Narrow Gauge tracks in the Sand - Leighton Buzzard Light Railway

Rod Dingwall

Oakwood Press 2019  £17.95

Reprinted, with minor corrections, after not having been available for many years. The growth of the Bedfordshire town of Leighton Buzzard was closely linked with its sand industry served by the railway for 50 years from 1919. The author recorded the memories of the men who worked in the sand quarries and has really captured the feel of what work was like there. The 2ft gauge petrol and diesel locomotives used on the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway gave it and the town (with its numerous level crossings) an unique character. The diminutive locomotives could handle 500 skips of sand a day. Sand was also moved by lorry and canal boat, also included here. A large section of the railway has been restored but the book tells the story of the line before preservation.

Cleobury Mortimer & Ditton Priors Light Railway

M R C Price

Oakwood Press 2019 reprint  £13.95

This railway ran parallel with the Severn Valley Railway to the east and the junction was Cleobury Mortimer on the GWR’s Tenbury Wells-Bewdley line. The line opened in 1908 and became part of the GWR at Grouping. Passenger services ceased in 1938, then goods in 1939 but war brought salvation in the form of a Royal Armament Depot at Ditton Priors, causing the line to survive into the 1960s. This fourth edition of the book first published in 1963 is a reprint of the revised third edition of 1995 with two new appendices.  A5 format, 96 pages, 111 photographs.

The Leighton Buzzard Light Railway

Sidney Leleux

Oakwood Press (Third edition) 2019  £37.00    Softback 272 pages

The Leighton Buzzard Light Railway was constructed in 1919 to carry sand from pits near the town about three miles to the main line. The railway used steam locomotives for a short while, then Simplex petrol locomotives, and finally Simplex diesels. Sand traffic declined from the late 1950s until it ceased in 1981. In the 1960s enthusiasts realised there was a railway idle at weekends and obtained permission to run passenger trains and over the years since then the preservation society has evolved and this heritage railway now operates a varied collection of historic steam and non-steam locomotives. This new third edition describes the railway’s history and other local railways which mainly served sand pits.

The Bessbrook and Newry Tramway

A T Newnham  Stenlake Publishing  new ed 2021

Softback, 48 pages, £10.95

Brotherhoods, Engineers - for Power, Transport and Weapons

Sydney A Leleux

Oakwood Press  £26.00

Rowland Brotherhood founded this engineering dynasty in 1842 and was the contractor for much of the Great Western Railway main line from London to Bristol. Maintenance contracts followed and he set up the Chippenham Railway Works. At first they manufactured materials but later expanded to construct rolling stock and locomotives. His son Peter left to found Peter Brotherhood Ltd in London and there radial engines used to propel the Whitehead Torpedo were made as well as engines for other uses on naval ships. The company was inherited by his son Stanley who moved the business to Peterborough where it made motor cars. The First World War saw it producing armaments and engines for tanks and aircraft. Post-war the company made steam turbines, steam lorries and tractors, canal boats and engines and compressors. The Second World War involved a return to armament manufacture and after the war it developed heat recovery systems on ships. The company is still in business. Many company records were made available to the author and he has explored the human side of the business too with the experiences of employees.

The Little Eaton Gangway and Derby Canal

David Ripley   Oakwood Press 2021 3rd edition

softback  £13.95

The Little Eaton Gangway was a tramway that linked Little Eaton to Derby, mainly carrying coal. Chapters in the book cover the early history, rolling stock, the route, closure and revival, and there are various appendices.  80 pages, A5 size.

The Peak Forest Tramway including the Peak Forest Canal
 

David Ripley   Oakwood Press 2021 4th edition

softback  £13.95

The chapters of the book comprise the early history, the track and the rolling stock, traffic and operation, the route and the Peak Forest Canal. Finally the story is told of decline and closure between the wars, further decline of the canal infrastructure post-war and then, from the 1960s, efforts to restore and re-open the canal. The book includes 80 illustrations, mainly photographs and maps.

The Giant's Causeway Tramway

J H McGuigan   Oakwood Press 2021 2nd edition

softback  £15.95

The book comprises eleven chapters covering the early days, operation, the First World War, the Second World War and after. Lack of maintenance meant that by 1949 the track was in very poor condition. This, combined with a growing overdraft, meant closure was inevitable and the assets were sold off piecemeal until 1952 when the company could be wound up. Eight appendices detailing locomotive, rolling stock, tickets and fares etc. tell more of the story.  120 pages

Northamptonshire Narrow Gauge Railways in the 1960s

Sydney A Leleux  Oakwood Press 2021

softback  £24.95

The author explains how in 1959 armed with his first camera he set about visiting industrial premises of all sorts. Hence this lovely collection came about comprising mainly of the author’s own photos of the railways at brickworks clay pits, sand & gravel, sewage and cement works and so on. Funny little locomotives working away in seclusion in quirky little local operations. There are also photos of the end of the story with track being lifted and other industrial features such as a canal and an aerial ropeway, making this a very diverse and entertaining book.  96 pages

Lincolnshire Potato Railways

Stewart Squires   Oakwood Press 1987

 softback, good used condition  

This title presents the history of the Farm Railways of Lincolnshire. Over 140 route miles of track were laid on farms in at least 50 separate locations, from Alkborough on the banks of the River Humber to Crowland in the south. They were a phenomenon of the Fenland, and not confined to Lincolnshire. However, their use in other counties may not have been as widespread. In agricultural terms, they were also used to serve bulb fields in the Spalding area, but this book is confined to their use mainly for the planting and the harvest of potatoes.