This beautiful anniversary edition

Includes:: twenty-six of the Rev. W. Awdry's classic books in one volume.

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Yorkshire 1855. When Colonel Aubrey Tarleton walks into the path of a speeding train he is crushed to death on the track. The famous Railway Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck is immediately put on the case to determine why such a well-respected man would have resorted to suicide. Tarleton's wife had recently gone missing but was the colonel responsible for her disappearance? It's up to Colbeck & his trusty sergeant Victor Leeming to uncover the truth. ...

A nostalgic look back at the top spots for trainspotters in the 1950s & 60s. A wealth of memories for those once & always train enthusiasts who can remember the excitement of close encounters with steam & speed tracks & trains engines & engineers. Divided into the six British railway regions each chapter documents the favourite stations & engine sheds that were a magnet to the spotter. An evocative look at the golden age of British railways in the post-war years this book revisits the bestselling The Lost Joy of Railways with the addition of new photographs personal note book pages & other ephemera. A perfect gift for train spotters old & young. ...

The Railway Detective faces his most dangerous adversary yet. It is 1852 & Inspector Robert Colbeck & his assistant Sergeant Victor Leeming are faced with their most complex & difficult case to date. As a train speeds over the Sankey Viaduct a man is hurled from a carriage & plummets into the canal below. It later transpires that he has been stabbed to death. With no papers by which to identify the man the detectives' investigation is hampered from the start. Suspecting that the victim may have come from continental Europe Colbeck & Leeming take the case to France where a new railway is being built by a British contractor. But in a new country the detectives face new problems. Anti-British feeling is rife & Colbeck & Leeming must put their own lives in danger to pick up the murderer's trail. This is the third in the acclaimed Railway Detective" series " The Railway Viaduct" is an absorbing mystery that will keep you guessing till the very end." ...

This fascinating pocket book draws on numerous primary sources from the early days of the rail network through to the Big Four British Railways & beyond to present a unique guide to the knowledge & skills required for locomotive drivers engineers & firemen. Beginning with an introduction to steam from about 1890 the book outlines the rules of the rail network locomotive management from driving to servicing a guide to signalling & operations & rules of the running shed along with a wealth of practical advice & conditions of service for the men on the footplate. The Railwaymans Pocket Book offers a unique insight into the age of steam that will appeal to all railway enthusiasts. ...

The strategic importance of railways was recognized almost from the beginning of their development but it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that their real value was appreciated by the military. In both the First & Second World Wars railways were crucial in the transportation of men munitions & coal whilst on the Continent British forces operated railways to support the war effort. The heroic story of railways at war was confirmed in the months before & after the D Day landings in 1944 when thousands of trains were run to support the Allied invasion cementing their role as the fourth service during the Second World War. Here Tim Bryan provides an authoritative & fully illustrated guide to the railways role in Britains war efforts. ...

Although dominated by the lines built for & inherited by the Great Eastern Railway East Anglia was also the preserve of one of the country's most important joint railways the Midland & Great Northern; as well as a number of minor railways such as the Mid-Suffolk & the Southwold. The extreme south of the area along the Essex Coast the London Tilbury & Southend Railway later a subsidiary of the Midland Railway was a significant operator. For a variety of reasons including electrification of the suburban lines out of Liverpool Street & closure of virtually the entire M&GN system in 1959 East Anglia was one of the first parts of BR to see steam eliminated with the last vestiges being withdrawn in the early 1960s. Colour views of steam operation in the area particularly unpublished views are therefore; less common than on those areas & regions that retained steam for longer. This book portrays the evolution of railway operation in East Anglia from the Modernisation Plan of 1995 through to the mid-1970s. It encompasses the gradual elimination of steam the closure of many of the rural branches & secondary routes the introduction (and withdrawal) of the railbuses & the arrival of the diesel-electric classes. The locations illustrated are: Liverpool Street Stratford Cambridge Romford Colchester Ipswich Norwich & Peterborough. ...

Published annually for over 30 years Railways Restored is regarded as the Bible by the railway preservation movement & is both well received by reviewers & readers. The book is fully revised to reflect the changes new schemes & occasional closures along with listings of locomotives on site. This new & fully updated volume incorporates a list of major events planned for 2012 along with a vast amount of information useful to visitors to over 200 railway heritage sites. This is a must have for any rail enthusiasts collection. ...

This annually published guide ' Railways Restored' is regarded as the ' Bible' by the railway preservation movement. It is a guide to the major heritage railways railway museums & preservation centres in the British Isles. Information for visitors is set out in tabular form for easy reference &

Includes:: a locomotive & rolling stock stocklist for most centres. The book is fully revised to reflect the changes for 2013 including new schemes & occasional closures along with the transfer of locomotives & the entry (and loss) of locomotives to & from preservation.

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A fascinating collection of entertaining stories from as far afield as Europe Indian & America revealing unusual railway journeys across the centuries including ghost trains vanishing passengers & trains fitted with homing pigeons instead of a communication cord! From eccentric lords who transferred their carriages complete with horses & footmen onto the train to drivers who stole garden fencing to keep up a good head of steam. Railways Strangest Journeys takes you from the dawn of railway travel when speeds of 15 mph were considered blasphemous & damaging to ones internal organs through the Victorian heyday of Royal Trains & seaside specials right up to the present day." ...