Locomotives of the ...

The London Brighton & South Coast Railway - also known as the 'Brighton Line' - was an important pre-grouping railway covering a triangular territory with London at its apex and the Sussex and Surrey coast at its base. Many of the early locomotives were acquired through amalgamations with other companies. Under a trio of chief mechanical engineers, including John Craven, William Stroudley, Robert and Lawson Billington, father and son, and Douglas Earle Marsh the company built or purchased well over 1,000 steam locomotives, many of which were handed over to the Southern Railway in the 1923 grouping of Britain's independent railway companies. To this day the former LBSCR lines form the backbone of the south east coast network. This account covers the years 1839 - 1903. This fascinating account of the LBSCR's locomotives was originally published in 1903, and is profusely illustrated with over 140 line drawings.

The old Bridgewater Trustees mineral railways were to become the Central Railways of the huge Manchester Collieries concern, which was formed in March 1929. The landscape with its changing, suddenly abrupt and often fierce gradients was to be a cruel one for these colliery locomotives which were worked virtually constantly to their limits. From Worsley to Linnyshaw Colliery, east of Walkden, the average gradient had been 1 in 52 with the occasional 1 in 30 stretch! The locomotives were varied but post-war included many of the Hunslet-designed Austerity, as well as a series of ex-North Staffordshire Railway locomotives. Alan Davies, in a companion volume to his previous work on Walken Yard itself, tells the story of the locomotives that were based there, were maintained and repaired there and that sometimes finished their working lives at Walkden Yard.

The Eastern United States offers some of the best scenery in the country, and some of the most demanding for the railways. They must traverse treacherous mountain grades, making each trip a challenge to the crew and the equipment. Since the early days of rail transportation, the railways have used the latest steam and diesel locomotives to move freight and passengers over this topography. The trains of today haul an incredible amount of tonnage across this terrain and the modern motive power in use is up to the task. Contemporary engines built by EMD and GE with up to 4,000 hp per unit are used to haul unit coal, intermodal and general freight across these routes. Focusing primarily on the Norfolk Southern Railway, photographer Christopher Esposito looks at these great modern machines as they navigate through some of the most iconic locations on the railways of the Eastern United States.

The successor to the Stockton & Darlington, the North Eastern Railway was an important pre-grouping company covering a relatively compact territory which included Yorkshire, County Durham and Northumberland, with outposts stretching into Cumbria and even Scotland. Five men held the post of the Locomotive Superintendent including the Wordsall brothers. An innovative company, the NER introduced Bo-Bo type electric locomotives in 1905, and the peak of its locomotive development came with the big S2 Pacific express engine built by Sir Vincent Raven at Darlington in 1922. Many of their steam locomotives were handed over to the LNER in the 1923 grouping of Britain's independent companies. Today there are eleven preserved examples of NER locos including several built by the LNER to their designs. This fascinating account of the NER's locomotives, originally published in 1923 is profusely illustrated with over 50 line drawings and many contemporary photographs.

Formed from the merger of the Inverness & Aberdeen Junction and the Inverness & Perth Junction railways in 1865, the Highland ran from Perth in Central Scotland north to Inverness and then on up to Wick and Thurso. From Dingwall it ran west to Kyle of Lochalsh to serve Skye and the Western Isles. Another line ran east from Inverness to Keith, where it connected with the line to Aberdeen. Several branches were built to serve nearby towns. In addition to inheriting several locomotives from its constituent companies, the Highland Railway was renowned for its distinctive stable of locomotives. Many of these were built at the company's works at Lochgorm, Inverness. Locomotive superintendents for the HR were William Barclay, William Stroudley, David Jones, Peter Drummond, F. G. Smith and Christopher Cumming. Jones and Cumming in particular produced some outstanding designs such as the F 'Bruce', Strath, Jones Goods, the Small and Large Ben (mountain), the K 'Barney' classes, not to mention the Snaigows and the Clans. They included not only the large named trains for passenger services, but also the humble shunters. A fascinating new archive of the Highland Railway's locomotives featuring over 150 photographs and images.