Railway History Books: Suggested Reading

This thread will provide information on suggested reading for budding historians, enthusiasts and similar.

I will update the original post here with any further information collated. It will be subdivided by way of railway companies and subject matter.

To start the ball rolling, I will include portions of my bibliographies.

Please, when you are submitting your suggestions, write them out as per the example below:

Edward Thompson of the L.N.E.R., Peter Grafton (1971 and 2007) Kestrel Books and Oakwood Press.

This is in the Harvard referencing format, and is a standard academic format for bibliographies.


G.W.R.

Key Volumes

DAVIES, FK, WHITE, DE and others The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, The Railway Travel and Correspondence Society, Long out of print, and much traded, this is an essential reference for the serious student of the subject.
Part 1 - Preliminary Survey, 1951
Part 2 - Broad Gauge, 1953
Part 3 - Absorbed Engines 1854-1921, 1956
Part 4 - Six-wheeled Tender Engines, 1956
Part 5 - Six coupled Tank Engines, 1958
Part 6 - Four coupled Tank Engines, 1959
Part 7 - Dean’s Larger Tender Engines, 1954
Part 8 - Modern Passenger classes, 1953, 1960
Part 9 - Standard Two-cylinder classes, 1962
Part 10 - Absorbed Engines 1922-1947, 1966
Part 11 - Rail Motor Vehicles and Internal Combustion Locomotives, 1952, 1956
Part 12 - A Chronological and Statistical Survey, 1974
Part 13 – Preservation and Supplementary Information, 1983

GWR enthusiasts may be interested to know that the key RCTS series is now available again from RCTS, both paper with Amazon print on demand and as PDFs.

https://archive.rcts.org.uk/product/locomotives-of-the-gwr-volume-1/
https://archive.rcts.org.uk/product/locomotives-of-the-gwr-volume-2/
https://archive.rcts.org.uk/product/locomotives-of-the-gwr-volume-3/

RUSSELL, JH, Pictorial Record of Great Western Engines, Oxford Publishing Co, in 3 coffee table sized volumes, much more recently in print.
A Pictorial Record of Great Western Engines Vol. 1 Gooch Armstrong and Dean, , 1999
A Pictorial Record of Great Western Engines Vol. 2 Churchward Collett and Hawksworth, 1999
A Pictorial Record of Great Western Absorbed Engines, Oxford Publishing Co, 1978
COOK, KJ, Swindon Steam 1921-1951, Ian Allan Ltd, 1974
HOLCROFT, H, An Outline of Great Western Locomotive Practice, Ian Allan Ltd, 1971

Useful Books/Publications/Papers

AHRONS, EL, The British Steam Railway Locomotive 1825-1925, Ian Allan Ltd, 1969
CHAMP, Jim, An Introduction to Great Western Locomotive Development, Pen & Sword Transport, 2018.
COOK, KJ, The Late G. J. Churchward’s Locomotive Development on the Great Western Railway, Journal of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers Paper 492, 1950.
COPSEY, John et al, The Great Western Railway Journal, Wild Swan Publications, 1992
DURRANT, AE, Swindon Apprentice, Runpast Publishing, 1989
HOLCROFT, H, The Armstrongs of the Great Western, Railway World Ltd, 1953
NOCK, OS, The GWR Stars Castles and Kings omnibus edition, David and Charles, 1981 edition.
ROGERS, Col HCB, GJ Churchward A Locomotive Biography, George Allen & Unwin, 1975

Interesting Reading

AHRONS, EL, Locomotive and Train Working in the Latter Part of the 19th Century Volume Four, W. Heffer and Sons, 1953
GIBBS, Ken, Swindon Works Apprentice in Steam, Oxford Publishing Co, 1986
NOCK, OS, The Great Western Railway in the 19th Century, Ian Allan, 1971
NOCK, OS, The Great Western Railway in the 20th Century, Ian Allan, 1971
NUTTY, EJ, GWR Two Cylinder Piston Valve Steam Locomotives, privately published, 1977
POLE, Sir Felix, His Book, Town & Country Press Edition, 1968.
SUMMERS, LA, Swindon Steam – A New Light on GWR Loco development, Amberley, 2013,

Treat with Caution

FREEZER, CJ, Locomotives in Outline – GWR, Peco Publications, 1977.
GASSON, Harold, Firing Days Footplate Days Nostalgic Days Signalling Days, OPC, 1973-1981
GIBSON AKC, The Rev JC, Great Western Locomotive design – A Critical Appreciation., David and Charles, 1984
TUPLIN, WA, Great Western Power, Allen & Unwin, 1975
TUPLIN, WA, Great Western Steam, Allen & Unwin, 1965

L.M.S.

Useful Books/Publications/Papers

Locomotive Engineers of the LMS, Denis Griffiths (1991), Patrick Stephens Limited.

Interesting Reading

TBC



Treat with Caution

TBC

L.N.E.R.


Books discussing Sir Nigel Gresley

'2750, The Legend of a Locomotive', by Harry Webster (1953) Nelson.

‘A4 Pacific Locomotives’, Peter Tuffrey (2016) Ian Allan Ltd.

'A History of the L.N.E.R.', Volumes 1-3, Michael Bonavia (1983) Allen & Unwin.

‘Bill Harvey’s 60 Years in Steam’, D.W. Harvey (1986) David & Charles Publishing Plc.

'Biographical Dictionary of Railway Engineers', John Marshall, (2nd Edition, 2003) Railway & Canal Historical Society.

‘British Locomotives from the footplate’, O.S. Nock (1950) Hazell, Watson & Viney Ltd.

‘British Pacific Locomotives’, Cecil J. Allen (1962) Ian Allan Ltd.

'British Railways Steam Locomotives 1948 – 1968’, Hugh Longworth (2007) OPC.

'British Steam Horses', George Dow (1950) Phoenix House.

‘Cock O’ The North, Gresley’s Bold Experiment’, Peter Tuffrey (2014) Fonthill Media Limited.

'Dropping the Fire', Philip Atkins (1999) Irwell Press.

‘East Coast Pacifics at Work’, P.N. Townend (1982) Ian Allan Ltd.

‘Edward Thompson of the L.N.E.R.’, Peter Grafton (1971 and 2007) Kestrel Books and Oakwood Press.

‘Edward Thompson: Wartime C.M.E.’, Simon A.C. Martin (2021) Strathwood Publishing Ltd.

‘Enginemen Elite’, Norman McKillop ‘Torem Beg’ (1958) Unwin Brothers Limited.

‘Flying Scotsman’, Andrew Roden (2007) Aurum Press Ltd.

‘FORWARD, The L.N.E.R. Development Programme’, L.N.E.R. (1946) Waterlow & Sons Limited.

‘From the footplate’, O.S. Nock (1984) Book Club Associates and Granada Publishing Limited.

‘Genius or Showman? A critical analysis of the work of Sir Nigel Gresley’, J.P. Disley (2020) Amazon Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing Limited.

‘Great Northern’, O.S. Nock (1979) Ian Allan ltd.

‘Great Locomotives of the L.N.E.R.’, O.S, Nock (1988) Guild Publishing & Patrick Stephens Limited.

‘Gresley’s Class P2 Locomotives’, Andrew Hardy (2016) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

‘Gresley’s Legacy: Locomotives and Rolling Stock’, David McIntosh (2015) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

'Gresley Locomotives', Brian Haresnape, (1981) Ian Allan.

'Gresley and his Locomotives', Tim Hillier-Graves (2019) Pen & Sword Books Ltd.

'Gresley’s Master Engineer. Bert Spencer, Tim Hillier-Graves (2023) Pen & Sword Books Ltd.

'Gresley’s Silver Link’, Tim Hillier-Graves and Ronald Hillier (2022) Pen & Sword Books Ltd.

‘Hush-Hush: The Story of L.N.E.R. 10000’, William Brown (2010) Kestrel Railway Books.

'Top Link Locomotives', Norman McKillop (1957) Nelson.

'Enginemen Elite', Norman McKillop (1958) Ian Allan.

'Nigel Gresley', F.A.S. Brown (1961) Ian Allan.

‘L.N.E.R.’, Geoffrey Hughes (1986) Ian Allan Printing Ltd.

‘L.N.E.R. 4-6-0s at work’, Geoffrey Hughes (1988) Ian Allan Ltd.

‘L.N.E.R. in Transition’, Michael Blakemore (2004) Pendragon Partnership 2004.

'L.N.E.R. Locomotive Development', Jim Armstrong (1974) Peco Publications.

‘L.N.E.R. Locomotives’, H.C. Casserley (1977) D. Bradford Barton Ltd.

‘L.N.E.R. Pacifics Remembered’, Peter Townend (2014) Irwell Press Limited.

‘L.N.E.R. Passenger Trains and Formations 1923-67’, Steve Banks and Clive Carter (2013), Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

‘L.N.E.R. Steam’, O.S. Nock (1969) The Chaucer Press Ltd.

‘L.N.E.R. Wagons’, various editions, Peter Tatlow (1998) Pendragon Partnership.

‘L.N.E.R. Workshops, Development, Expansion and Demise’, Peter Tuffrey (2018) Crecy Publishing Limited.

'Locomotive Adventure', Harold Holcroft (1962) Ian Allan.

'Locomotive Designers in the Age of Steam', J.N. Westwood (1977) Sidgwick & Jackson.

‘Locomotive Engineers of the L.N.E.R.’, Ben Webb (1946) Ian Allen Limited.

‘Locomotives of the L.N.E.R.’, Volumes 1-11, The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (R.C.T.S.) (1963-1971).

‘Locomotives of the L.N.E.R.’, O.S. Nock (1947) London & North Eastern Railway (Publishing).

‘Locomotive Panorama, Volumes 1 and 2’, E.S. Cox (1965 and 1966) Ian Allan Ltd.

‘Mallard and the A4 Class’, David McIntosh (2008) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

‘Mallard: how the blue streak broke the world speed record’, Don Hale (2005) Aurem Press.

'Master Builders of Steam', H.A.V. Bulleid (1963) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

‘Men of Steam’, L.A. Summers (2016) Amberley Publishing Ltd.

‘Peppercorn: His Life and Locomotives’, Tim Hillier-Graves (2021) Pen and Sword Publishing Ltd.

‘Nigel Gresley: Locomotive Engineer’, F.A.S. Brown (1961) Ian Allan Ltd.

‘Ninety Years On: The New Book of the A3 Pacifics’, Peter Coster (2013) Irwell Press Limited.

‘Non-stop! London to Scotland Steam’, A.J Mullay (1989) Alan Sutton Limited.

‘Railways in Retrospect’, Michael Blakemore (2004) Pendragon Publishing Ltd.

‘Sir Nigel Gresley; The Engineer and his family’, Geoffrey Hughes (2001) Oakwood Press.

‘Sir Vincent Raven and the North Eastern Railway’ (2005), Peter Grafton (2005) Oakwood Press.

‘Sir Vincent Raven: Visionary Pragmatist, North Eastern Railway Locomotive Engineer’ Andrew Everett (2006) Tempus Publishing Limited.

'Sir William Stanier', J.E. Chacksfield, (2001) Oakwood Press.

'Speaking of Steam', E.S. Cox (1971) Ian Allan.

‘Steam Days at Haymarket’, Harry Knox (2007) Irwell Press Limited.

'Steam in the Blood', Richard Hardy (1971) Ian Allan Ltd.

‘Steam was my calling’, E.S. Beavor (1974) Ian Allan Ltd.

‘Streamlined Steam: Britain’s 1930s Luxury Expresses’, A.J. Mullay (2002) David & Charles Ltd.

‘That was my railway’, Frank L. Hick (1991) Silver Link Publishing Ltd.

‘The Birth of British Rail’, Michael R. Bonavia (1979) George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

‘The Book of the A1 and A2 Pacifics’, Peter Coster (2013) Irwell Press Limited.

‘The Book of the A3 Pacifics’, Peter Coster (2008) Irwell Press Limited.

‘The Book of the A4 Pacifics’, Peter Coster (2013) Irwell Press Limited.

‘The Counter Pressure Brake Method of Testing Locomotives’. Journal of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers. T. Robson. (1943).

‘The Development of L.N.E.R. Locomotive Design, 1923–1941’. Journal of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers. Bert Spencer (1947).

‘The Gresley Influence’, Geoffrey Hughes (1983) Ian Allan Ltd.

‘The Gresley Pacifics’, O.S. Nock (1983), David & Charles Ltd.

‘The Locomotive Exchanges’, Cecil J. Allen (1949) Ian Allan Ltd.

‘The Locomotives of the Great Northern Railways, 1847-1910’, G.F. Bird (1910) The Locomotive Pub. Co. Ltd.

‘The L.M.S. Pacifics’, J.W.P. Rowledge (1987) David & Charles Publishers Plc.

‘The L.N.E.R. delivers the goods’, Peter Tatlow (2022) Lightmoor Press, Black Dwarf Lightmoor Publications Ltd.

‘The L.N.E.R. Remembered’, J.S. Whiteley & G.W. Morrison (1979) Morrison and Oxford Publishing.

‘The L.N.E.R. Scene’, Maurice Earley (1973) Oxford Publishing Co. Ltd.

‘The Power of the A1s’, Gavin Morrison (2000) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

‘The Power of the A2s’, Gavin Morrison (2004) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

‘The Power of the A3s’, Gavin Morrison (2002) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

‘The Power of the A4s’, Brian Morrison (Various) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

‘The Power of the A1s, A2s and A3s’, J.S. Whiteley & G.W. Morrison (1982) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

‘The Power of the B1s’, Peter Swinger (1994) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

‘The Power of the B17s and B2s’, Peter Swinger (1988) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

‘Trained by Sir Nigel Gresley’, Eric Bannister (1984) The Dalesman Publishing Ltd.

‘Thompson: His Life and Locomotives’, Tim Hillier-Graves (2021) Pen and Sword Publishing Ltd.

‘Trained by Sir Nigel Gresley’, Eric Bannister (1984) The Dalesman Publishing Company Ltd.

Yeadon’s Register of L.N.E.R. Locomotives: Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24A and 24B, 43A, Willie Yeadon (Various years) Irwell Press Limited

'World Steam in the Twentieth Century', E.S. Cox (1969) Ian Allan.

Treat with Caution

‘Thompson & Peppercorn: Locomotive Engineers’, Colonel H.C.B. Rogers (1979) Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

*note from Simon. This book is worth reading, if only for the approach of researching an historiography on Thompson & Peppercorn. The book contains a significant amount of factual inaccuracies, some potentially problematic statements, views and contains no direct referencing or citations from sources it purports to have engaged prior to publication. As a book regarding the history of these two locomotive engineers it is of limited value.


S.R.

Useful Books/Publications/Papers

Bulleid, Last Giant of Steam, S. Day-Lewis (1964) Allen & Unwi

Bulleid of the Southern, H.A.V. Bulleid (1977), Ian Allan

Bulleid's Pacifics, D.W.Winkworth (1974) George Allen and Unwin

Locomotives of the Southern Railway, D.L. Bradley (1975) RCTS (2 volumes)

Master Builders of Steam, H.A.V. Bulleid (1963), Ian Allan

“Report of the Committee on Proposed Extensions of Electrification", A. Raworth Chief Electrical Engineer, February 1946.

"Some Notes on the Merchant Navy Class Locomotives”, Oliver Bulleid, I.Mech. E. 14/12/1945.

William Adams, His Life & Locomotives. By John Woodhams. Pub: Pen & Sword.


Interesting Reading

TBC


Treat with Caution

TBC




British Railways (1948-1994)

Useful Books/Publications/Papers

British Railways, 1948-73: A Business History, T. R. Gourvish (1986), Cambridge University Press

British Rail, 1974-97: From Integration to Privatisation, Terry Gourvish (2002), Oxford University Press


Interesting Reading

The Railwaymen: Volume 1: The History of the National Union of Railwaymen, Philip S. Bagwell (1963), Allen & Unwin

The Railwaymen: Volume 2: The Beeching Era and After The History of the National Union of Railwaymen, Philip S. Bagwell (1982), Allen & Unwin


Treat with Caution

TBC



Britain's Railways (1994-present day)

Useful Books/Publications/Papers

Britain's Railways, 1997-2005: Labour's Strategic Experiment, Terry Gourvish (2008), Oxford University Press


Interesting Reading

The Railways: Nation, Network & People, Simon Bradley (2015), Profile Books


Treat with Caution

TBC


Industrial Railways & Locomotive Builders (1829 - present day)

Useful Books/Publications/Papers

The Hunslet Engine Works, Over a Century and a Half of Locomotive Building, D H Townsley (1998), Plateway Press

Matthew Murray 1765 - 1826 and the firm of Fenton, Murray and Co 1795 - 1844. Paul Murray Thompson (2015), Paul Murray Thompson.


Interesting Reading

TBC


Treat with Caution

TBC

 

Do you actually mean the whole of Railway History? That's a very wide topic indeed, and does not belong within the "Steam Locomotives" section.

Or do you mean the more limited but still wide topic of (British-only?) Steam Railway Locomotive History?

 

I think it’s quite plain I’m focusing on the steam traction era here.

 

This is the "Further Reading" section I put in my GWR Locomotives book.

Key Volumes
DAVIES, FK, WHITE, DE and others The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, The Railway Travel and Correspondence Society, Long out of print, and much traded, this is an essential reference for the serious student of the subject.
Part 1 - Preliminary Survey, 1951
Part 2 - Broad Gauge, 1953
Part 3 - Absorbed Engines 1854-1921, 1956
Part 4 - Six-wheeled Tender Engines, 1956
Part 5 - Six coupled Tank Engines, 1958
Part 6 - Four coupled Tank Engines, 1959
Part 7 - Dean’s Larger Tender Engines, 1954
Part 8 - Modern Passenger classes, 1953, 1960
Part 9 - Standard Two-cylinder classes, 1962
Part 10 - Absorbed Engines 1922-1947, 1966
Part 11 - Rail Motor Vehicles and Internal Combustion Locomotives, 1952, 1956
Part 12 - A Chronological and Statistical Survey, 1974
Part 13 – Preservation and Supplementary Information, 1983

RUSSELL, JH, Pictorial Record of Great Western Engines, Oxford Publishing Co, in 3 coffee table sized volumes, much more recently in print.
A Pictorial Record of Great Western Engines Vol. 1 Gooch Armstrong and Dean, , 1999
A Pictorial Record of Great Western Engines Vol. 2 Churchward Collett and Hawksworth, 1999
A Pictorial Record of Great Western Absorbed Engines, Oxford Publishing Co, 1978

COOK, KJ, Swindon Steam 1921-1951, Ian Allan Ltd, 1974, Ken Cook trained on the GWR and rose to be head of the works under Collett and Hawksworth. He was the man responsible for converting the designs to metal and keeping them running. Under British Railways he succeeded Hawksworth and occupied Churchward’s chair as Mechanical and Electrical Engineer of the Western Region and later Gresley’s chair as Mechanical and Electrical Engineer of the Eastern and North Eastern Regions.

HOLCROFT, H, An Outline of Great Western Locomotive Practice, Ian Allan Ltd, 1971, Harry Holcroft was one of Churchward’s ‘Bright young men’ who converted Churchward’s ideas – and his own – onto paper for the workshops to build. He was to go on to have senior roles at the Southern Railway under Maunsell and Bulleid. 'Locomotive Adventure' Volumes 1 & 2 cover much of the same territory on the GWR side but will also be listed by Souhern Enthusiasts.

Useful
AHRONS, EL, The British Steam Railway Locomotive 1825-1925, Ian Allan Ltd, 1969. A technical volume covering the development of British built locomotives both in Great Britain and abroad. Ernest L Ahrons was a former pupil of Dean at Swindon. He worked in the engineering industry until after the Great War when, in his 50s, he became a full time writer. His line drawings are widely reproduced, and have been vital as sources for the sketches of nineteenth century locomotives in this work.

COOK, KJ, The Late G. J. Churchward’s Locomotive Development on the Great Western Railway, Journal of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers Paper 492, 1950. The original audience for this paper was other locomotive engineers. I’m quite sure it was studied by the authors of the RCTS series and numerous other writers: the contents are very often familiar. It has been reprinted, but is probably best read as part of the proceedings, as at least some of the reprints don’t include the discussion after the paper, which includes comments from the likes of Holcroft, W H Stanier and E.S. Cox, which are valuable in themselves. The proceedings are available electronically as part of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers archive, but they are not cheap.

COPSEY, John et al, The Great Western Railway Journal, Wild Swan Publications, 1992 onwards. A very wide range of GWR topics. Some issues contain reproductions of GWR general arrangement drawings which were used as references for some of the sketches.

DURRANT, AE, Swindon Apprentice, Runpast Publishing, 1989, A E Durrant was a premium apprentice at Swindon, joining the GWR after WW2, and was employed in the Swindon Drawing Office during the 1950s. His book has much to say about the final developments of GWR design. He was a considerable steam locomotive enthusiast and the book contains much about off-duty travels around Britain and Europe locomotive spotting, and also much on the vast locomotives he believed that BR should have been building instead of the standard classes!

HOLCROFT, H, The Armstrongs of the Great Western, Railway World Ltd, 1953. An odd work in some respects, being a family biography than a technical work, but it’s well written and contains useful material. In particular it contains a good number of E.L. Ahrons drawings which were used as references for some of the earlier classes.

NOCK, OS, The GWR Stars Castles and Kings omnibus edition, David and Charles, 1981 edition.

ROGERS, Col HCB, GJ Churchward A Locomotive Biography, George Allen & Unwin, 1975. Col Rogers was able to communicate with some of the last people who had known Churchward.

Interesting
AHRONS, EL, Locomotive and Train Working in the Latter Part of the 19th Century Volume Four, W. Heffer and Sons, 1953, This book consists of articles written for the Railway Magazine, in the case of the GWR section in 1915/16. Insight into how the locomotives were used, but not much that is very relevant to this work. Ahrons was an excellent writer however, and the book contains a number of amusing anecdotes. The description of the Great Western Railway Bath Bun as ‘met the specification of a close-grained chilled material, with an ultimate tensile strength of about 10 tons per square inch’ stuck in my mind! That would, I think, be a contemporary specification for a good quality cast iron…

GIBBS, Ken, Swindon Works Apprentice in Steam, Oxford Publishing Co, 1986, Gibbs was an apprentice from 1944 to 1951. His book covers much the same ground as the first half of Durrant’s, but stops at the end of his Works apprenticeship. There is much more detail on Swindon works working practices, but very little insight into design.

NOCK, OS, The Great Western Railway in the 19th Century, Ian Allan, 1971
NOCK, OS, The Great Western Railway in the 20th Century, Ian Allan, 1971, The very prolific Nock isn’t always highly regarded, but these seem to be considered among his better volumes and are a worthwhile basic history.

NUTTY, EJ, GWR Two Cylinder Piston Valve Steam Locomotives, privately published, 1977, Another Swindon drawing office man, Ernie Nutty’s volume is a strictly practical work intended for those maintaining and operating GWR locomotives in preservation.

POLE, Sir Felix, His Book, Town & Country Press Edition, 1968. As one would expect, primarily a book about the business, not the engineering.

SUMMERS, LA, Swindon Steam – A New Light on GWR Loco development, Amberley, 2013, Les Summers is a historian and teacher from a GWR family who is deeply involved in the Great Western Society and writes well. This volume is principally an assemblage of articles on disparate topics.

Treat with Caution
FREEZER, CJ, Locomotives in Outline – GWR, Peco Publications, 1977. Older model railway enthusiasts will need little introduction to Mr Freezer, who was a key figure in the hobby for many years. Both he and I were starting with the GWR weights diagrams, supplemented by additional detail. He’s not immune from error and there are a number of drawings which seem to me to be less accurate than one might hope. As examples brake gear is sometimes at odds with contemporary photographs and his 9400 pannier tank drawing scales 10 inches too short according to my eyes. I hope I don’t have too many similar errors: I caught some horrors at the proof stage.

GASSON, Harold, Firing Days Footplate Days Nostalgic Days Signalling Days, OPC, 1973-1981., Gasson tells a good story, but as a Didcot fireman and signalman wasn’t deeply involved in the engineering side. There’s also evidence, not least in at least one of the book introductions, that, not every tale that he tells in the first person actually happened to him. There’s an interesting insight too in reading Gasson’s books alongside Barlow’s ‘Didcot Engineman’. Both men came from Didcot families, and were contemporaries, but beyond senior men - foreman etc. - remarkably few names are mentioned in both books.

GIBSON AKC, The Rev JC, Great Western Locomotive design – A Critical Appreciation., David and Charles, 1984, Gibson was an apprentice at the MSWJR and moved to Swindon after that railway was absorbed at the grouping. He was undoubtedly there and had the overalls. Nevertheless there are occasions where I consider the facts do not support his conclusions, and I suspect he has a bit of a weakness for a good controversial story.

TUPLIN, WA, Great Western Power, Allen & Unwin, 1975
TUPLIN, WA, Great Western Steam, Allen & Unwin, 1965, Tuplin was a professional engineer, who spent 30 years in industry with the notable company of David Brown of Huddersfield, and then finished his career in academia as professor of Applied Mechanics at Sheffield University. He was a great enthusiast for steam power, but was never a locomotive engineer. His theories and conclusions about the steam locomotive are sometimes highly controversial. In particular one may note his belief in the desirability of low boiler pressure. He also had theories, which he held were mathematically based, on the efficiencies of locomotives at different speeds. He went so far as to present a paper to the Institution of Locomotive Engineers, recorded in their Journal Volume 43 (1953). However some aspects of this paper were pretty sharply criticised by the likes of Holcroft and Ell. It seems wise to have a considerable pinch of salt available when reading Tuplin. See also an extended criticism at http://www.steamindex.com/library/tuplin.htm. There are those who suspect that some of his footplate tales owe as much to imagination as accurate reporting.

 

I'm not sure that you can hold reminiscences of enginemen to quite the same standards of historicity (thought you absolutely have to hold them to some standards) though - if you want to know what it was like to be a country vet in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, then you can absolutely get that from James Herriot, and he too was pinching stories that happened to other people, saying they happened to him, and mixing them in with his own. That's fine as far as it goes IMO. Gasson et al will give you a flavour of what life was like on the footplate, but with half an eye on telling a good story. As you say, treat with caution, but don't disregard entirely.

 

Great stuff Jim, I’ll add that into the GWR section shortly. Thanks for posting that.

 

A few quick thoughts.

From a SR perspective, obviously the RCTS volumes by DL Bradley are the starting point for histories. It is strong on numbers, names, build dates, rebuilding, incidents and so on, and also has a lot of interesting cost information. It's less strong on engineering detail. the LSWR volumes are particularly lavish in their most recent Wild Swan reprint.

Volumes are:

- LCDR
- SER
- SECR (Wainwright, Maunsell)
- LBSCR (Three volumes: Craven and early Stroudley; Stroudley and early Billinton; later Billinton locos onwards. I think the volumes are divided as much to make them approximately equal size as any other rationale)
- LSWR (Four volumes: early locos, Gooch, Beattie I and II; Adams; Drummond; Urie
- SR (Two volumes: Maunsell, Lynton and Barnstaple; oddities like the railcars and USA tanks; and the second volume covering Bulleid except the Q1, which is treated with the Q in volume 1)
- Isle of Wight
- Somerset and Dorset Joint

There are some arbitrary arrangements within the above of Maunsell's locomotives: most notably, all the Moguls are in the SECR book; and all the King Arthurs / H15s / S15s are in the Urie volume of the LSWR book, so the SR book proper is rather thin, since it only really covers the Lord Nelsons, Schools, Z, Q and Q1.

"Under 10 CMEs" by E.A. Langridge covers his entire career across the LSWR, Midland, LMS and BR(M)
- Under 10 CMEs, Volume One: Dugald Drummond to W.A. Stanier, E.A. Langridge, (2011) Oakwood Press
- Under 10 CMEs, Volume Two: C.E. Fairburn to J.F. Harrison, E.A. Langridge, (2011) Oakwood Press

Another LMS one I'd say is essential is Raising Steam one the LMS - The Evolution of LMS Locomotive Boilers, A. F. Cook, (1999), RCTS. Even though I am not an LMS aficionado, it gives a tremendous insight into the design complexity in that area.

@Jimc has already referenced "Locomotive Adventure" and also things like Ahron's book on Locomotive and Train working. I'm surprised that he didn't mention Life in a Railway Factory, Alfred Williams, (1915 - recent reprints available), Sutton Publishing Williams had an agenda, but it is a first hand account from teh shop floor at Swindon. A comparable view from Brighton Works, but from a happier place, is When Steam was King at Brighton, A. C. Perryman (1982), Rochester Press

(Apologies for not giving your referencing style for the RCTS books; I can go back and edit in due course ...)

Tom

 

That is the kind of book which most appeals to me. How did the railways of my youth in the 1950s and 60s actually work from various perspectives? Towards the top of the ladder you have Fiennes's classic 'I Tried To Run A Railway' . Then down at the ops management level, you have various books mentioned by Simon--- Beavor, Harvey, the two by Richard Hardy, and Townend's books, a good one not mentioned being P.N.Townend, Top Shed Ian Allan, 1975.

Then at the next level we have the enginemen. Of course there are the biographies of famous drivers such as Semmens on Bill Hoole, and autobiographies such as Bert (A.E.) Hooker's. Another good one mentioned to me by @Big Al is Jim Evans's From Booking Boy to Bulleids which recounts among others the story of driving the 71B class Q to Waterloo and being asked on arrival ' did your loco fail at Woking?'There is Terry Essary at Saltley, Pete Johnson at Crewe Gresty Rd, South and finally North, Abeare at Southall and OOC, Jacks at Tyseley, deep in the folklore territory Bill Morgan at Neyland. One of that genre I particularly recommend is M. F. Higson, London Midland Fireman Ian Allan, 1972. Most of his career is spent at rather unglamorous places such as Green Ayre and Burton before arriving at Crewe North. He does have a lot of interesting things to say about LM loco types (and drivers!) and it is possibly the most thoughtful and analytical book of any I've read in that genre.

If there are others in that genre I've missed, I'd be interested to have recommended reading. What sort of book are 'Dropping the Fire' and 'That Was My Railway'?

I can write this list up properly if you want.

Edit--should have mentioned Peter Smith , The S and D on the footplate. Not very complimentary about West Countries IIRC. And some 9Fs worked, others didn't.

Peter

 

Hi Tom, happy to add to the top post. No worries. Thank you for sharing.

So we've got a good start for the LNER, GWR and SR now - anyone recommending reading on the LMS?

 

For engine pickers and modellers there’s -
An Illustrated History of LMS Locomotive- Essery & Jenkinson ( Four volumes)
The Locomotive Profile Books published by Wild Swan
The Locomotive Profile series by Wild Swan
LMS Reflections containing pictures from the Hulton Library
The LMS Remembered
The entire Irwell Press Book of… series, that’s for all railways but the series does have an LMS bias.

Of the constituent companies the Midland is well represented-
An Illustrated review of Midland Locomotives, Essery & Jenkinson (Four volumes)
The highly detailed four volume work by Stephen Summerson, Midland Locomotive.
The 35 issues of Midland Record.
There are books too numerous to mention on the S&D but I have three interesting ones on the East Anglian equivalent-
A Short History of the M&GN by Ron Clark
An Illustrated History of M& GN Locomotives by Ron Clark
The Midland &Great Northern Joint Railway and it’s Locomotives, R Essery
I suspect that the quirky M&GN would have had a lot more coverage if it had a resident Ivo Peters

 

For anyone looking for information that is reliably accurate and in-depth, RCTS publications tend to be first port of call. There is only partial RCTS coverage of LMS locomotive history, but their web-site lists those that have been published (see attachment). As well as company-specific stuff, there is a set of five RCTS volumes on BR Standard loco history.

The LNER took over operation of the M&GN in 1937. The RCTS series on LNER locos covers those M&GN locos that came to the LNER in 1937. Most quickly disappeared to the scrapyard, as they were both obsolete and non-standard in LNER eyes. It was not only the LMS who weeded out types seen as either non-standard or poorly performing.

You've identified some information sources for Midland locos. I suggest a few more to cover other LMS constituents:

"An Illustrated History of LNWR Engines" by Edward Talbot.
"Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Locomotives" by Barry C Lane.
"Caledonian Railway Locomotives - the Formative Years" by David Hamilton (covers the pre-Drummond era).
"Forty Years of Caledonian Locomotives 1882-1922" by H J Campbell Cornwell (covers Drummond and post-Drummond eras)
"Locomotives of the Glasgow & South Western Railway" by David L Smith.

There are also Tuplin books on "North Western Steam" and "Midland Steam". I find Tuplin interesting, but some readers will be annoyed by the dogmatic views that he held on certain issues.

I don't know of books specific to the loco history of the Furness and North Staffs. Any suggestions?

Moving beyond the "Big 4", there were London Transport, independent and minor companies and the industrial scene. The narrow-gauge scene has perhaps become more prominent in the UK in recent decades due to the preserved narrow-gauge lines, so can I suggest "Narrow Gauge Steam" by P J G Ransom for starters here? Although focussed mainly on the British Isles, it also briefly covers the rest of the world, including developments from Norway to Queensland and New Zealand.

Finally, can I suggest "British Steam Locomotive Builders" by James W Lowe? This includes a short description of every known locomotive building workshop in the British Isles, both railway company and privately-owned, with summaries of what they produced and (in the case of the railway companies) of the CMEs and building policies involved. The private builders are now largely forgotten and are probably the least documented area of British steam locomotive history - especially the design and building work that they did for export markets.

My own bookshelf contains far more than I've mentioned here, and that will still be a minute subset of the total bibliography available. But where to start and finish?

 

Stating the obvious in reply to SACM I think any list should also include Bibliographies. In the
Railway World we are fortunate to have the work of the late George Ottley.

A Bibliography of British Railway History compiled by G.Ottley 1983 HMSO
Supplement 1988 HMSO
Second Supplement NRM 1998
( In total nearly 20,00 entries, covering all facets including steam locomotives )

Prior to Ottley a volume I found useful:
Steam Locomotive Development, an analytical guide to the literature on British
Steam Locomotive Development 1923-1962 Kevin P Jones (1969) Library Association

This was a thesis prepared for a successful application for a fellowship of the
library association.

I have been looking at my shelves, a plethora of books on the SR, many of them
reinventing ( sometimes less effectively than previous attempts ) the ‘wheel’

I agree the. obvious start are the splendid RCTS tomes, whether in their original
stringent format or as with the L&SW smartened up ones,
Langridge’s contributions to the SLS, later published Oakwood 2011
Holcroft’s two volume ‘Locomotive Adventure’

I offer the following half dozen as having something to add.

The three monographs ( although written under a pseudonym ) J.Pearson Pattinson
South Eastern Railway 1895
London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1896.
London Chatham and Dover 1897
All published by Cassell and Co.
They offer a detailed view of day to day Locomotive performance.

William Stroudley, Craftsman in Steam H.J.Campbell Cornwall 1968 David and Charles

The locos of R.E.Maunsell O.S.Nock 1954 Edward Everard.
Written, apparently with care and identifying his sources, before OSN started cranking
stuff out,

Steam in the Blood R.H.N.Hardy 1972 Ian Allan
There are of course his series of articles for Steam World which duplicate, and on
occasion amplify, in various numbers of Steam World.

What I think is difficult is the amount of material within works not specifically about
one Railway.

Two SR examples that come to mind:
Locomotive Engine Driving Michael Reynolds 1877 Crosby Lockwood
Reynolds was a loco inspector on the LBSC

A Manual of Locomotive Engineering W.F.Pettigrew 1909 Charles Griffen & Co.
This includes very complete details of road tests on an Adams 4-4-0 between
Waterloo and Bournemouth and Waterloo to Exeter in 1891 ( pages 288- 313.

Michael Rowe

 

Some additions to the LNER lists might be those written by Charles Meacher, who was another Edinburgh engineman.

 

Hamilton Ellis is always very readable, if not strictly accurate at times. 'Twenty Locomotive Men' gives us a view of the great and (sometimes) good chiefs of the Victorian and Edwardian periods. (I am biased - he includes William Adams, Joseph Beattie and Dugald Drummond.)
Eric Langridge contributed a chapter in 'The LMS Duchesses' , edited by Douglas Doherty (MAP, 1973). He calls attention to the cylinder layout (very similar to that of the LSWR 443 (T14) class) and remarks upon the overlooked strength added to frames by the running plates.
Pat

 

Apologies if I’ve missed a post regarding this elsewhere; but I’ve just learned from Facebook of the sad passing of Terry Essary - whose book Saltley Firing Days is one of my all time favourites and has been mentioned several times in this thread.
RIP

 

I will update the main post today, but can I remind everyone to write to write out your suggestions as per the example below:

Edward Thompson of the L.N.E.R.’, Peter Grafton (1971 and 2007) Kestrel Books and Oakwood Press.

This is in the Harvard referencing format, and is a standard academic format for bibliographies. Many thanks! Saves me a bit of time when organising them into the main post.

C. Hamilton Ellis is problematic, IMO. There's some great information that you can glean from his work but you do have to be careful and take some of his facts with a pinch of salt.

In a more extreme vein, anything by Colonel Rogers needs a full reappraisal based on what I can only describe as imaginative writing. I can't recommend his books on Thompson or Chapelon, therefore, which both suffer from this (Thompson rather more).

You will note that I have left in books by Nock and Allen in my bibliography. You can't ignore their plethora of work but I do find that they become less useful the more you look at what a railway actually does, rather than their very narrow field of view (how fast the locomotives went and how regularly).

Generally speaking I tend to find the timekeepers writings to be of limited value to the history of the railways, but some great writers had these as their starting point and today, though their relevance may be diminished, there is no doubting their passion for their subjects.

One recent release I think everyone should read is the latest version of Kevin Robertson's Leader book, which I will update the main post with later today. There's a reasonable amount of speculation but the photographs included together with excerpts from reports and letters make for a great read. You tend to think the Leader was a total failure, this sort of research casts a better light on the development process (but sleeve valves on the railway in a steam setting ultimately, IMO, were doomed to failure).

 

Probably not surprisingly, Nock’s best writing is on signalling, which was his professional field. (By contrast, in loco matters he was an enthusiast, not a professional). His description of the rebuilding of Waterloo in his LSWR history is excellent. Of his books more concerned with timing and loco performance, I think the one on the railway races to the north at least has the benefit that timing is the raison d’être of the whole episode being recounted. It’s a good readable history.

Hamilton Ellis is a writer you can read for pleasure - possibly the best stylist of the “classical” authors. His book on carriage development is very good as I recall.

I keep meaning to put some thoughts down about Bulleid (given your impending interest). What I would say is that in a lot of discussion about Bulleid Pacifics, reference is made to “the reverser”. Yet I can’t recall any book discussing what exactly was wrong with it (normally accompanied by complete claptrap about “Eastleigh” vs “Ashford” reversers, which is simply plain wrong). Moreover, I don’t recall any book except Bradley (who mentions it, but doesn’t elaborate) remarking on what is a fundamental difference between the Light Pacifics and the early Merchant Navies in the position - and therefore accessibility for maintenance - of the reverser. That subject deserves proper explanation in any new history.

Tom

 

Signalling is my background too and unfortunately I have some misgivings on Nock's signalling writings too! But I do agree that his Waterloo piece is rather good. I haven't read his races to the north one as yet.

I'll note that down to read up for sure! The best Bulleid book I think I have read so far is D.W. Winkworth's volume at the moment. Very balanced.

 

Further to previous: post three books I have that may address a request or add to:

Kinnabar. The Great Railway Race of 1895. W.J.Scott (1895) Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd.

An on the spot account.

The NorthStaffordshire Railway “Manifold” (1952) J.H.Henstock Ltd., Ashbourne, Derby

This is subtitled “A History of the Line and its locomotives”

Manifiold is a pen name for five authors who name themselves in the preface.
pages 58 to 151 and 154-70 are given over to locomotives out of a total page number of 182.

Furness Railway it’s Rise and Development 1845-1923 W.Mc Gowan Gradon, BA (1946) Self Published

There are separate chapters on the Furness Railway locomotives, 1879-1896 and 1896-1922 plus
on two of the constituents i.e. The Whitehaven and Furness Junction and the
Whitehaven, Cleatotor and Egremont Railway.

I know little of the Furness, certainly insufficient to evaluate the accuracy of the work, but I am
mindful of the opprobrium his work on L&Y locos received in the past.

I agree your reservations wrt OVSB. I also think DWW made an attempt to be objective. The
difficulty as I perceive it is to get to the bottom of what Locomotive availabilities actually were
( at Brighton for instance apparently terrible, at Bricklayers Arms good ? ) and running costs

Regarding.the Leader. Sleeve valves a step too far with superheated steam perhaps.

We perhaps tend to forget that in 1945 there was a shortage of hard currency ( effectively a
bankrupt nation ) , the operational flexibility of diesel traction appealed, the importation of
oil did not, hence why not build a truly reversible loco with all it’s weight available as
adhesion i.e. a Co-Co utilising home grown coal.

The inclusion of a walkway between both compartments, like sleeve valves IMHO
was a step too far. ( offset boiler, massive balancing requirements etc. )

I agree, over the years Robertson has done an excellent job,

Michael Rowe

ps If North Sea oil had been available in 1945 how different would motive power
development have been ?

 

Here is my list referred to in post above. Of course most of these are vernacular history.

I Tried to Run a Railway , G.F.Fiennes, 1967 Ian Allan

Top Shed, P.N. Townend, 1975 Ian Allan

Saltley Firing Days, Footplate Memories 1950-59, T.Essery, 1980 Silver Link

From Booking Boy to Bulleids, J. Evans , 2001, Triangle Publishing

The Somerset and Dorset from the Footplate , P. Smith, 1987, Oxford Publishing ( this is Mendips Enginemen and Footplate Over the Mendips in one volume).

Through the Links at Crewe (2vols), P. Johnson, undated, Bradford Barton ( I believe there might be a third volume but I have never seen it for sale)

Bill Hoole Engineman Extraordinary, P.W.B.Semmens, 1974, Ian Allan

Bert Hooker, Legendary Railwayman, A.E.Hooker, 1994, Oxford Publishing

London Midland Fireman, M.F.Higson, 1972, Ian Allan

Behind the Steam, Bill Morgan and Bette Meyrick, Kevin Robertson,2003

Through the Links at Southall and Old Oak Common A.E. Abeare Undated Xpress Publishing Caernarvon

Through the Links at Tyseley L.C.Jacks 1999 Xpress Publishing Caernarvon

and three I forgot to mention

British Steam the Final Years --Extracts from the diary of a Nine Elms Driver, Clive Groome, date and publisher unknown

Lancashire Engineman, K.Nuttall, 1984, Dalesman Books

Buckjumpers, Gobblers and Clauds, J.Hill, 1981, Bradford Barton (which wins my prize for best title).


Re Bulleids, I agree that one of the big questions is availability. Another is available but not diagrammed. The more light you can shed on the area of performance in that sense, both unrebuilds and rebuilds, the better. Another obvious area is --did the SR need 140 Pacifics and were they overspecified (600 tonnes at 60mph or whatever)? It's a bit ironic that the up Night Ferry was diagrammed for a WC plus an E1 in case the boat was late and they needed to go via Maidstone East. But of course that was a decade and more after the design spec. Circumstances change.