Steam Locomotives - Great Western Railway: Books (1/2)

Great Western Railway Stars, Castles and Kings

Great Western Railway Stars, Castles and Kings examines the history and workings of these legendary classes of passenger steam locomotives, the first of which, the North Star, was built in 1906.

Richly illustrated with over 200 photographs, the book includes illustrated explanations of how Great Western Railway steam engines work; details of the engines' work on named expresses and in ordinary service; overview of the survivors, heritage organizations and their futures; technical specifications and timelines of each class and finally, GWR and British Rail Motive Power Depot codes and train head codes.

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Castles: The Final Years 1954-1965

A lovely photographic album which concentrates on the final decade of operation for the 'Castles', from 1954 when they were in their golden years to the withdrawal of the final members of the class from the Western Region in 1965, and includes some illustrious names such as Caerphilly Castle and Pendennis Castle.

Following an informative introduction outlining the development of the class, the book is illustrated with 'Castles' year by year throughout the region, showing wide variations in the class and its operations.

The book contains approximately 200 mono and 30 colour photographs, most of which are previously unpublished and drawn from the archives of the Great Western Society at Didcot, and accompanied by extended captions.
The photographs also include detailed close ups of Pendennis Castle currently being restored at Didcot.

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Great Western - Grange Class Locomotives - Their Design and Development (Locomotive Portfolio)

Churchward proposed a 5ft 8in wheeled 4-6-0 for mixed traffic duties in 1901 and it was seriously considered in 1905, but it took until 1936 before his successor, Charles Collett, realised the plan by persuading the GWR Board to replace many of the 43XX moguls with modern standard mixed traffic engines that bore a remarkable likeness to the Churchward proposal.

David Maidment has written another in his series of 'Locomotive Portfolios' for Pen & Sword to coincide with the construction of a new 'Grange' at Llangollen from GW standard parts to fill the gap left by the total withdrawal and scrapping of one of that railway's most popular classes - to their crews at the very least.
As well as covering the type's design and construction, the author deals comprehensively with the allocation and operation of the eighty locomotives and in particular has researched their performance and illustrated it with many examples of recorded logs from the 1930s as well as in more recent times.
As in previous volumes, the author has added his own personal experiences with the engines and has sourced more than 250 photos, over 40 of which are in colour.

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Great Western Castle Class 4-6-0 Locomotives - The Final Years 1960- 1965 (Locomotive Portfolio)

The author's second volume about the Great Western's classic express locomotives covers their final six years in British Railways service. In 1960 the Castles, many now modernised with double chimneys and 4-row superheaters, were still in charge of most of the Western Region's expresses, but by the summer of 1963 their regular express work was limited to the London - Worcester route.
Their declining numbers in the last couple of years covered special summer and relief trains, parcels and freight work, deputising for failed or unavailable diesels and a flurry of excursions and railtours where their prowess could still be demonstrated.

The author worked and lived alongside them in these years and the book includes much of his own personal experience on the footplate, on their trains and on shed. The book recaps briefly their first 25 years and covers their history, operation and performance in their final years and is copiously illustrated including over 100 colour photographs.

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Great Western Castle Class 4-6-0 Locomotives 1923-1959 (Locomotive Portfolio)

The Great Western Castles were one of the most successful locomotive designs of the twentieth century in terms of both performance and efficiency. Designed by Charles Collett in 1923, based on the 1907 Churchward 'Star' class, 155 were constructed almost continuously, apart from the war years, between 1923 and 1950, in addition to fifteen rebuilt 'Stars' and one rebuilt from the Great Bear pacific.
Many were modernised with increased superheat and double-chimneys in the late 1950s and the class continued to be the mainstay of all Western Region express passenger services to the West Country, South Wales, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and the West Midlands until replaced by the WR diesel hydraulic fleet in the early 1960s.

This book covers their design in a chapter written by Bob Meanley, who masterminded the restoration at Tyseley Works of the Castles Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and Clun Castle, and their history, operation and performance from the high speed of the 1930s through to their rejuvenation in the 1950s, leaving experience of their last years and preservation to another volume.
David Maidment had close experience of the class when working at Old Oak Common between 1957 and 1962 and includes his personal experiences there and on the road from his first encounter with one as a six-year old boy. The book includes 350 photographs, some 40 in colour, and 23 detailed Swindon technical drawings.

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Great Western Halls & Modified Halls (Locomotive Portfolio)

The gradual growth of the railways in Britain during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in both passenger and freight traffic, saw the requirement for a more powerful and versatile type of motive power - mixed traffic locomotives.
The construction of Great Western Halls and Modified Halls gave the Great Western a superb all round locomotive, and for thirty-six years they operated passenger and freight services over the Great Western, and later Western, Region.

The Hall class were among the largest mixed traffic steam locomotives running throughout the country, and this book is the first serious volume to focus on them in fifty years.
The book charts the history of both classes, from their construction and withdrawal, to their design, development and eventual scrapping. With over 200 black and white and colour photographs, accompanied by informative captions, many members of the class are excellently illustrated. It will appeal greatly to those interested in the history of Great Western Locomotive development.

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GWR Locomotives: The Hall Class

A fascinating illustrated insight into this iconic Hall Class of locomotuves used by the Great Western Railway. The Hall class 4-6-0, itself a development of the celebrated Saint class, represents the precursor of thousands of mixed traffic 4-6-0 engines that were built for Britain's railways and were the breadwinners in all types of work and conditions.

The 328 examples of the Hall class and the Modified Hall class powered Britain through the Second World War, as well as providing the bulk of the revenue-earning services on both the GWR and BR.
We are fortunate that both Halls and Modified Halls survived into preservation and their proud story continues with an assured future on many heritage lines.

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