Branch Lines of Warwickshire

Two-DVD set (1st Take, PO Box 1040, Yate, Bristol, BS37 4WB; 01454 321614; www.1st-take.com; sales@1st-take.com; 160 minutes; £14.95).

AS highlighted in Main Line News on pages 58-61 in the last issue, Vintage Trains will soon be back in action with its new summer programme, including the celebrated ‘Shakespeare Express', bringing the West Midlands regional network into sharp focus again.

For passengers eager to return to the local rails behind steam, this splendid two-disc set is the perfect introduction to much of the network served by Tyseley's steam shed, both in the steam age and now.

Based on the book of the same name by Colin G Maggs, the first disc covers lines in both the city and superb surrounding countryside which became part of the LMS, and the second disc the GWR.

Using archive photographs compared with modern-day scenes, the origin of the region's railways is unfolded.

There is a sizeable feature on the history of railways surrounding Stratford-upon-Avon, and coverage of a ride there from Birmingham on the ‘Shakespeare Express' via the North Warwickshire Line.

Other branches featured include the Harborne line, Bearley to Alcester, Studley and Astwood Bank to Salford Priors, Rugby to Leamington and Warwick, Kenilworth to Berkswell, the Stonebridge Railway from Nether Whitacre to Hampton-in-Arden and Flecknoe to Marton Junction, all of which are no longer with us, making this offering priceless. Water Orton to Streetly is still with us, and there is periodic talk of reopening it to passengers.

The 7¼in gauge Echills Wood Miniature Railway, which operated at the Royal Agricultural Showground in Stoneleigh until 2005 and now runs at the Kingsbury Water Park, is also featured.

A brilliant, absorbing and highly entertaining introduction to those new to the area, this feature-packed yet very affordable set in the Branch Lines of England series will be treasured by local enthusiasts and historians alike. SPLENDID HISTORICAL ACCOUNT