Locomotives à vapeur - Grande-Bretagne : livres - histoire

The Victorian Steam Locomotive - Its Design and Development 1804-1879 (Hardback)

First published in 1879, this book was identified as a 'lost' publication by Peter Waterman who has provided the introduction to this fascinating work.
The original manuscript was published in the year of the Tay Bridge Disaster and the Zulu War in South Africa and it looks in detail at the history and development of the steam locomotive from 1804-1879. It contains examples of famous types of machines from the past and up to the most contemporary pieces of railway locomotive technology.

With a selection of quality drawings and engineering diagrams, as well as rare photographs from this remarkable period of industial change, The Victorian Steam Locomotive is a timely and long-overdue insight into the thinking of Victorian engineers, lovingly restored here for today's lovers of steam.

The Victorian Steam Locomotive - Its Design and Development 1804-1879 (Paperback)

First published in 1879, this book was identified as a 'lost' publication by Peter Waterman who has provided the introduction to this fascinating work.
The original manuscript was published in the year of the Tay Bridge Disaster and the Zulu War in South Africa and it looks in detail at the history and development of the steam locomotive from 1804-1879. It contains examples of famous types of machines from the past and up to the most contemporary pieces of railway locomotive technology.

With a selection of quality drawings and engineering diagrams, as well as rare photographs from this remarkable period of industial change, "The Victorian Steam Locomotive" is a timely and long-overdue insight into the thinking of Victorian engineers, lovingly restored here for today's lovers of steam.

Loco Motion : The World's Oldest Steam Locomotives

The steam locomotive is a machine that has inspired imagination, innovation and invention from the time of its origination and continues to evoke passion in enthusiasts today.
Here Michael R. Bailey, expertly and in fascinating detail, describes the development of the steam locomotive during its pioneering first half-century until 1850 by exploring the surviving locomotives that may be seen in Britain, Europe, and North and South America.
In addition to surviving relics, he also takes a look at operable replicas, which fill many gaps in international collections, to provide continuity in this evolutionary story.

Exploring in depth each example's operational and preservation history, along with design characteristics, component materials and modifications made, no detail is left unmentioned. With unparalleled detail, incredibly stunning images and a list of museums housing all of the world's oldest locomotives, this truly is a volume that no student of railway history should be without.

Railways: A History in Drawings

The advent of railways played an instrumental part in Britain's economic and social revolution in the 19th century, with technical advances that were the envy of the world. From the beginning, these developments were chronicled through meticulous drawings of locomotives, carriages and wagons, as well as of stations, bridges and tunnels. The detailed plans facilitated the manufacturing process and the maintenance of the rapidly expanding railway network.

Miraculously, about a million of these magnificent drawings have survived and are held in the National Railway Museum in York.
Christopher Valkoinen has selected over 130 examples that tell the engineering history of great innovations and triumphs, such as the Forth Bridge, and reveal the work of famous pioneers, including Richard Trevithick, George Stephenson, and Nigel Gresley of Flying Scotsman fame. Other plans range from Queen Victoria's royal saloon and a travelling post office to a station tea room at York and modern experiments with a hovertrain.
There are also drawings for railways around the world: in the USA, Russia, Japan, India, Australia and Egypt, among others, as well as contemporary photographs and posters.

Throughout, Valkoinen provides valuable insights into the social and political impact of the railways. He also reveals how these drawings are more than a reference tool for the historian or modelmaker; they are exquisite works of art, painstakingly produced by highly skilled artists, which can be appreciated in their own right.

Elegance in Engineering - The Classic British Steam Locomotive

This book showcases an interesting and diverse collection of British-built steam locomotives from all builders, for railways at home and abroad. These examples of British engineering at its best tell the story of the development of the archetypal British steam locomotive from the 1830s to the end of steam locomotive manufacture.

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder and any selection of locomotives is bound to be subjective, but nobody can deny that by comparison, locomotives built overseas tended to be angular and austere.
Maintenance staff would argue that having many of their fittings on the outside made them easier to look after but the purist would contest that it did not make them easier on the eye.

Pre-War Steam

The interwar period, though now recalled by few, proved captivating for railway enthusiasts. The vibrant liveries of pre-Grouping companies adorned locomotives with diverse markings in the lead-up to the 1923 Grouping.
This marked the genesis of the Big Four era, characterized by the 1930s as a decade of innovation. Notably, the LNER and LMS engaged in a rivalry encompassing streamlining and a pursuit of speed. Unfortunately, the glamour of this period was curtailed by the onset of the Second World War.

In this illustrated book, Richard Denny presents a captivating visual narrative with a diverse collection of historic images. Offering a unique and exciting glimpse into Britain's railway history, the book captures the essence of a bygone era marked by colorful liveries, innovation, and the subsequent challenges imposed by wartime circumstances.

Steam, Soot and Rust : The Last Days of British Steam

When the government announced the Modernisation Plan for Britain's railways in 1955, under which steam was to be phased out in favour of diesel and electric traction, few people took it seriously. Steam locomotives were an integral part of our daily lives and had been for almost one and a half centuries. Furthermore, they were still being built in large numbers. It was popularly believed that they would see the century out and probably well beyond that.

But the reality was that by 1968 - a mere thirteen years after the Modernisation Plan - steam traction had disappeared from Britain's main line railways. It was harrowing to witness the breaking up of engines, which were the icons of their day, capable of working long-distance inter-city expresses weighing 400 tons on schedules faster than a mile a minute. Top speeds of 100mph were not unknown.

This book chronicles the last few years as scrap yards all over Britain went into overtime, cutting up thousands of locomotives and releasing a bounty of more than a million tons of scrap whilst the engines, which remained in service, were a shadow of their former selves; filthy, wheezing and clanking their way to an ignominious end. The pictures in this book are augmented by essays written by Colin Garratt at the time.

Although steam disappeared from the main line network it survives in ever-dwindling numbers on industrial systems such as collieries, ironstone mines, power stations, shipyards, sugar factories, paper mills and docks. In such environments steam traction eked out a further decade and during this time many of the industrial locations closed rendering the locomotives redundant. The British steam locomotive was born amid the coalfields and was destined to die there one and three quarter centuries later.

Britains Railways Through the Seasons: Iconic Scenes of Trains and Architecture

The four seasons pass by like a gliding ship, each signalled by a transformation of changing colours and hues of light, thus providing a form of marker to these passages of time.
Living in the temperate zone we experience four distinct seasons. The railway scene reflects such in its own special character - cold winter air enhances the bountiful steam escaping from the hissing steam locomotive impatiently awaiting its departure, while autumn enchants with trees that exude a variety of hues which embellish any image of even the most mundane suburban train.
Springtime blossom and wild flowers bestow railway cuttings with a bounty of generous bright colours while coastal railways often look most inviting on warm sunny days as they pass alongside azure seas and golden beaches.

The seasons each add their own dimension for the photographer to encapsulate, and railways passing through the ever-changing landscape provide their own tribute to this inspirational tapestry. As readers travel through each season, so they are invited to share this awe and constant source of inspiration from nature's kaleidoscope of colour.

Photographs are provided with captions and reflective commentary to enlighten the knowledgeable rail enthusiast alongside those who equally enjoy such a portrait of landscape and scenery through the seasons. The range of photographs ranges from the mid -1980's to the present with the majority from the last two decades.

Steam in the British Coalfields

Many enthusiasts would mark August 1968 as the end of 'proper' steam locomotives in the United Kingdom, the date when British Rail withdrew their final examples.
However, for those in the know, steam continued to contribute to the British economy in industrial settings for nearly a further two decades.

In the coal and ironstone mining industry, in power generation, in chemical factories, steelworks and foundries, small, rugged locomotives continued to toil away on a daily basis. Some were lovingly cared for, while others were worked into the ground.

The author discovered colliery steam by accident and often explored this world while accompanied by his younger, equally enthusiastic, brother. This led them to some of the more obscure and less traditionally scenic parts of the country, but some of these industrial settings had a haunting beauty of their own.
The photographs featured here give a taste of this particular setting for steam workhorses.

Barry Scrapyard

Keith W. Platt made his first visit to Woodham's scrapyard, Barry, in the late 1960s at a time when steam locomotives could still be seen on the national network, going about the everyday business of working goods and passenger trains.
With the final withdrawal of steam operations, he began to make more visits to Barry as it became the very last bastion of British Rail's steam locomotives. Keith sought to record, on slide film, the images of locomotives and the photos taken on those trips inadvertently reveal the gradual blossoming of the preservation movement. The number of locomotives in the yard shrunk - not because they had been cut up, but because they had been sold to individuals and societies. They had been removed to one of the many preservation sites and steam railways.

The appearance of the locomotives began to change over the years; firstly as the damp and salty sea air took its toll on the paintwork and bare metal, and then as different preservation groups set about the task of de-rusting, cleaning, and painting. Many locos were adorned with various painted messages proclaiming the status of the ownership and asking that parts should not be removed.

Keith's last visits to the yard were very different. There were only a few locomotives left waiting to find a new home; the lines of hundreds of locomotives, which had been packed closely together, were now a mere memory.

Scottish Steam: A Celebration

Scotland is renowned worldwide for its engineering prowess, which of course included locomotive building. This lavishly illustrated and detailed publication celebrates standard gauge steam locomotive building North of the Border.

Focussing not only on the achievements of the major companies, North British Locomotive Co Ltd, Neilson & Co Ltd, Neilson Reid & Co Ltd, William Bearmore Ltd, Sharp Stewart & Co Ltd,and Andrew Barclay, Sons & Co Ltd it also highlights the contribution made by several of the smaller, but nevertheless significant locomotive builders.

Details of the output of the several railway company locomotive building works are also included. All of the Scottish built locomotive classes which came into British Railway's ownership are featured ,and a large majority of the carefully selected images are published for the first time.
"Scottish Steam" celebrates the significant contribution made by Scottish railway engineering workshops to steam locomotive development.

One More Glimpse: Steam in the British Landscape

Main line steam officially ended on British Railways in 1968. Fortunately, steam has continued on preserved railways and even on the modern main line, and the essence of everyday steam working can still be captured.
Here, father and son team Robin and Taliesin Coombes document their search for one more glimpse of the magic of steam power on the rails of Great Britain.

This evocative collection of more than 120 photographs show both the romance and practicality of steam power. Documenting everything from express passenger trains storming up Ais Gill to the locomotives of quiet rural branch lines and working steam sheds, this book is sure to delight anyone who enjoys the sight of a classic locomotive at work.

Last Rites - From the Track to the Scrapyard

Steam's final fling proved a melancholy experience for the many enthusiasts who had witnessed the gleaming giants of the rails in their prime. One day's highly burnished rail tour favourite was the next day's candidate for the breaker's torch.

This book takes a look at those latter days of steam, with an unashamedly nostalgic approach. As the modernisation plan gathered force in the mid-1960s, British Railways simply could not cope with a rejected army of steam engines that would previously have met their end discreetly at their own workshops, so a myriad of scrapyards sprang up to deal with Britain's hurried race to abolish steam, while yards and locomotive sheds seemed to have as many rusting hulks as working steam engines.

John Evans took his camera to some of these haunts for one last look at some old friends, caught in their final hours. The sheds and yards he visited, like steam itself, are already part of history, but here you can visit them with him one last time.
Sadly, almost none of the engines he pictured escaped the cutter's torch, so these are precious memories, published for the first time.