£21.99

A history of the Preston to Longridge branch line and associated railways.
Hindle.
Large, 224 pages, photo illustrations, map, chronology, soft back. **Detailed line history.
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£4.50

Lane, B C.
Large, 33 pages, illustrated. Soft back. **'A history of the line from Brockholes to Holmfirth with period photographs, plans, track layouts, signalling diagrams and drawings of all the major buildings'. One of a series of studies of branch lines produced by the L&YR Society.
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£55.00

Papers from the seventh International Early Railways Conference.
Liffen, J and Jones, S K (eds).
Medium, 348 pages, illustrated with photos, diagrams, maps and contemporary documents and images, glazed boards. *Eighteen papers from the seventh International Early Railways Conference, the results of new research into the formative years of railway development in the UK, continental Europe, India and Australia. The remit of the Conference has been extended to 1870 so as to take in the early main line era. The papers cover a broad range of erudite subjects from politics to technology and include such examples as railway uniforms, Kilsby Tunnel and the use of early railway models and miniature railways in Australia. Exceptionally important among these papers is one by John Liffen describing the discovery of the report of the judges of the Rainhill Trials together with the full text of that report, published here for the first time.
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£25.00

Nation, network and people.
Bradley, S.
Medium, 645 pages + a 16 page section of nicely-chosen illustrations, mostly coloured, other illustrations in the text, bibliography and sources, hard back. ** "Using fresh research, keen observation and a wealth of cultural references, Bradley weaves a remarkable story of technological achievement, of architecture and engineering, of shifting social classes and gender relations, of safety and crime, of tourism and the changing world of work." To describe it as a new history of our railways would be very largely to miss the point of this book, described without exaggeration as magisterial. It is an exploration of the past and present worlds of Britain's railways which treats familiar topics from unfamiliar aspects and constantly surprises with facts and details which have escaped previous historians. Eminently readable and highly recommended.
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£40.00

British track since 1804.
Dow.
Very large, 458 pages, illustrated with good photographs and large, clear specially drawn diagrams, hard back. **Here is a hugely detailed treatise on the history of permanent way by an expert. It is erudite, lucidly written and a handsome production. Along with the examination of the many and complex developments which led from wooden rails to modern permanent way and mechanical track-laying, there are chapters devoted to third rail electrification, tramway track, narrow gauge lines and such peculiarities as portable railways, funiculars and rack railways. It will surely be a standard work of reference but also rather a good read, though at well over 2kg hardly suitable for reading on the train.
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£8.00

British Railways Press Office.
British Railways Press Office, 1944.
Quarto, 72 pages, many photo illustrations, white card covers slightly spotted on back, otherwise VG+, a very nice copy. **Produced for the GWR, LMS, LNER, SR and LTPB, as a follow-up to Facts About British Railways In Wartime. "This booklet is designed to give the public a brief account of the work of the British railways in the fifth year of the war". It also marked the 21st birthday of the four railway companies. Information about war effort, equipment, management, air services etc. Photos of bomb damage repaired, fuel, munitions and troop trains, railwaywomen etc. Final chapter on post war service : "the railways ... hope also to put in train as quickly as possible new developments".
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