SteamIndex (original) (raw)
Authorship of railway literature
General criteria
Too many assertions are made by enthusiasts which castigate notable engineers, notably Fowler, Gresley and Webb, without giving any indication of their own standing to make thes judgements or, in many cases, quoting reliable sources for their condemnations. It may seem invidious to quote the names of some of these "authorities", but they includeHamilton Ellis andAdrian Vaughan: both of whom are excellent writers in the "literary sense" and to a great extent in the research effort they put into their publications. This text is inspired by a letter in Backtrack (2012,26, 637) by Joseph Cliffe wherein he notes that he knew Sir William Stanier when both were employed by Power Jets at Farnborough: this raised the issue of why did the name "Cliffe" resonate. He is presumably the co-author of Clay and Cliffe's The LNER 2-6-0 classes, The LNER 2-8-2 and 2-6-2 classes. The LNER 4-6-0 classes. _The West Coast Pacifics _and contributor (chapter on the Gresley V4 class) in Clay's Essays on steam. It would seem that Cliffe may be a potential source for further information about Stanier. It would also seem that Sir William pondered steam turbine propulsion after he left railway service in a way that is not evident from an examination of Bond's paper nor inBond's book and in a way is further condemnation of British Railways traction policy: the potential utility of 46202 should have been explored more fully.
Bonavia in his History of the Southern Railway states: "Authors of railway company histories sometimes give their readers the impression that the General Manager was the final authority on policy matters to the virtual exclusion of the Board, except where a Chairman - such as Sir Edward Watkin or James Staats Forbes - was also the chief executive. In fact, good teamwork between a Chairman and his General Manager, each respecting the other's role, has usually been the recipe for success." Whilst there is a case for considering the duties of the ordinary working man, the shunter, the signalman and the engine cleaner too much of the literature, especially that regurgitated by Wild Swan, is repetitive and adds little to our understanding of why railways were the way they were. Whereas the composition of railway boards was much more likely to dictate all sorts of policy: colliery owners were unlikely to be interested in diesel traction or ven in attempts to reduce coal consumption.
Many books and articles in the enthusiast press about railways, especially those about locomotives, are extremely poor. Far too much of the literature is trivial: the description of journeys by night to visit dark locomotive sheds where 44605 was present or absent is of limited interest, and of still less significance to anyone. Beavor (Steam was my calling) quickly lost interest in numbers once he realised that the various bits of locomotives were used indescriminantly: the frames from one, the boiler from another, the cylinders from yet another, and so on: unless seen new the identity of individual locomotives was largely a figment of the enthusiast's imagination. Some of the "great" railway authors were great solely in terms of their output. Some of the most significant have received far less attention than they deserve. Too many authors have written far more than they have read.
A few of these contributions (now scattered over the website), notably those on Barnes and Nock, were written with a view to publication by traditional means but failed to find a publisher. This is probably because they fail to mirror the endless collections of photographs held together with lists of numbers of meaningless significance and the weird behaviour of "shed-bashing" which colour so much published output. Information was being gathered for a similar assessment on Tuplin (who like Ellis) had a significant influence on KPJ's thought, but Rutherford got their first, but failed to identify the extraordinary repetitive structure in Tuplin's books, which KPJ is unsure whether it was a major vice or an endearing virtue: in any event it is possible to see how his mind worked..
The foundation stones of locomotive history
There can be no question about the centrality ofAhrons in locomotive history: he is the undisputed expert on the period extending from about 1840 to the early 1900s. Others have covered the early history: notablythe recent Early railway history series andDendy Marshall. The period post-Ahrons is best covered by Brian Reed.
Hidden authors
These are of two types: unsigned articles mainly in the Locomotive Magazine (some of which have been identified subsequently) and the authors of the multi-part RCTS histories of Great Western and LNER locomotives. Both works are seminal to detecting the foundations of the literature: some of the authors involved (notably Hoole and Yeadon) subsequently went their own way and became prominent. For many reasons Ottley is less successful in its coverage of locomotive history: a weakness he recognised and was keen to rectify through KPJ's efforts most visibly in_Steam Locomotive Development _and through this website.
Photographers are treated as a separate species
Reference works
Reference books have a threefold function. Firstly, they should act as introductions to the subject. Unusual terminology should be defined and a glossary is a helpful adjunct to any technical work. Diagrams may also aid clarity. Secondly, the subject should be surveyed in a comprehensive manner. The depth of treatment may vary with the type of intended readership, but the book should neither place undue emphasis on any one topic, nor ignore any other which may deserve inclusion. Finally, they should signpost the route to further information by providing bibliographies and reading lists. The book must also be well planned and be provided with an index. Few books surveyed in this section meet these criteria. A few, including some frequently found in reference libraries, are inaccurate, e.g. E.F. Carter's The railway encyclopaedia. The most frequently encountered, the_Oxford Companion, _suffers frommajor defects in structure and coverage. One of the best, but one that is only indirectly related to steam locomotives, is the superb Regional History series started by David St. John Thomas and completed with a volume on Ireland by J.W.P Rowledge. .
Ahrons, Ernest Leopold
Allan, Ian
Allen, Cecil J.
Allen, Geoffrey Freeman
Anstey, Edgar
Born 16 February 1907 in Watford. Died 26 September 1987 in London. Leading British documentary film-maker. Anstey was educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys and Birkbeck College. He spent a few years as a civil servant before starting in 1930 at The Empire Marketing Board's film unit, under the direction of John Grierson. In 1949, he joined the British Transport Films unit, which he headed until 1974. He was nominated for the Short Subject (Live Action) Academy Award in 1965 for the documentary film Snow. He directed Housing Problems in 1935. See Iain Kitt_Backtrack_, 2021, 35, 352
Armstrong, Jim
LNER locomotive development between 1911 and 1947, with a brief history of developments from 1850 to 1911. Beer (Seaton): Peco. 1974. 93pp. many illus and diagrs. (s. els)
Graduate IMechEng. Bibliography dated March 1968 and location given as Welwyn Garden City! Acknowledges Welwyn Garden City Model Club and the LNER Society and Gresley Society. Cites first three parts of RCTS_Locomotives of the LNER_ to be published
Ashford. J.B.N.
Obituary in Locomotive Mag., 1926, 32, 7 which notes his contribution to the history of the broad gauge locomotives of the South Devon Railway
Barclay-Harvey, Sir (Charles) Malcolm
Born 2 March 1890; died 17 November 1969. Member of Queen’s Body Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers). Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. Served in Gordon Highlanders, TF, 1909–15; Home Staff, 1915–16; Ministry of Munitions, London, 1916–18; Paris, 1918–19. Unionist MP Kincardineshire, and West Aberdeenshire, 1923–29, and 1931–39; Parliamentary Private Secretary to Sir John Gilmour, 1924–29, and to Sir Godfrey Collins, 1932–36; Governor of South Australia, 1939–44. Member Aberdeen County Council, 1945–55. Hon. Colonel 4th Bn Gordon Highlanders, 1939–45. Author of_History of Great North of Scotland Railway_
Barman, Christian Barnes, Robin
Barrie, Derek S.M.
Behrend, George
Bell, Arthur Robert
Bennett, Alfred Rosling
Bonavia, Michael
Bond, F.S.
Assistant editor on Railway Gazette in 1930s. SeeCooper Railway Wld., 1978,39, 17-19.
Bowtell, Harold D.
Probably deserves a page: wrote about minor railways, mainly in the north, including those associated with reservoir construction
Boyd-Carpenter, Vivian Frederic William
Owner of William Exley Ltd. of Baslow in Derbyshire.See Rly Wld, 1956, **17,**290
Braithwaite, Jack
Enthuses about beauty of Midland locomotives, notably aboout Johnson 4-2-2 types: see S.W.Johnson: Midland Railway locomotive engineer artist Wyvern Publications, 1985. Mikdland Railway locomotive aesthetics_.Midland Record_ (1), 3.
S.W. Johnson's decorated steam locomotives.Midland Record (22), 4.
A ride with a 'Highflyer' [4-2-2].Midland Record, (3) 31-5
Cleaning standards of the Midland Railway Locomotive Departmentr in the late 19th century. Midland Record, (5) 21-5.
Some notes on S.W. Johnson's 5ft 9in 4-4-0s for the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. Midland Record,(9) 61-6
The epitome of excellence. Midland Record, (11) 5-
The Butterflies: some notes on S.W. Johnson's original bogie single-wheeler and 4-4-0 designs for the GER. Midland Record, (14) 45-8.
The Johnson bogie singles. Midland Record, (16) 5-13.>.
Midland Railway 19th century train working. Part 1.Midland Record, (17) 73.
Locomotive beauty: a personal viewpoint. 52-9.Midland Record, (19) 52-9..
Midland Railway 19th Century train working Part 2.Midland Record, (21) 40-57...
S.W. Johnson's 'decorated' steam locomotives. 4-11.Midland Record, (22) 4-20
Some Midland Railway locomotive shed allocations and duties c.1867—1904, Part 1. Midland Record, (23) 3-11.
A Midland miscellany. Midland Record, (24), 40-52.
Bucknall, William Rixon
Born Lisbon 11 March 1894. Died 29 April 1984. Career army officer, served both world wars. Black Watch, RFC. WW2 commanded 1st Battalion Worcestershire Regiment, retired from army 6 April 1948. Interested in railways and ships, spent a lot of time and money in the 1950 designing and having built, what looked like a typical 1930s open sports car, which concealed chassis, suspension and tripple carb. engine, Al2l specially supplied by Jaguar. A real wolf in sheeps clothing, with could leave anything standing at traffic lights! He seems to have had a large collectuin of paintings of railway and shipping subjects. Family seem to have connections with the Folkestone area, and his father knew Sir Edward Watkin. Three books. Our railway history, 1945. Not seen by me Railway memories, 1947, with dr, tice budden. Not seen by me. Boat trains and channel packets, 1957. Army rank Colonel Ian Allan Driven by steam: was a half colonel in the Guards, spoke with a very large plum in hrs mouth and produced a series of books on railways. He was a very amiable chap and we ultimately acquired his photographic collection and his publishing rights. My memory fails me and I do not know quite what happened to him but he was a good friend and supporter. All the records of our negotiations with him seem to have disappeared, perhaps in one of those Craven House bonfires.
Camwell, W.A.
'Cam' was a manager in the Birmingham Municipal Bank, and had been a Railway Transport Officer (RTO). He instituted rail tours for the Stephenson Locomotive Society. See Backtrack, 2009, 23, 564.."Cam" Camwell recorded the railway scene in high quality photographs and cine-film during the period from prior to WW2 through until the end of steam. The article by Minnis (Br. Rly J. 66-19) is is not an obituary, but an appreciation of the methods which he employed to obtain his photographs which are known for their "record quality" although Minnis argues that they need to be considered for their artistry. It notes whom he worked with, and that he frequently travelled by car to obtain his shots.
Charlewood, Rawdon Edward
Graduated in law at Oxford University. Joined Midland Railway and retired from LMS in 1934. Contributed Locomotive practice & performance in Railway Magazine for one year. In 1935 incarcerated by Nazis for two months and released by intervention of Lord Stamp.
I must confess to feeling a little disappointment at the names selected for the latest type of' 4-4-0 express locomotivesturned out from Swindon, the so-called "Flowers," some of which I see have been working, on that "backwater" of the Great Western Railway, the Crewe and Wellington. branch. There seems tobe something almost incongruous. in travelling behind "Calceolaria" or "Lobelia." and although it is an excellent idea to give names characteristic of the class- name (and consecutive numbers) to a particular series of locomotives, such as Ladies,'' '' Knights,'' '' Stars,'' '' Cities, or the 80 'men-of-war' titles selected by the late Mr F. W. Webb, I wish that names somewhat more appropriate than "flowers" could have been selected in this particular case. No doubt the naming of new engines. Member of Railway Club (see Greville's comments) and presented paper on dining cars in 1907 (Ottley 3848).
Chrimes, Mike
No less than 45 articles by Mike Chrimes, mainly on eminent civil engineers, add to the quality of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Clinker, Charles R.
He joined the Great Western Railway in Bristol in 1923 and assisted McDermot on the official History of the Great Western Railway. He contributed to the Railway Magazine under a pseudonym during the 1930s.He became noted for his accurate chronologiesand following WW2 lectured at Birmingham and Nottingham Universities. He established the Locomotive & General Railway Photograph business in June 1939 with V. Stewart Haram and W. Vaughan Jenkins. He was a founder member of the Railway & Canal Historical Society in 1954: see Gordon Biddle. In the beginning: J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2004, 34, 503-7.British Railway Journal, 57, 311.Bragg, Stephen. His Leicester & Swannington Railway is reviewed in _Locomotive Mag.,_1955, 61, 66. Early lectures on railway and canal history.J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2011 (212), 2
Cooper, Basil K.
Short autobiographical piece in P.B. Whitehouse and David St John Thomas's Passion for steam pp. 104-5.His father was an engine driver who had started work on the Great Central Railway. Following WW2 Basil Cooper trained as a traffic apprentice. He ended up working on industrial relations.Rly Wld 1977, 38, 444tells a somewhat different story when he retired from Ian Allan. He had begun his journalistic career on Railway Gazette and _Railway Magazine_in 1935. Following WW2 he moved to the GEC press office to edit The Osram Bulletin and later the GEC Journal. In 1958 he returned to commercial journalism as an editorial assistant on _Electrical Energy_and later The Engineer. Latterly he was the editor of _Railway World_for six years before retiring in 1977. He was also editor of the Journal of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers..
Course, Alfred Edwin
1922-2016. Obituary written by Gordon Biddle inJ. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2016, **38,**589. Significant author on railways in London and in the South East
Derrick, Kevin
Seventies spotting days around the Scottish Region (Amberley, 2016). One of the few books available on railways in the Brodick branck library on the railway-less Isle of Arran. Its main characteristic was the excellence of the photographs and the awful perfect binding which may have been suitable for the Cotswolds, but was hellbent on destruction in the wet environment of Arran. The book contains some memorable colour pictures: of an HST in its original dignified livery at the Border in December 1979. Sureley, the HST is the only British railway motive power which is worthy to place alongside Mallard, _Flying Scotsman_and the Rocket and this is a superb photograph. Some of the other pictures only serve to show how ill-judged some of the earlier acquistions could be: lines of Clayton diesels out of use, for instance (the picture of one actually hauling a freight at Motherwell in February 1970 is a remarkable exception) and a picture of a North British Locomotive Bo-Bo No. 6121 actually leaving Queen Street on a train is another. Even the picture of the wasteful Nos. 408 and 440 at Kilmarnock in April 1973 only serves to show how profligate BR could be at times (and how so many places have been left behind with meagre train services). Kilmarnock used to have a train service with dining cars and sleeping cars: it now has a primitive railcar service to Middlesbrough via Carlisle and Newcastle. A thought provoling book for all the wrong reasons.
Dewhurst, Paul Coulthard
Dickinson, Henry Winram
Dow, George
Duffy, Michael Ciaran
Born Burnley, Lancashire, in 1943: engineer and philosopher of science who graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Edinburgh. Subsequently researched role of electron and ether in early relativity and also American innovation, systems change andelectrification of railways: see superb book. Most of his professional career has been spent at the University of Sunderland where he is a Visiting Research Fellow. He has published over 100 papers on railway engineering, engineering history, the changing nature of engineering and the philosophy of engineering and has also published 20 papers on relativity theory and its interpretations. Author of many papers inTrans Newcomen Soc. including impressive paper on technomorphology of railway motive power, wherein Bulleid and Riddles are castigated and George Stephenson is firmly established on his pedestal.
Earnshaw, Alan
Born in Golcar, near Huddersfield in 1952, joined David Brown Ltd and then studied for MSc at University followed by PhD. Then became involved in planning Areas of Oustanding Natural Beauty and in improving access to countryside. Following serious back injury in 1983 has concentrated on writing about transport.
Fayle, H.
Was writing about the Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway in 1902 (Rly Mag., 10, 340) and in 1965 (Rly Wld, 26, 34) about Paris in 1901
Flower, Gordon
Joined Railway Magazine and Railway Gazette in 1942. Experienced the gentle censorship imposed during WW2. He was an enthusiast of the LMS West Coast line as he lived in Kingsbury. See piece on him by Peter Kelly in Rly Mag., 1990, 136, 610.
Fowler, J.W.
Died 15 October 1969, Chairman of Railway World Ltd from its inception in 1940 when took over Railways founded at the end of 1939.Son of W.J. Fowler & Son Ltd who owned a printing works at Cricklewood Broadway. Chairman of the Light Railway Transport League, also connnected with Model Railway Constructor. See Rly Wld, 1969, 30, 521.
Foxwell, Ernest
Brief obituary Locomotive Mag, ., 1922, 28, 326
Fraser, Maxwell
Dorothy May Fraser (1902-1980), adopted the pen-name Maxwell Fraser, and later became Mrs Edgar Phillips. She was a prolific author of popular travel books. She was born in London. Her father was one of the Frasers of Dumballock and Newtown, Inverness-shire and her mother was born in Philadelphia of old Puritan stock. In 1951, Maxwell Fraser married Edgar Phillips of Pontllan-fraith, Monmouthshire, better known as the poet 'Trefin', who was later to become Archdruid of Wales. From Archive of Wales material on Internet. She worked industriously for the Great Western Railway and Alan Bennett has written several articles on her oeuvre in Backtrack:
Beyond the fringe: Somerset's deep England identity. Backtrack, 2011, 25, 660
Fry, Eric
Had previously worked at Lloyds, Editor ofRCTS Locomotives of the LNER. Aged 90 in portrait on page 699 inBacktrack, 2022, 36, 699..
Gentry, George
1870-1964: Pupil at Bow Works of the North London Railway. Wrote books on model engineering and contributed to Model Engineer.See Braithwaite Midland Record Issue 1 pp. 3-20
Goodchild. John
Born in Wakefield 1935; died in 2017. Worked in West Riding Public Records Office and had a large private document collection concerning coal mining in the Wakefield and Barnsley areas. Claimed that the Lake Lock Rail Road in the Stanley Wrenthorpe area was the first authorised public railway in Britain: see letter in _Backtrack,_2019, 33, 254 from Anthony Dawson and below.
The first railway company and the first public railway.J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2009.34, 377.
The Lake Lock Rail Road . Wakefield Metropolitan District Libraries, 1977. (Ottley 9295)
Mine and men: company, management and men at the Lofthouse Colliery 1872 - 1921.
Wakefield's first railway and its collieries, 1798 to 1880. Wakefield Historical Publications, 2002.55pp.
Green, Oliver
Curator London Tramsport Museum. SeeUnderground art
Hadfield, Charles
Major contributor to the literature on canal history, and also major historian who sought to place canals within their historical economic context (he was an economist). Co-founder (with David St. John Thomas) of David & Charles who had a major influence on the literature on railway and canal history Boughley appears to consider that the publisher's influence on canal history was greater than that upon railway history. Excellent biographical study written and assembled by Joseph Boughley which shows Charles Hadfield's working methods which combined highly orientated field observations with research through primary sources (many of which Hadfield was responsible for finding and preserving). Although Hadfield was an excellent professional manager, he was happiest working alone with his books and papers. He shared much in common with Rolt,, but Hadfield prefered to examine canals from the towpath rather than from a long boat. He was a major contributor to the affairs of the Railway & Canal Historical Society.
Boughley, Joseph. Charles Hadfield: canal man and more, with autobiographical writings by Charles Hadfield. Stroud: Sutton, 1998.
Haresnape, Brian
Harris, Michael
Healey, Edward Charles
Hollingsworth, Brian
Post Cambridge University and following National Service he joined the Great Western Railway as a civil engineer in the last few months of its existence in 1947. In his subsequent British Railways career took him to the north-east and then to BR headquarters in London. In 1963 his mathematical background led him into the world of computers and in due course to a heavy involvment with BR's TOPS wagon and train control system. However he found the Beeching culture of cut backs and closures unwelcome and left BR to live in a remote house somewhere between Croesor Junction and Tan-y-Bwlch in 1974. There he took up writing, as well as advising the Festiniog Railway on engineering matters and being instrumental in the preservation of several standard gauge locomotives. His Ffestiniog Adventure relates the story of the Deviation in a comprehensive but anecdotal style. He also installed and operated the seven and a quarter gauge railway at Tan-y-Bwlch during the 150th Anniversary celebrations. He was a Patron of the FR Co. Brian died in 2001. Festipedia. Account of holiday shared with but written byStephen Bragg in Backtrack,21, 712 which failed to note that his companion had died.
Hunter, David Lindsay George
Author of _Edinburgh's transport:_he lived in the City for forty years, working as an engineering assistant for the Corporation for twelve years, then worked with the Lothian Electric Power Company and the LNER and the entered dock engineering. He was Mechanical Engineer for the Leith Dock Commission. In 1957 he moved to Goole Docks where he became the Engineer.
Jacquet, Albert
Died in Brussels in April. 1944, during the German occupation. He had always been intensely interested in railways and had a very wide knowledge of locomotive engineering and development. Born in 1866 he could well remember many of the older Belgian and French locomotives still running in the middle 1870s. Later he became a well-known writer on locomotive historv ancl was a regular contributor to "The Locomotive." . Though he worked for several years in the engineering and management departments of the former Saint Leonard Locomotive Works at Liege. and later with the Brussels Tramways, he devoted most of his life-time to research work in connection with locomotive history and development.
Karau, Paul
Was associated with Wild Swan and with long accounts of short branch lines. Google search showed based in either Didcot or Abingdon. His Great Western branch line termini reviewed by Michael Harris inRailway Wld, 1979, 40, 188
Kay, John Aiton
Born 21 July 1881; died on 8 July 1949. elected an honorary member Instn Loco. Engrs in 1927. He was educated at Mill Hill School; joined the weekly paper Transport, a direct predecessor of The Railway Gazette, which name was adopted in 1905. In 1910 he acquired the journal for British interests. Subsequently he produced a number of other journals dealing with engineering industries. such as Shipbuilding & Shipping. Record, Colliery Engineering, The Industrial Chemist, Diesel Railway Traction, and _The Crown Colonist._He was also responsible for the initiation and development of The Crown Colonist. and other publications under the control of Transport (1910) Ltd., of which he was Deputy Chairman and Managing Director: these included The Railway Magazine, The Universal Directory of Railway Officials and the Directory of Ship Owners, Shipbuilders & Marrine Engmeers. He was keenly interested in the Royal Engineers' Military Railway Training Establishment at Longmore, and was an Honourary Member of Longmoor No. 1 Mess. He played a leading part in the establishment and administration of the Transportation Club, of which he was Chairman.
Raileay journalism in the thirties by B.K. Cooper (Railway Wld, 1978, 39. 17-19) gives an insight into a long lost world of compositors and proofs and going to press.
He was a keen supporter of the ILocoE and frequently attended its meetings. He was a regular attendant at the Annual Dinners and Luncheons and was on numerous occasions called upon to propose a toast which he did with unfailing wit and humour. His action in founding the Charles S. Lake Memorial Fund for the benefit of the Institution Library was much appreciated. Obit J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1949, 39, 387-8.
Kidner, R.W.
Kirkman, Marshall Monroe
1842-1921: an American authority on railways, born in Illinois. He entered the service of the Chicago and North Western Railway in 1856 and rose to the position of vice-president in 1889. He wrote extensively on the subject of railways. He wrote The Science of Railways (1894), which was later revised and republished in 17 volumes, and 3 portfolios (1909,et. seq.). Information from Wikipedia. The titles of the volumes are:
Locomotive, engine failures, and motive power department
Engineer's and fireman's handbook
Air brake: its construction and working
Shops and shop practice (two volumes)
Cars: their construction, handling, and supervision
Organization of railways, and financing
Passenger train traffic and accounts
Freight traffic
Building and repairing railways
Operating trains
Electricity applied to railways
Locomotive appliances
Collection of revenue
General accounts and cash
Safeguarding railway expenditures
Railway rates and government ownership
Locomotive portfolio
Car portfolio
Air brake portfolio
Klapper, Charles
Born in London in 1905 to a Scottish mother and German father; died in 1980.. At nineteen he forfeited a university place in favour of a career in road haulage, eventually joining and later becoming editor of Modern Transport magazine, self-styled "The Times of the transport world". The magazine was taken over by Ian Allan Ltd in the 1960s and ceased publication in 1968. Klapper remained with the Ian Allan company until the end of his working life. The Institute of Transport admitted Klapper as a graduate in 1935, and a long association culminated in his appointment as its Vice President in 1962. He was also a founder member of the Omnibus Society, President of the Railway & Canal Historical Society and the London Underground Railway Society. See C.J. Allen for Ian Allan's lunch with him and Charles E. Lee and the eventual takeover of Klapper's business. Collection of approximately 100 35mm colour transparencies. Featuring views of the West Somerset Mineral Railway, Taff Vale Railway and the Canterbury & Whitstable Railway taken during visits made by the Railway Canal and Historical Society, 1962-1964 in the Science Museum Archive. .
Lamb, David Ritchie
Editor of Modern Transport; author of several books on transport economics (see Ottley) and President of Institute of Transport in 1948 see Locomotive Mag., 1948,54, 173.
Lilley, Simon
Kingston born Simon is a lifelong railway enthusiast. Indeed, one of his earliest railway memories is of being taken to Cricklewood Open Day in 1969 at the age of four. Simon started his working life at the Victoria & Albert Museum but since 1995 he has held a variety of roles within the rail industry and is currently a Quality Manager. Over the years Simon has written for a number of different railway magazine titles, usually on "modern traction" related subjects. He can often be found at the National Archives at Kew researching his next work. An enthusiastic preservationist he has been closely involved in the Class 47 Preservation Project since its inception. When not involved in railway related matters, Simon enjoys a wide variety of interests with his wife Jane, be it watching Bristol City FC or London Broncos Rugby League. He has been a member of Middlesex CCC for over twenty years. An occasional distance runner he says his finest sporting achievement was completing the 2010 Windsor Half Marathon in less than 2 hours 30 minutes
Linecar, Harold Waler Arthur
Author of early Ian Allan booklet on_British electric trains._ Also contributed The "Merchant Navy" Pacifics toTrains Annual 1948. Also wrote many books on coins and coin collecting and a book on early aeroplanes
**Lloyd, Roger**[Bradsheigh]
Locomotive Publishing Company
MacDermot, Edward Terence
McEwan, James F.
Author of long sereies of articles on locomotives of the Caledonian Railway in Locomotive Magazine since updated and reprinted in The True Line, the journal of the Caledonian Railway Assocition. See obituaryNBRSG Journal, 1992 (47). Cited by Lowe for providing assistance
McKean, Charles
Born in Glasgow in 1946; died in Edinburgh on 29 September 2013. Educted at Fettes School, Poitiers University and.Bristol University.In the 1980s fell in love with the City of Dundee's remaining ancient buildings where he was Professor of Scotland's Architectural History and has written a thorough history of the Tay Bridges (the railway ones) and those involved::Battle for the North..
McNaught, R.S.
Contributor to railway periodicals.Alex Rankin (Railway Wld, 1986,47, 467) states that he had worked at Sir William Beardmore & Co. in the 1920s.
Mallinson Howard
Author of Guildford via Cobham: the origins and impact of a country railway which was voted Railway & Canal Historical Society Transport History Book of the Year 2008 and Railway Book of the Year. Funding of the venture was assisted by a subscription list. The author concedes that estimating production costs was very difficult due to the variables involved in incorporating illustrations. He prepared his own index, but employed a professional to design the cover. See_J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc_., 2008, (203) 153.
Marshall, Percival
Born in 1870: died 10 April 1948. Editor Model Engineer. Educated Finsbury Technical College. Won Mitchell Scholarship in 1885. Apprentced to R. Hoe & Co., printers' engineers and Alfred Herbert & Co. Worked in the drawing office of R. Furnival of Stockport. Became sub-editor of The Hardwareman and in 1898 established himself as a publisher of The Model Engineer. Obituary J. jun. Instn Engrs., 1948, 58, 260-1.
Maskelyne, John Nevil
Hendry (p. 15)illustrated on Plant Centenarian and short biography from which details abstracted: Born Wandsworth Common on 3 January 1892 and died 24 May 1960 (Obit. J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1960, 50, 395). President of Stephenson Locomotive SocietyPresidential Address: instrumental in preservation of Stroudley's Gladstone. (Portrait and note in Hennessey's account of SLS Centenary inBacktrack, 2009, 23, 646). Educated St Pauls School and Kings College. Worked Waygood-Otis. Editor of_Model Railway News._ See also Marshall. See books andRCTS The locomotives of the Great Western Railway. 10¼ inch gauge 4-4-2 designed by him Locomotive Mag., 1938, 44, 173.
Mowat, Charles Loch
Author of highly rated Britain between the Wars andThe Golden Valley Railway: railway enterprise on the Welsh border in late Victorian times. 1984. Born on 4 October 1911; died 23 June 1970. Educated Marlborough College and St. John's, Oxford. In 1934 he emigrated to the United States and took on American citizenship. He taught at the universities of Minnesota, California in Los Angeles aand Chicago until returning to Britain in 1958. He had hated McCarthyism. Largely Wikipedia plus Mike Fenton _Backtrack,_2019, 33, 52.
Paley, William Burchell
Obituary of William Burchell Paley, the well-known writer on locomotive history, which took place on the 22 October 1922, at Bramerton Street, Chelsea. Mr. Paley was in his 68th year. He was born in Ramsgate, the eldest son of Professor F. A. Paley, LL.D., and grandson of Archdeacon Paley, of Carlisle, who wrote the well-known Evidences of Christianity and other works. He was educated at the Oratory School, Edgbaston, Birmingham, under Cardinal Newman. After he left school he took up brewing and was for some eight or ten years with a firm at Sheffield. Then he obtained a post as clerk to the Lord Great Chamberlain and this he held for some twenty-five years or more,, until he retired on pension two years ago. Mr. Paley was a most industrious contributor of articles on early locomotives and railways to the engineering papers. Apart from their literary merit these have considerable value, owing to the accuracy with which he gathered his facts, which were taken not so much from books as from personal investigation.Locomotive Mag., 1922, 28, 332.
Parris, Henry Walter
Born in Reading on 20 November 1925; died in 1971. Educated University College Oxford; Research Fellow Manchester University; PhD Leicester University. Author of Government and the railways in the nineteenth century.
Pearce, Thomas Richard [Tom]
Born in Southampton in February 1920, but lived most of life on Teesside. Died Marton on 19 February 2012. He worked in Smith's Dock at South Bank and lived in Nunthorpe. He met his wife Betty Butterwick when she was serving as a Wren on the Isle of Arran. He worked on the maintenance of paddle steamers, but later became a senior member of staff in the shipyard and travelled widely. He retired in 1984. His _Locomotives of the Stockton and Darlington Railway _is a major contributiion to railway history
Pendred, Loughnan St Lawrence
Born 1870; died 20 November 1953. Educated private school and Central Institution and Technical College, Finsbury. Served apprenticeship with Davey, Paxman & Co., Colchester; improver at the works of Van den Kerchove, Ghent, and the Chemin de Fer de l’Ouest, Paris and Rouen; ordnance works of Sir W.G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., at Elswick, 1893–96; sub-editor of The Enginee_r, 1896. Editor of The Engineer, 1905–46; President Institution of Mechanical Engineers: 1930–31; Presidential Address:Proc_. 1930. 119, 943. President Newcomen Society, 1923 and 1930; CBE 1934
Poultney, Edward Cecil
Pratt, Edwin
Railway Correspondence & Travel Society
Reed, Brian
Reed, C.W.
A Strettonesque figure who imagined that he was influential in the preservation of the Lion: see Rly Wld, 1990, 41, 21-4.
Reynolds, Michael
His Engine-driving life is a sort of prototype for the later work of the Essery brothers, but is rather more colourful. The Esserys do not describe how the driver of an express train facing an impact with a freight train crossing its path actually accelerated to cut through the freight to emerge on the other side with his passengers unharmed. It appears that he had worked for the LBSCR where Mr Stroudley was a sobering influence. Most of the incidents and accidents described were mainly on the northern lines. The final chapter is a sort of antedote to current health and safety culture as it describes how many men died on duty: perhaps the most melodramtic is the arrival of Driver Legge's arm on the family breakfast table when his locomotive blew up. There are many reminders of how dark the Victorian world was, and how ill-equipped locomotives of that time were for coping with it: powerful headlamps on British trains are very recent and arrived with the second generation of multiple units.
Ridge, William Pett
Born Chartham, near Canterbury, on 22 April 1859: diedat his home in Chislehurst on 29 September 1930. Educated at Marden in Kent, where his father was station master and at the Birkbeck Institute, London. He was for some time a clerk in the Railway Clearing House, and began about 1891 to write humorous sketches for the St James's Gazette and other papers. He published his first novel A Clever Wife in 1895, but secured his first striking success with his fifth, Mord Em'ly in 1898, an excellent example of his ability to draw humorous portraits of lower class life. He publidhrd Erb in 1903 and this was reviewed inLocomotive Mag., 1903, 9, 234. Two titles are listed in Ottley: On Company's Service published in 1905 Ottley 7621 and Thanks to Sanderson published in 1911Ottley 7622 but Erb is not. In 1924, fellow novelist Edwin Pugh recalled his early memories of Pett Ridge in the 1890s:
I see him most clearly, as he was in those days, through a blue haze of tobacco smoke. We used sometimes to travel together from Waterloo to Worcester Park on our way to spend a Saturday afternoon and evening with H. G. Wells. Pett Ridge does not know it, but it was through watching him fill his pipe, as he sat opposite me in a stuffy little railway compartment, that I completed my own education as a smoker... Pett Ridge had a small, dark, rather spiky moustache in those days, and thick, dark, sleek hair which is perhaps not quite so thick or dark, though hardly less sleek nowadays than it was then.
Pett Ridge was a compassionate man, giving generously of both his time and money to charity. He founded the Babies Home at Hoxton in 1907 and was an ardent supporter of many organisations that had the welfare of children as their object. This charitable zeal, and the fact that he established himself as a leading novelist of London life, led to him being characterised as the natural successor of Dickens. All his friends considered Pett Ridge to be one of life's natural bachelors. They were rather surprised therefore in 1909 when he married Olga Hentschel. Four of his books, including Mord Em'ly, were adapted as films in the early 1920s, all with scripts by Eliot Stannard. Pett Ridge's great popularity as a novelist in the early part of the century declined in the latter years of his life. His work was considered to be rather old fashioned, though he still wrote and had published at least one book in each year in the final decade of his life. His last work, Led by Westmacott, was published in the year after his death. William Pett Ridge was cremated at West Norwood on 2 October 1930. Largely Wikipedia. ODNB entry by George Malcolm Johnson
Robbins, Michael
Rogers, H.C.B.
Rolt, L.T.C. [Tom]
Rush, Robert William
Robert William Rush died on 4 September, 2007, at the age of 94. He was born in Accrington on 23 September, 1912 and lived in the town throughout his life. He was a pharmacist and had joined the [Stephenson Locomotive] Society as long ago as 1933, being our second longest serving member. He was the author of several works on railway, tram and bus subjects, including ‘Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and its Locomotives, 1846-1923’ and ‘Accrington Public Transport, 1886-1986’. He contributed to the ‘Journal’ on a number of occasions with his East Lancashire memories; his last article describing the triangular station at Accrington was in the November/December 2003 issue.
Sagle, Lawrence William
Born 1892; died 1975. Appears to be a minor Cecil J. Allen who specialised in history of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. As with much of declining value Internet more sales blurb than information.
Scott, Wiliam John
Died Ramsgate in 1924 aged 73 (obituary Locomotive Mag., 1924,30, 220): member and for a time president of the Railway Club. He was formerly incumbent of St. Saviour's Church in Sunbury Common and appears to have been an active Anglo Catholic. He was a relatively prolific railway writer and observer of railways and recorder of train speeds. SeeLocomotive Mag., 1921,27, 332, Cecil J. Allen's Timekeeping and City of Truro. Locomotive running, past and present—No. 220. Railway Wld, 1971, **32,**6-9.. mentions Scott.
Scourfield, Sir Owen Henry Philipps
Born on 10 October 1847, died Williamston, Pembrokeshire. 5 February 1921. Educatedc at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford. Land ower about 8,000 acres. See Locomotive Mag., 1921, 27, 79
Sekon, G.A.
Simmons, Jack
Skempton, Alec Westley
Smith, David L.
Spaven, David
Spent his working life in and around the rail industry. His first book, the award-winning Mapping the Railways, was published by Times Books/HarperCollins in 2011. Highland Survivor: The story of the Far North Line, published by Kessock Books in 2016, was also an award-winner. .
Stead, Christopher
Stretton, Clement Edwin
Tatlow, Peter
Born 1936. Author of a few books, many articles, and fairly stern letters. Note in his Oakwood Press book_Harrow & Wealdstone: fifty years on_ shows that he trained as a Civil Engineer on the Southern Region and then moved to motorway construction (bridges), and thence to a firm of civil engineering consultants, and is now retired. Thus his comments on cranes and bridges are highly relevant.
Theroux, Paul
Thomas, David St John
Tomlinson, W.W. (author of North Eastern Railway)
Tuplin, W. [Bill]
Warren, James Graeme Hepburn
Webb, Ben
Editor of the Southern Railway Magazine: why did the "Locomotive enginers of the LMS" never get written?
Fifty of the famous : music composers: their lives and portraits ... With a music quiz, etc. Staines : Ian Allan, 1945. 63pp.
Locomotive engineers of the GWR. London: Ian Allan, 1946. 31pp.
Locomotive engineers of the LNER. London: Ian Allan, 1946. 76pp. illus. (incl. ports.)
Brief biogaphies of LNER and its constituents
_Locomotive engineers of the Southern Railway and its constituent companies._London: Ian Allan, 1946. 87pp.
Waller, Peter
Brought up in Bradford, and grew up as the city’s trolleybus network gradually declined. In 1986, he commenced in a career in publishing, working for a number of years as Ian Allan Ltd’s Publisher (Books), where he oversaw the commissioning and publication of a wide range of books. The first book that he wrote was British and Irish Tramway Systems since 1945 in 1992. Since then he has written a number of books on transport subjects. Moving to Shropshire in 2007, he is now a full-time author and editor. He is also a director and secretary of the Online Transport Archive, a director of Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride, chairman of the West Shropshire Talking Newspaper, a committee member of the National Railway Heritage Awards and a past president of the Rotary Club of Shrewsbury.
Wheeler, Geoffrey
Fired by steam consists of twenty four coloured plates based on water colour paintings produced by air-brushing. Most are of Great Western locomotives, but there is also a non-streamlined Duchess and a Princess Royal in LMS red and an A4 in garter blue. The Author born in Penn, Bucks in 1929 and from 1945 joined Great Western Railway and trained in the drawing office of the Civil Engineer at Paddington and later produced cut-away artwork for The Eagle comic Went freelance in 1961. Died 1995. See also Rly Mag., 1981,127, 20.for autobiographical details and rather better reproductions of his paintings
Whitehouse, Patrick Bruce
Williams, Charles
Wrottesley, Arthur John Francis
Significant author of three volume study _The Great Northern Railway_published by Batsford (Ottley 11783/third volume in Addenda in Ottley 3) and The Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway published by David & Charles in 1970 (2nd edition 1981) (Ottley 12378) and Famous underground railways of the world published by Muller in 1956 and revised in 1960 (Ottley 2323). Barrister-at-Law. Had been taught at Wellington College and University College, Oxford where he read history and law. Called to the Bar in 1932. Served in Royal Norfolk Regiment and Judge Advocate General's Department during WW2. Special Assistant in the Office of the Chief Legal Adviser to the British Transport Commission and British Railways. Joined Railway Club in 1925 and electred President in 1973.
© Kevin P. Jones [text unless quoted from elsewhere]
Updated: 2022-11-04