Backtracking Around

Plymouth, Callington, Tavistock North & the Southern Region Main Line to Okehampton

AUTHOR: Bernard Mills

PUBLISHER: Pen & Ink Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-9160190-4-1

PRICE: £16.95

WEB: www.chrisrobinson.co.uk

THIS IS the fourth in a series by the author examining the lines in and out of Plymouth. Bernard, a former railway employee and lifelong enthusiast, revisits many locations to compare what was there with what is there now, and makes some startling discoveries. Steam, diesel hydraulics and DMUs feature in abundance, covering many longlost routes that were decimated in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s. The results illustrated in this book are quite astounding, with many places almost unrecognisable 50 years on. Many have been consumed by the expanding undergrowth, while others have disappeared beneath industrial and housing estates. However, Bernard does give hope that some can be resurrected under the latest government schemes to reopen some of the lines foolishly closed all those years ago.

The effort involved in finding the exact spot from which the original photo was taken cannot be underestimated, with considerable research required, plenty of measuring as well as delving deep into the memory. The supporting text adds volumes to the photos and informs the reader well, putting things into context and explaining the less obvious. As a ‘then and now’ work it is easily one of the best I’ve read for a long time, probably helped by the fact the author is local to the area in question, but even so it is a fascinating and incredible book and I can’t recommend it highly enough. (MN)