Lancashire's Last Days of Steam

Although not the first railway in Britain, the George Stephenson-engineered Liverpool & Manchester railway was really the catalyst for railway expansion throughout the country. As such, it can be argued that Lancashire was the birthplace of the national railway network and within the county itself the volume of railway traffic, even as late as 1950, was so great that it was home to 1,897 steam locomotives. Covering the 1950s and '60s, this book not only gives an account of the last days of steam, but also the last days of an extensive network before the Beeching cuts took effect. The author and his camera gained access to many of the county's key railway sites and also the men who worked there, and the story of those years is accompanied by fifty-eight superb photographs, each one graced with the essential steam locomotive. Locations include: Springs Branch, Red Bank Sidings, Lostock Hall, Carnforth, Patricroft, Skew Bridge, the Central Wagon Co. yard at Wigan, Garstang, Bank Hall, Aintree, Allerton, Earlestown, Winwick Junction, Dallam Branch Sidings, Trafford Park, Manchester Central, Manchester Victoria, Manchester Exchange, Bolton Trinity Street, Horwich Works, Westhoughton, Hindley North, Wigan Wallgate, Bamfurlong Junction, Lower Ince, Wigan North Western, Euxton Junction, Farington Junction, Farington, Farington Curve Junction, Huncoat, Preston, Poulton-le-Fylde, Maudlands Junction, Lancaster Castle, and Hest Bank.

Author: Tom Heavyside
Publisher: Stenlake
Extra Details: Pictorial Card Covers, 10 x 7 inches tall, lavishly illustrated with old B&W photos throughout.