Review: The Trains we Loved

(WARNING! I GO OFF ON A TANGENT HALF WAY THROUGH...)

Here's a quick review of a book that I recently picked up and was delighted with: 'The Trains we Loved' by C. Hamilton Ellis, yet another distinguished railway author (and painter) who is almost as well known as O.S. Nock (probably the best known of them all).

This particular book was published in 1947, has had its name taken by a more recent book by David St John Thomas and is most assuredly NOT the same book. Both, however, have something in common: they are overwash with NOSTALGIA. This is in effect what makes both books so interesting especially for modern readers who have never seen the railways when worked by steam.

While the newer book is awash with information about the experiences of the author in BR days, this older book has crucial memories of a life that began over a century ago: in the days of the pre-grouping powers: the famous LNWR, Midland, London and South Western, original GWR and the North British are but a few of the long-gone railways discussed in wonderfully descriptive prose that can only come from someone who saw the railways in action as a boy.

What makes this book thereby so important to modern eyes is the fact that few traces remain of these lines: a mediocre number of pre-grouping locomotives have survived, and fewer in active service: for example, the LNWR has just one locomotive surviving from its 20th Century stock (the recently overhauled 'G2').

One thing that is different about Ellis' (and O.S Nock's) books is how different they are to modern treatises on such subjects (say, a modern author's take on the Highland Railway will be matter-of-fact and be based on research- and author's viewpoint- rather than the experience of engines/system in action and the benifit of first hand observation of the line compared to other such lines). Mr Ellis is only to happy to label things as good or bad -or even both!-in his view, whereas most authors tend to be biased but not deliberately involved. Here is a fine passage which illustrates what I mean. Ellis writes as if describing something in a novel:

Crossing London River, the railway system of Kent was one of the most individual, most important, best of a kind, worst of a kind, most delightful and most detestable in Great Britain.

What a wonderfully different viewpoint! Modern authors cannot say such things unless they have information from various sources (for example, Edward Talbot's 'The LNWR Recalled' discussed in an earlier post has stories and information from those who worked/lived in LNWR days- the evidence overwhelmingly, for example, redeems F.W Webb of his stigma and also gives his compounds more creedence- this would not be possible without such evidence!).

Of course, this also adds a few problems- first, Ellis is harsh on things he personally dislikes, such as F.W Webb's reign on the LNWR, describing him as an austere, joyless man- several anecdotes from enginemen and others who knew Mr Webb describe him as an authoritarian yet good-natured man appreciative of humour and charitable (see 'The LNWR Recalled' for more). However, this is not Ellis' sole domain- O.S Nock is less critical but also gives Webb a mean serve. Disgracefully, many modern authors from Adrian Vaughn to Owen Jordan (the latter's 'Jordan's Guide to British Steam Locomotives' gives extremely poor misinformation about Webb's experiments and character, the book itself a travesty of criticism that the author is NOT qualified to make on such poor evidence in many subjects mentioned) continue to spiel rubbish about Mr Webb based on dubious evidence- a whitewash against him by his successor, George Whale. (it might interest many that Ellis' biography of Webb in Twenty Locomotive Men has been largely attacked by those in the know as being full of misinformation). A fine biography on him, 'F.W. Webb: in the right place at the Right time',corrects these misinformations very well. Plainly put, Ellis cannot be trusted on Webb in any of his texts!

However, The Trains we loved is a superb tome nonetheless. It is even better when added to Mr Ellis 'Some classic locomotives', which describe a number of types of locomotive- not classes, but designs, such as the beyer-garratt, the Crampton, the 4-6-0 etc (one highly interesting part is given to Ellis' musings on idiotic names applied to some wheel arrangements, such as 'American'for the 4-4-0. He gives the lovely name 'Old English' to the 2-4-0: would that enthusiasts take it up!).

As with all Ellis' texts, there are superb colour paintings to accompany it. Given colour photos of the engines shown are RARE if not NON-EXSISTANT, then these pictures are especially important!

Overall, a superb book- that I mark down solely for Mr Ellis' historical accuracy on some things (apart from the Webb thing I can't bring up the others offhand, but there are some. I think...)

GET A COPY!
9/10
As always, I can assist buyers in tracking it down- ebay is of no use here most of the time.