A Guide to Simplex Narrow Gauge Locomotives: Including List of Existing Locomotives in England, Scotland and Wales: No. 3 (Industrial Narrow Gauge Railway Heritage S.) - Softcover

Hall, David; Rowland, John A.S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0954087801 ISBN 13: 9780954087807

Publisher: Moseley Railway Trust, 2001

Synopsis

Well illustrated account of the various models of NG internal combustion locos built by Simplex, plus a listing of surviving locos in the UK. 108pp, illustrated.

About this title

From the Author

The authors are pleased to report that the response to our book has so far been extremely positive. A good test of a book such as this is how often one gets it down from the shelf to refer to, and I have certainly found my own copy in regular use to answer queries.

In preparing this guide to Simplex locomotives, we have deliberately restricted our objectives in a number of ways. We have specifically confined ourselves to narrow gauge locomotives, describing each type manufactured by the company with photographs where possible so that the general enthusiast has enough information to identify a particular member of the Simplex species. We also list existing locomotives in England, Scotland and Wales in a similar fashion to the companion publication “A Guide to Ruston Narrow Gauge Locomotives.” We do not cover standard gauge locomotive types, nor tramcars, nor railcars. Neither do we attempt to provide the complete company history or a works list.

The reason for deciding to restrict the scope of the book in this way was primarily to ensure our task was achievable within a reasonable period of time. We are working under the maxim that it is better to publish a relatively cohesive part of the story than to publish nothing at all. There is so much to the Simplex story that a small booklet could never do it justice, but equally there is no substantive work available or close to publication that we know of on the subject. We have felt increasingly frustrated by this omission in the documentation of industrial locomotive history, even more so because we know that a number of our fellow enthusiasts have stated their intention to produce the definitive book. Hopefully, by publishing this guide we will encourage some of the experts in the field, many of whom have kindly assisted in compiling it, to take the next steps towards the comprehensive Simplex book. The authors would of course be happy to offer their services in this regard.

The works number series has been obtained from the Motor Rail order books held by the Bedford Archive Service and, where possible, has been cross-checked against the Motor Rail records held by Alan Keef Ltd. Where there are small gaps in a batch, such as the 20/28 H.P. type, this may be due to the loco not being built, the record sheet being missing, the order being cancelled or, on rare occasions, the number being allocated to another product, for example a dumper. Where at least one set of records shows a loco, we have included it. Where neither set records a particular number, we have omitted it.

JASR 30/12/01

Edition details

• Publisher: Moseley Railway Trust
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0954087801
• ISBN 13: 9780954087807
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112