Page updated 23 November 2007

Locomotives in Detail—Gresley 4-6-2 A4 Class: Ian Allan Publishing, ISBN: 0-7110-3085-5

RAILWAY enthusiasts will always argue about what was the most impressive, most powerful or just the best looking steam locomotive ever built, but all will agree that Gresley’s A4s were certainly among the UK’s top five classes.

David Clarke’s excellent treatise has been written with the modeller in mind and provides a fully illustrated, comprehensive history of the class.

Split into seven chapters the book deals with Design, Construction, the Running Plate and Cab, Tenders, Liveries and Names, and the operation of the class in service and in preservation.

In addition there is an appendix containing a series of 4mm/ft scale drawings and an allocation table detailing the home sheds of each member of the class from their introduction in 1935.

There is a good selection of colour photographs, including some rare pre-war examples, but perhaps the moodiest is of Empress of India (number 11) pictured in August 1947 in post-war Garter Blue at Newcastle Central complete with LNER on the tender and a red backed nameplate. Magical!

At £16.99 it is recommended without reservation.

FIRST published in 1982 David Jenkinson’s classic book, Profile of the Duchesses, traces the history of the class through black and white photographs and extended captions.

This new impression provides a good starting point for those who have come to know the class solely through the exploits of preserved examples of Stanier super power.

The book provides the modeller with a wide range of photographs for each member of the class, covering both LMS and BR days, along with details of allocations and modifications.

Unfortunately, there are no colour illustrations and the overall quality of some of the photographs leaves a little to be desired.

Nonetheless, the return of this classic book is to be welcomed as it provides a useful source of information for those detailing ready-to-run models and at £14.99 is hardly likely to break the bank.

IT IS nearly 50 years since the last red steam locomotive belonging to the County Donegal Railway made its way along the rural byways of what was arguably the most famous of Ireland’s ‘narrow’ gauge railways.

The books tells the story of the railway from its early days, placing it firmly in its social, economic and political context, examines its relations with neighbouring lines and draws on the recollections of those who worked on and used it.

Author Roger Cromblehome is a distinguished modeller and, as might be expected, the book looks at the railway’s rolling stock in detail, using 150 black and white photographs and scale drawings of locomotives, railcars, carriages and wagons.

In addition, the book provides a guide to what survives today and includes information on where to find preserved items of CDR rolling stock.

Given the growing interest in Irish railways, and not just among modellers, this £14.99 soft-back book and idiosyncratic railway line is likely to attract a wide audience. Recommended.

THE railways of North Staffordshire, especially around Stoke-on-Trent and the county town were always busy in the days of steam and have remained so despite the cutbacks in both services and lines.

Hugh Ballantyne’s contribution to the Past and Present series covers a small area of the county and looks at the lines of the three major pre-grouping companies that operated there: LNWR, the North Staffordshire Railway and the GNR.

As might be expected, the book follows the normal format for this series with a selection of before and after views covering a period from pre-grouping days through to today.

Two views of Stoke-on-Trent station provide one of the most interesting comparisons.

The first taken at the turn of the 19^th century shows a NSR class L 0-6-2 passing the platform with a south bound goods, the second, contemporary, view features a Class 66 on a trip working heading south, yet apart from the absence of NSR trolleys on the platform and enamel signs the station remains essentially the same.

This is one of the better books in the series and features a wide range of black and white photographs, all of excellent quality and well reproduced. It costs £16.99.

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