Colonel Stephens’ Railways a View from the Past by John Scott Morgan Hard Cover
The Colonel Stephens Railways a View from the Past by John Scott Morgan
Hard Cover
96 pages
Copyright 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 4
The Colonel 5
1. Ashover Light Railway8
2. Bere Alston & Calstock Light Railway11
(Plymouth, Devonport & South Western Junction Railway)
3. Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley15
4. East Kent Railway17
5. Edge Hill Light Railway23
6. Festiniog Railway25
7. Hundred of Manhood & Selsey Tramway33
(later the West Sussex Railway)
8. North Devon & Cornwall Junction Light Railway40
9. Paddock Wood & Hawkhurst Railway42
10. Rother Valley Railway45
(later the Kent & East Sussex Railway)
11. Rye & Camber Tramway57
12. Sheppey Light Railway62
13. Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway65
14. Snailbeach & District Light Railway74
15. Welsh Highland Railway78
16. Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Light Railway88
INTRODUCTION
It is now more than 65 years since Lt-Col Holman Fred Stephens died and yet the interest in the railways that he built or controlled remains strong. It is difficult to determine precisely why this is the case. It may be that the lines involved had a variety of operation, each characterised by some quirky element of legality, locomotive history or romance. On the other hand, it may simply be a reflection of the British love of the underdog, a refusal to accept that economic reality must, in the end, triumph. In many respects, the Colonel Stephens 'empire' brought to railways that same sort of dogged determination that was later to be characterised in the film The Titfield Thunderbolt and in the early years of railway preservation - a belief that 'where there was a will there was a way'.
Over the years, a great deal has been written about the lines involved and, in the introductions to the various railways concerned, I have simply endeavoured to provide an overview to each of them. I have, on the other hand, sought as wide a collection of illustrations as possible; I hope that many of these will be unfamiliar to you, although it is unlikely, given the paucity of material on certain lines, that all are unknown.
It is my intention with this book, not to provide a detailed history of the Colonel and his railways (although there is certainly scope for such a book in the future), but a pictorial essay recalling some of the more entertaining of Britain's minor railways. I hope you will enjoy it.
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