Michael H. C. Baker

One of the most diverse, complex and thus most interesting railway routes in the land. It set out as part of Brunel’s Great Western Railway plan to cover the country in Broad Gauge tracks but, faced with competition from its great rival, the London and North Western Railway, the Broad Gauge never got beyond Wolverhampton and eventually succumbed to the four feet, eight and a half inches proponents. However, by then the GWR had established itself as the principal provider of passenger and freight trains between London and Birkenhead, on the west bank of the Mersey, facing, and on occasions, snarling at, the LNWR opposite. Its most powerful locomotives, the Kings, powered its expresses from 1927 until the end of steam as far as Birmingham and Wolverhampton, whilst Stanier Pacifics worked those between Euston and Liverpool Lime Street. The route passes through the manicured fields and hunting country of the Chilterns, then plunges into that was once the deeply industrial, polluted but still productive Black Country, before emerging into Shropshire, now essentially rural but where the Industrial Revolution may be said to have originated. As the line approaches the important junction of picturesque Shrewsbury, possessor of a station built out over the River Severn and the largest traditionally worked signal box in the world, the Welsh mountains appear on the western horizon. The line then enters the Principality before returning to England at Chester, and the final stretch, along the banks of the Mersey, to journey’s end.

The 100 years since the Irish Free State was set up in 1923 has seen enormous change, both in society and on the railways. The creation of a border did the railways no good, prompting an upsurge in smuggling, and, with the exception of the few busy trunk lines from Dublin, the rise in motor vehicles threatened the future of the railways. The railways responded by developing lightweight railcars, some of which can still be seen in preservation. Post-1945, General Motors diesel-electric locomotives put paid to steam in the Republic, whilst Northern Ireland's railway network has diminished and freight traffic is now all but extinct. Still, the belated realisation of the danger posed to the environment has produced forward-looking endeavours, with government encouragement. The electric Dublin Area Rapid Transport (DART) of the modern era has thus helped give back city streets to pedestrians, and continues to expand. With over 190 pictures, both classic and modern, this volume explores the past, present and future of Ireland's evocative railways.

By the end of the 1950s, steam had already mostly disappeared from passenger work in the Republic of Ireland, yet it lingered on in Northern Ireland. In fact, it lasted longer there than anywhere else on the main line within the British Isles. The products of General Motors came to dominate locomotive-hauled freight and passenger work in the entire 32 Counties, whilst electrification transformed travel in and around Dublin. Preservation has ensured that much of what might have vanished in the way of infrastructure, the iconic narrow gauge and a wonderful variety of locomotives is still there to be enjoyed by both the Irish and visitors from near and far. With over 200 images, this is a visual journey around the Emerald Isle, starting in the 1960s and moving through to modern times, showing the various traction, locomotives and stations that have made Ireland's railways what they are today.

A photographic journey of the ever changing railway scene of southern England stretching from Cornwall to the Kent Coast, served from 1953 to the present day by the Southern Region and its successors. When our story begins steam west of the Portsmouth man line still reigns supreme whilst much of the rest of the network is served by Southern Electric. Many of the trains at work in 1953 were of pre-1939 origin, some even dating back to the first decade of the 20th century, although the influence of Oliver Bullied's revolutionary semi-streamline pacifics and high capacity suburban electric multiple units pointed to the future. By 1967 diesel would replace steam, and electrification would spread, whilst many less well used lines in Hampshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall would close. Electrification had begun in the London area in the early 1900s, expanding to the Kent, Sussex and east Hampshire coasts, in the process creating the greatest main line electrified system in the world: this would continue down to today.

1970 was a significant year in the history of London buses, for on January 1, the Country Area was taken out of the control of London Transport. The Green Line network had been set up in the 1930s, with comfortable coaches and well-appointed green buses operating a vast and successful network.

The aim of this series is to appeal to readers of all ages, perhaps for different reasons... In this volume: We travel all the way back to the year 1956

Paddington is one of London's-indeed the world's-great railway stations. Designed basically by Brunel, although others contributed, it has served its intended purpose of providing a starting point and a culmination of countless journeys between the capital, the West Country, the Midlands, Merseyside, Wales and beyond, to Ireland and America, for over 180 years. In a highly illustrated book we look at the trains, steam diesel and electric, which have served it, the people who have passed through, and have worked there. We also consider its surroundings, which were once the fields belonging to Westbourne Manor House, where its locomotive depot would be built. A little further out was Old Oak Common, now deep in inner suburbia, the GWRs largest depot, still the home of the High Speed Trains and used as a depot for the Cross Rail construction. The approach to Paddington involved negotiating a fascinating complex of lines, serving both goods and passenger traffic, signal boxes and semaphore signals galore. To this day it is the only main line London station served by surface Underground trains.

In this 85th volume: We travel back to the streets of Sunderland in the 1950s Sunderland's trams had an appeal to tram enthusiasts that was as great as any other British system. Possibly it was the fact that many were second-hand from other systems, or was it their (almost unique) pantographs in their later years?

London Transport was created in 1933 to coordinate the shambolic, overlapping transport systems of the capital, and for decades has striven to meet the challenges of organising London travel. Now operating as Transport for London (TfL), it continues this demanding work. In this fully illustrated volume, Michael H. C. Baker presents the complete story of the organisation from its origins, through the upheavals of the Second World War, to TfL's biggest modern project – Crossrail. Covering modes of transport including trams, trolleybuses, the iconic RT and Routemaster buses and the trains of the Underground, this is an essential guide to London's world-famous transport operator.

Think of Sussex Buses and almost automatically that means Southdown: think of locations and that means Brighton. Well, you will find plenty of pictures of both within these pages, but there is much more besides. Trams operated in Hastings and Eastbourne was the world's first municipality to operate motorbuses

Back in 1985 the first 'British Railways Past and Present' was published, it has only taken 25 years for us to start the same treatment for Britain's road transport scene. There is perhaps no better place to start than in the Capital City.

From the 1930s onwards three companies dominated its bus and coach services, East Kent, Maidstone and District and London Transport. There had once been trams, in Margate and Dartford for example, and trolleybuses also in Dartford and well as in the county town of Maidstone.