Steam Around Doncaster in the 1960s

By Keith W Platt (softback, Amberley, 96p £15.99, ISBN 9781398105461). Another treasure trove of mostly unpublished images covers the final pre-modernisation heydays of a town synonymous with the great days of steam.

Those who delight in the last decade of BR main line steam will find the colour views a delight to browse and behold.

Britania Pacifics, Peppercorn A1s, LNER A4s, and V2s – every turn of the page tells more stories and fires the imagination. One sight that has thankfully again become a familiar one is that of No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley, attracting a crowd with the Locomotive Club of Great Britain’s ‘Mallard Commemorative Rail Tour’ of July 6, 1963,marking the 25th anniversary of the world steam locomotive speed record.

As well as the magnificent East Coast machines of view, there are the occasional interlopers, such as LMS 4-6-2 No. 46245 City of London returning a 12-coach Home Counties Railway club special to King’s Cross in 1963. Sadly, 18 months later, it would be scrapped.

Tank engines and industrial steam are by no means ignored. A selection of pictures look at locomotives on local colliery branches such as Askern Main, Hatfield and Thorne.

ABSORBING WINDOW INTO STEAM HEARTLAND