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Book recommendation: footplate crew and women on the railways

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by andrewshimmin, Jun 3, 2016.

  1. andrewshimmin

    andrewshimmin Well-Known Member

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    My about-to -be-2 year old daughter really likes "reading" Daddy's "train books", the pictorial ones of course. Her favourites are the Brian Stephenson albums, Casserley, Ransome-Wallace, Pat Whitehouse and Jenkinson.
    What she really likes are photos of footplate crew at work (on the footplate or oiling the loco), or fitters.
    So I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a book which has LOTS of photos of railway employees ("mans") at work?
    She also asks often "where ladies" (fair enough!) and was very taken with a photo in one of the Stephenson albums of women fitters in the war.
    Anyone know of a good illustrated book on that subject?
     
    andrewshimmin, Jun 3, 2016
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  2. Christopher125

    Christopher125 Part of the furniture

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    Obviously not a book, but the nearest thing that comes to mind is this thread on RMweb which has 55 pages and hundreds if not thousands of photos of railwaymen and women at work.
     
    Christopher125, Jun 4, 2016
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  3. Spinner

    Spinner Member

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    Spinner, Jun 10, 2016
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  4. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    johnofwessex, Jun 10, 2016
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  5. John Webb

    John Webb Member

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    Author is Helena Wojtczak, ISBN 1 904 10904 7, published 2005. My new copy cost me £6.99 from Ian Allan around 2007 - the prices on Amazon seem a bit steep! (Although I assume it's out of print.) Certainly lots of pictures, although oddly the pictures illustrating more recent women at work on BR or later don't seem to have reproduced as well as those from WW2 and WW1!
     
    John Webb, Jun 10, 2016
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  6. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    There's a name from the past. A very outspoken member of an old Yahoo railway group I frequented until it closed down.
     
    Spamcan81, Jun 10, 2016
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  7. andrewshimmin

    andrewshimmin Well-Known Member

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    Many thanks for the tips.
     
    andrewshimmin, Jun 10, 2016
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  8. 46118

    46118 Part of the furniture

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    You might consider Dick Hardy's book "A Life on the Lines", this book contains a good number of images of working railwaymen that Mr hardy came across during his long career. The images are from his own camera that he carried with him on the railway.
    He tended to ask the railwaymen to stop what they were doing for a moment and pose in front of their loco, but there are a number of images of them at work as well.

    ISBN is: 9781844861736 for the 2012 book, which is available second-hand from a well-known website, on which I see that a "second edition" is to be published on the 30th June. Whether this is just a reprint, or has different images, I do not know.

    46118
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2016
    46118, Jun 12, 2016
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  9. jtx

    jtx Well-Known Member

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    Utterly brilliant book!
     
    jtx, Jun 12, 2016
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  10. Black Jim

    Black Jim Member

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    I love the footplate reminiscences type books, ones to look at ,
    Firing days at Saltely by Terry Essery & the follow up More Firing days at Saltely,
    Mendips Engineman & Footplate over the Mendips by Peter Smith.
    Engineman SR by M Jackman.
    Nine Elms Engineman by Bert Hooker.
    Enginemen Elite & Ace Enginemen by Norman McKillop,
    And loads more which I cant think of at the moment, mainly Bradford Barton published.
     
    Black Jim, Jun 20, 2016
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  11. andrewshimmin

    andrewshimmin Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the recommendations.
     
    andrewshimmin, Jun 20, 2016
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  12. jtx

    jtx Well-Known Member

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    All excellent, but
    also look for "Through the links at Crewe," by the late "Piccolo Pete" Johnson. There are three volumes, with the author firing all the cream of LMS steam power, and, finally driving them, on all routes between Euston and Perth.
    Bliss. Make sure you have a drink to hand.
     
    jtx, Jun 21, 2016
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