A Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway Journey

AUTHOR: Paul Stratford

PUBLISHER: Silver Link Books

ISBN: 978-1-87594-556-0

PRICE: £25.00

WEBSITE: www.nostalgiacollection. com

THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Warwickshire Railway is one of the UK'S leading heritage lines that has grown rapidly over the last 30 years from rather humble beginnings. Now operating for a distance of 14 miles between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway, the railway is well worth a visit and this book from Silver Link Books presents a wide photographic record of the line and the trains that have operated over it since the preservationists moved in to restore it.

The book features colour photography throughout and the selection of images are all reproduced to a very high standard. The author is a volunteer on the railway and is clearly an accomplished photographer as well. The book is divided into sections covering different parts of the railway.

Although the title probably explains it, for a railway that has such an active and varied heritage modern traction fleet, it is slightly disappointing that the reader could almost be forgiven for thinking there is barely a diesel presence on the line, with only a handful of diesel images included in the selection. I firmly believe that books like this should provide a full overview of the railway concerned, and the lack of images depicting the lines heritage modern traction fleet is a slight disappointment. As a photographic guide to the GWSR, this is an excellent book which has been produced to a high standard. Priced at £25, the 128-page book is an enjoyable look back at some of the locomotives that have featured on the GWR line throughout its history.