Silver Link Silk Editions: A Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway Journey – Cheltenham Race Course to Broadway

By Paul Stratford (hardback, Silver Link, www.mortonsbooks.co.uk/ silverlink,128pp, £25, ISBN 978-185794-556-0)

THE Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway has been one of the sector's big success stories of the past four decades.

Running its first public services over 700 yards of relaid track behind an industrial tank locomotive in April 1984, it now runs for 14 miles through glorious Cotswold scenery, linking several of the region's tourist magnets like Broadway and Winchcombe, while running an impressive fleet of main line steam and diesel types in the bargain.

The author was a volunteer and trainee driver on the line and also a first-class lineside photographer who contributed to Heritage Railway from the first issue.

This volume comprises views of the line and its locomotive fleet, as well as visiting engines of the ilk of GWR 4-4-0 No. 3440 City of Truro at their best, at each of the landmark locations in sequence. It makes for a perfect introduction to the railway, highlighting the beauty of the scenery through which it passes, its marvellous displays of motive power, and a superb souvenir for its regular visiting fans. CREAM OF COTSWOLD STEAM