‘Castle’ trawls
A lot of attention is currently focused on the 100th anniversary of famed Gresley ‘Pacific’ Flying Scotsman, but there is also the centenary of the GWR ‘Castle’ class to celebrate.
David Maidment’s new book is a timely one then.
Plenty has been written about these superb locomotives in countless books, but seldom in such detail about their final years. Indeed, as a former Western Region employee (and later senior manager), the author is a veritable authority on the subject, having travelled behind all but 15 of the 171 ‘Castles’. For a time, he maintained their record cards at Old Oak Common, and even recommended which should be sent to Swindon Works for overhaul.
A traffic apprentice, he would ride on 28 of the class, and this alone provides a valuable insight into the class’ performances. It is in the operation of the ‘Castles’ that the majority of the text focuses on in lively and entertaining fashion, supported by allocation details and timing logs.
Although not ostensibly an academic study of the detail differences between each locomotive, variations are explored in useful detail through picture captions (plus the listing of each locomotive in the Appendix does usefully record when double chimneys were fitted).
The main text section is generously illustrated with black and white scenes, while a third of the 180 printed pages are dedicated solely to colour photographs.
Brought together, this makes for an invaluable record of the ‘Castles’ final flourish. The author’s royalties have been donated to The Railway Children charity. (NB)
Book: Castle Class 4‑6‑0 Locomotives – The Final Years 1960‑1965, by David Maidment OBE (Pen & Sword) Price: £30.00 Availability: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
Until not that long ago, industrial railways were once treated as a niche modelling interest by mainstream manufacturers. The relative explosion in the number of non-main line locomotives, and increasingly wagons, in ready-to-run ‘OO’ has given life to a raft of new projects.
And yet, industrials are still something of a dark area for even those who might have indulged in the odd 4mm Peckett or Kerr Stuart tank engine. Anthony Coulls, curator and historian at the National Railway Museum, takes us through a condensed history of their evolution in Britain. Helpfully, this sets out by answering what an industrial railway actually is before indulging in an overview of how the hugely eclectic types of motive power have evolved over the past two centuries. There’s room too for the all-important, but often overlooked, wagons, as well as
an appraisal of the current scene from the scant remains in commercial use to the mass of equipment in preservation.
It is the latter from which Coulls has drawn most of his photographic material, resulting in a colourful thumb through this fascinating interest. (NB) Book: Industrial Railways, by Anthony Coulls (Amberley) Price: £9.99 Availability: www.amberley-books.com