachmann 7F. ..... Rob. Thanks! But which one? The BR ones would fit my layout's time period better but the Prussian Blue one looks the best! Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Think this has been mentioned before, but the website "Britain from Above" at http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk has a wonderful collection of aerial images covering the period 1919-53. On some images you can even make out the loco number. Often the locations are industrial, so much railway material is evident. You can search by location so have a look at Bath, Radstock etc. All for free. Thanks -- I'll try that site. Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benbow Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Prussian blue might look nice but it is not prototypical, they were only ever black. As for aerial views it is still possible to trace much of the line using Google Earth. Where it has been in filled, built over etc. you can still get the general route if you use a map as well as Goggle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poor Old Bruce Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 If it's track layout plans you want, look for 'An Historical Survey of the SOMERSET & DORSET RAILWAY Track Layouts and Illustrations' by C.W.Judge and R.C.Potts (OPC 1979 - SBN 86093 003 3). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 If it's track layout plans you want, look for 'An Historical Survey of the SOMERSET & DORSET RAILWAY Track Layouts and Illustrations' by C.W.Judge and R.C.Potts (OPC 1979 - SBN 86093 003 3). Thanks, yes, I have that book and its excellent, especially for track planning. It helped me to figure out what station/area to depict on my current layout (Wellow). I was just sussing out feedback on these new books and whether its worth buying any. Cheers, Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Combe Martin Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Be careful, some of the track plans in 'Judge and Potts' are out of date depending upon your modelling period. Bailey Gate for a 60s modeller has a lot missing ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 As I have said before, 'Judge & Potts' was good by the standards of its day and is still useful - I refer to it regularly - BUT....it is a trap for the unwary, as for many locations the track plans, signal diagrams and photographs are all of diferrent periods and simply do not match. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poor Old Bruce Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 If it's track layout plans you want, look for 'An Historical Survey of the SOMERSET & DORSET RAILWAY Track Layouts and Illustrations' by C.W.Judge and R.C.Potts (OPC 1979 - SBN 86093 003 3). Be careful, some of the track plans in 'Judge and Potts' are out of date depending upon your modelling period. Bailey Gate for a 60s modeller has a lot missing ! As I have said before, 'Judge & Potts' was good by the standards of its day and is still useful - I refer to it regularly - BUT....it is a trap for the unwary, as for many locations the track plans, signal diagrams and photographs are all of diferrent periods and simply do not match. It's back to the County Record Offices and Local Studies Libraries for the various old OS maps then . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 If the OP is interested in a specific location(s)for modelling (eg Wellow), then it might be better for him to state his preferred location(s), time period of interest and any specific information wanted and see what this forum comes up with :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 If the OP is interested in a specific location(s)for modelling (eg Wellow), then it might be better for him to state his preferred location(s), time period of interest and any specific information wanted and see what this forum comes up with :-) Thanks...basically I've modeled Wellow in the late-50s or 60s. I did find Judge & Potts' book useful and now realize it has some glitches so I should be cautious when using it again. I'm still open to adding to my S&DJR book collection as & when any new books come out. Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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