British Rail Around the Derbyshire Peak District

By Peter Gater

OLDER readers will probably remember the name Peter Gater, whose photographs regularly appeared in The Railway Magazine and other publications from the mid-1980s onwards.

A Derbyshire-based cameraman, Peter was a local government officer whose work took him around the county, with the added benefit of having an eye for a good railway picture. Having prepared to produce a book that reached initial proof stage before he passed away in 2009 aged 80 – now, some 11 years after his passing, sons Philip and Neil

have seen his wish accomplished.

This book takes the reader on a nostalgic trip around the county. Split into six chapters, Peter’s photographs cover from Derby in the south to New Mills and Buxton in the north, and from Dore to Chinley on what is today a busy east-west artery. Many of the images are published for the first time, and several stand out – particularly the BREL test trains on the now preserved Wirksworth branch, and the old ICI hopper workings around Chinley and Peak Forest.

Nicely printed with basic captions and large photographs, this is definitely worth buying to indulge in the memories of the era – more so as royalties from sales of

this book will be donated to the Ashgate Hospice in Chesterfield, who provided invaluable palliative homecare to Peter and supported his wife Dorothea.

A second book on the Erewash Valley and Chesterfield is in preparation and eagerly anticipated. CM

Pynot Publishing, email info@ pynotpublishing.co.uk, 96 pages, softback, ISBN 9780956270689. £9.95