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On Great Western Lines by Roy Hobbs Lots of photos Hard Cover
On Great Western Lines by Roy Hobbs
Hard Cover
79 pages
Copyright 2000
CONTENTS
No 9495 approaching Royal Oak station outside Paddington
Along the Maidenhead to High Wycombe line, No 1421 single autocoach
Bourne End station- junction for the Marlow branch, later identified as the Marlow Donkey
No 6933 Birtles Hall
No 6333 departing with a Newbury bound train
Rare colour view on the Lambourn branch No 4609 about to depart for Newbury
No 9672 working at the former M&SWJR station
Nicely prepared Modified Hall No 6963 formerly Throwley Hall
Radstock West No 9615
No 82042 between Yeovil Town and Yeovil (Pen Mill)
No 6835 Eastham Grange departs Weymouth for Bristol, No 34064 Fighter Command waits with its Waterloo duty
No 1371 seen threading its way between various parked cars
No 4569 seen near Langport crossing River Parrett with Muchelney church in the background
No 4143 heading a Taunton to Castle Cary
No 3205 heading for Taunton with the RCTS/PRC Exmoor Ranger railtour of 27 March 1965
No 4932 Hatherton Hall crossing Tiverton Junction
No 2887 Leaving Exeter St Davids yard
No 5569 at Launceston station
No 5931 Hatherley Hall-between Reading and Didcot
No 6109 passing over Goring troughs
No 7443 at Carterton station
No 5514 departing Notgrove with a Kingham train
No 5813 at Bearley
No 4555 passing Arley
No 1011 County of Chester
No 4705 seen on a running-in turn at Challow
No 1336 departing Cirencester
No 3681 approaching Chalford
No 1472 Chalford bound heading along the Golden Valley near Brimscombe Bridge Halt
No 6424 arriving some 3 years after passenger closure with Gloucestershire Railway Society special train
Route form Cheltenham to Stratford-on-Avon via Honeybourne No 1424
No 6967 Willesley hall standing in the works yard
No 6853 Morehampton Grange
No 5691 in the famous Swindon A Erecting Shop
No 7907 Hart Hall near Beminister
No 1658 Severn & Wye/Great Western Joint
No 1658 at the end of the Northern United Colliery branch
No 5417 leaving Coleford Branch Junction
No 4161 along Grange Court to Hereford line
No 2242 approaches Ross-on-Wye station
No 7335 departing Hereford past Ayleston Hill signalbox
No 3810 Severn Tunnel
No 6953 Leighton Hall between Pontrilas and Abergavenny
No 5206 along the TVR main line between Pontypridd and Abercynon
No 8102 approaches the western end of Neath station
No 4676 between Swansea and Pontardulais
No 3678 at Llandovery station
No 6001 King Edward VII tackles Saunderton summit
Princes Risborough situated on No 1473
No 7918 Those Wood Hall
AEC powered railcar on the unusual junction station of Swan Village on the Wolverhampton to Birmingham line
No 7228 between Birmingham and Wolverhampton
No 5917 Westminster Hall approaching Oakengates tunnel
No 3265 Tre Pol & Pen
No 46512 Ivatt shortly after leaving Bryngwyn Halt
INTRODUCTION
What was it that made the Great Western, in particular, such a distinctive and popular system to so many enthusiasts and the public at large? One can only assume that this arose mainly from the Company's early appreciation of good marketing and publicity, as evidenced by their early entry into this particular field. After 1923 and especially in the 1930s, they became a major publisher in their own right, producing books, jigsaw puzzles, postcards, etc. Apart from the well known Holiday Haunts publication (first published in 1906), promoting their own holiday resorts, the enthusiast was also catered for by the `GWR Engines' series, first appearing in a slightly different guise in 1911.
The majority of the Company's engines also possessed a uniquely distinctive appearance and character, which had continued under the reign of successive Chief Engineers from around the late 19th century until Nationalisation. All this gave it the advantage of possessing what is known in current jargon as a particular corporate image, being readily identifiable in overall style and design standards.
My own introduction to an interest in railways and the GWR was towards the end of the last war, when I was evacuated to Somerset from my Surrey home. This saw my being billeted in Langport with, fortuitously, the Castle Cary to Taunton main line located at the end of the garden! The longer passenger trains during this wartime period were often double-headed in an easterly direction by one of Taunton's `Bulldog' class 4-4-0s, either No 3443 Chaffinch or No 3444 Cormorant, to assist over Savernake bank. I developed a particular affection for this class, and it is to my regret that none survived long enough to be preserved. These experiences led to my having a particular liking for the GWR and its Swindon products, this being reinforced by periodic visits to my grandmother's Exeter home.
In preparing this volume and taking into account the various albums already devoted to the Company and its Western Region successor, an attempt has been made to cover areas not largely dealt with previously. Obviously, with this fairly extensive system there are bound to be omissions, but I have endeavoured to provide a balanced coverage of the various loco classes and lines operated from the mid-1950s until the end of steam. Historical information is, of necessity, restricted, and for further detail the reader is referred to the many excellent publications which already exist, some being listed below.
Picture order has been determined by starting from Paddington, and following those lines and branches to the South and West of England, then broadly tracing routes through the Southern Midlands and Welsh Border counties. We then travel via Swindon and Bristol into Southern Wales, and head north into Cambrian Railways territory. Our steps are then retraced and continue from London northwards, via the Birmingham main line and Shrewsbury to the Wrexham area.
All pictures are of the actual item. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
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