Railways Around Worksop Volume 1: The Great Central Line

AUTHOR: Chris Booth PUBLISHER: Platform 5

Publishing ISBN: 978-1-91598-407-4 PRICE: £29.95

WEBSITE: www. platform5.com

RESPECTED RAILWAY historian and former signaller Chris Booth has written a comprehensive study of the railways around Worksop, the latest title to come from Platform 5. While the subject may appear to be rather niche, this book provides a fascinating deep dive into a far wider geographic area than the title suggests.

Living in north Nottinghamshire, not too far from Worksop, I know the current railway around the town reasonably well, so this book was of instant interest to me, but growing up in Manchester I wasn't fully aware of the rich railway history of the Worksop area and this series of three books is clearly going to help fill the gaps in my knowledge. The town is located 15 miles from Sheffield and Doncaster and 25 miles from Nottingham and has served as a key location on the railway network since 1849. Worksop was served by both the Great Central Railway and the Midland Railway, and this first volume in a planned series of three books is a detailed look at the Great Central Line between Sheffield Victoria and Gainsborough Central, taking us on a journey along the line.

While much of the route still survives in regular use to the present day, as with much of the railway network there have been a vast number of changes in traffic and traction in the area, especially the rise and fall of coal traffic, with the coal industry once so dominant in Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire. All of these changes are covered within the chapters. The book is A4-portrait format with a gloss card cover, containing 176 pages, and illustrated with a wide range of colour and monochrome images, as well as maps, diagrams, and the reproduction of assorted items of publicity materials relevant to the subject. The photographic captions are suitably detailed and well-researched, with plenty of additional information provided to enhance the main text content.

There are several publishers who produce books focusing on various railway routes and this is something of a new, but welcome, departure for Platform 5. I’m already looking forward to the next volume, and hopefully this can become the start of a wider series of profiles covering some other significant towns that benefitted from the railway boom of the 19th century.

Priced at £29.95, this substantial book represents excellent value for money when considering the amount of work that has clearly gone into its production. Highly recommended.

AMC