Lost Joy of Railways: A Nostalgic Joury Back to the Golden Age of Trainspotting - Hardcover

Holland, Julian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 071533199X ISBN 13: 9780715331996

Publisher: David & Charles, 2009

Synopsis

The Lost Joy of Railways will transport you back to the 1950s and 1960s, with this nostalgic look at Britain’s railways in their glory days. Packed with hundreds of never-before-seen photographs, journey logs, trainspotting notebooks and ephemera, The Lost Joy of Railways is a vivid recollection of the whole atmosphere of the railways during that glorious era when we were trainspotters.

Divided into the six regions of British railways, each chapter documents the favourite stations and engine sheds that were a magnet to the spotter...
Western Region – Top spots include London Paddington, Oxford, Gloucester and Bristol Temple Meads, with a section on the miracles of Barry Scrapyard. Southern Region – Top spots include London Waterloo, Bournemouth, Exeter Central and Salisbury, with a section on Eastleigh Works which started life in 1891.
Eastern Region – Top Spots include London Liverpool Street, London King’s Cross and Doncaster, with a section on The Great Escape; only 50 former LNER steam locos have been saved for preservation, far fewer than any other ‘big four’ railway companies.
London Midland Region – Top spots include London Euston, London St Pancras, Birmingham New Street, Liverpool and Carlisle, with a section on The Great Escape discussing the preserved locos from the LMS.
North Eastern Region – Top spots include Leeds, York, Darlington and Newcastle, with a section on BR Standard Locos.
Scottish Region – Top spots include Glasgow central, Edinburgh Princes Street, Edinburgh Waverley and Perth, with a section on BR Diesel and Electric Locos.

Records of trainspotting trips and the final days of steam are also included, along with feature pages on famous railway photographers, schedules, works, scrapyards, dastardly diesels and essential clothing, equipment and survival kit for spotters. The Lost Joy of Railways is a time machine that will carry you back to those innocent, glorious years when railways were still an integral part of our everyday lives.

About this title

Review

The picture, from 1963, captures the days when trainspotting was a national male obsession. You can almost smell the billowing smoke, steam and oil of the engine sheds. The book covers all the main railway regions - and reminds you of a day when trainspotters could go about their business without fear of being suspected as terrorists on a recce mission. --Daily Express

A big coffee table book, but one that any enthusiast can dip into at any time and always find something new...copiously illustrated yet all the pictures look new and fresh, and it comes as close as any book can, to recreating those far-off days, when steam was still an everyday reality, if not still king of the rails. --Heritage Railways magazine

IT IS NOT OFTEN that a new book arrives in the office that provokes so much comment about publishing standards...this book has been lovingly and meticulously designed including plenty of excellent black & white photographic reproductions...a delightful, casual read which can be dipped in to and out of at any time. --Rail Express magazine

A big coffee table book, but one that any enthusiast can dip into at any time and always find something new...copiously illustrated yet all the pictures look new and fresh, and it comes as close as any book can, to recreating those far-off days, when steam was still an everyday reality, if not still king of the rails. --Heritage Railways

"The Lost Joy of Railways is unashamedly nostalgic. It is a time machine that will carry the reader back to those innocent, glorious years when railways were still an integral part of our everyday lives" "...many now a distant memory which are brought back to life with hundreds of photographs, ephemera and authentic personal notebooks stuffed with lists of loco numbers" --Western Daily Press

"The wide range of illustrations are undoubtedly this book's strongest point...it will undoubtedly have a quirky appeal." --Family History Monthly

"The Lost Joy of Railways is unashamedly nostalgic. It is a time machine that will carry the reader back to those innocent, glorious years when railways were still an integral part of our everyday lives" "...many now a distant memory which are brought back to life with hundreds of photographs, ephemera and authentic personal notebooks stuffed with lists of loco numbers" --Western Daily Press

...stunning images and details about the final days of steam. --Period House

...a fascinating book... This book is pure nostalgia - remembering the golden age of trainspotting - and is packed with original railway maps, journey logs, timetables, scrapbooks, collectors' notebooks, hand-written spotters' loco lists and ephemera. It is well illustrated with coloured as well as some xcellent black and white photographs, including rare ones from private collections --A Model Railway Express

Rich romance and nostalgia... It would make a great gift or the train enthusiast in your life. --Period House magazine

...a fascinating book... This book is pure nostalgia - remembering the golden age of trainspotting - and is packed with original railway maps, journey logs, timetables, scrapbooks, collectors' notebooks, hand-written spotters' loco lists and ephemera. It is well illustrated with coloured as well as some xcellent black and white photographs, including rare ones from private collections --A Model Railway Express

Rich romance and nostalgia... It would make a great gift or the train enthusiast in your life. --Period House magazine

...a fascinating book... This book is pure nostalgia - remembering the golden age of trainspotting - and is packed with original railway maps, journey logs, timetables, scrapbooks, collectors' notebooks, hand-written spotters' loco lists and ephemera. It is well illustrated with coloured as well as some xcellent black and white photographs, including rare ones from private collections --A Model Railway Express

About the Author

Julian Holland has always had a passion for British railways and has documented his many journeys around Britain during the final years of steam. He has worked in the publishing industry for the last 39 years, coupling his work with his passion on many occasions, as titles such as Along Lost Lines, Tickets Please and Amazing and Extraordinary Railway Facts prove.

About this edition

• Publisher: David & Charles
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 071533199X
• ISBN 13: 9780715331996
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256