Kirjahaku

‘I remember how excited I was when I saw my first diesel. I was waiting for the usual West Country Class to come through Hampden Park when a Class 33 arrived instead. It was the talk of all the trainspotters at the junior school.’ Author Mick Hymans’ excitement soon turned to resentment as diesels replaced his beloved steam engines. They became rarer and rarer until in 1968 they disappeared altogether. Today the diesel engine enjoys a vast following in its own right. Preserved railways now run ‘diesel days’, steam-free days, which prove to be some of the most popular events in their calendars. Covering the whole railway system from the north of Scotland and Wales right down to Cornwall, British Rail Diesels presents a wide collection of photographs illustrating a lost world on the nation’s railways.

As home of the oldest motor bus company in the world, Eastbourne forms an excellent basis for a detailed analysis of bus transport. The history of that company, latterly Eastbourne Buses Ltd, is charted here from its beginnings in the early twentieth century up to the present-day controversy of the takeover by Stagecoach. Author Mick Hymans is uniquely placed to write about life on board Eastbourne’s buses, with thirty-eight years’ service as a bus driver in the town. He details everything from the ‘tomfoolery’ of the early days as a conductor to the advent of the one-person-operated buses. Using previously unpublished photographs from the company’s archive, this book offers a powerful insight into the operation of a bus service in a changing society, focusing on the camaraderie, personalities and real-life stories of those men and women who work ‘on the buses’.

This book will be of interest to not only the most ardent and knowledgeable students of Brighton's history, but also to those who have just a passing interest. Flicking through the pages, one cannot be helped being captivated by the images of youngsters dressed in not much better than rags posing outside back street pubs, the trams that used to ply their trade through the streets or images of the West Pier and the Chain Pier that were once such great attractions. The book has been divided into several chapters each dealing with a different subject, thus making it an easy read. Unlike many books on photographic histories of towns and villages that are printed in A5 format, the images are so clear that the larger A4 format was warranted. We hope you agree.

This book will be of interest to not only the most ardent and knowledgeable students of Brighton's history, but also to those who have just a passing interest. Flicking through the pages, one cannot be helped being captivated by the images of youngsters dressed in not much better than rags posing outside back street pubs, the trams that used to ply their trade through the streets or images of the West Pier and the Chain Pier that were once such great attractions. The book has been divided into several chapters each dealing with a different subject, thus making it an easy read. Unlike many books on photographic histories of towns and villages that are printed in A5 format, the images are so clear that the larger A4 format was warranted. We hope you agree.

Having lived in Eastbourne all my life, over 60 years now, I have noticed many changes - some good, some not so good. Shops and businesses that were thriving concerns used and loved by most - Louis G. Ford and Woolworths to name but two - are now just distant memories. Being able to jump on to the rear platform a moving bus as it passed by or to have a choice of five or six town centre cinemas to visit are pleasures no longer available. The smell, sight and sound of snorting, hissing steam engines at the station are now long gone - as is the opportunity to catch one of these on a Saturday morning to take you directly to Birmingham or the North of England. Thankfully, photographers over the last 100 years or more had the presence of mind to capture these images, so that these scenes need not be completely forgotten.