Advice on buying overseas railway goodies

All right, a quick note here to say something on how to find books on certain railway subjects given our pathetic bookstores cater more to car enthusiasts- and the train books are horrifically expensive! Of course, the best thing to do is buy online. So how do you get the most of your money when buying from say the UK or America?

Research!

See a book on the subject on ebay- whether America, UK or Australia, never bid on a item unless you have some idea of what the book is retailing for elsewhere. Often, when you factor in postage you can often get a better deal on Amazon!

A good site to check for british related railway books is Antiqbook- I managed to acquire a copy of the wonderful LNWR locomotive book I mentioned in an earlier post for about half of what someone is currently selling for on ebay. I will add several more good sellers at the end of this post.

Should you buy from the US or UK? Firstly, some things will ONLY be available in the UK or viceversa- you won't find many books on small UK branch lines or locomotives studies on Amazon US unless its a british seller. Also, note that postage seems to vary IMMENSELY from seller to seller. Amazon has a flat rate, but not everything will ship to Australia. American postage is very varied, and I have had to wait longer for US deliveries in general. My record for a package from the UK (Scotland, actually) was four days! (and a very fair priced postage) Generally I've noticed postage for the UK sellers on ebay to be around 6-15 dollars, depending on size- and some sellers are more fair than others.

One very important factor- the exchange rate. The American dollar is killing us, but the Pound is the same its been the last couple of years (averaging around 45 pence to our dollar). Although most people will tell you to source the items from the US instead, I have in the past bought books that have worked out less in the UK than in the US- remember that our dollar is no longer 95 cents to the Greenback, and when the exchange rate comes up with inflated American postage it can really blow out the cost. Not that the UK is immune to this, of course, but I would suggest weighing up the postage costs and the item cost itself before clicking 'buy'.

Whatever you do, don't buy anything from overseas without working out exactly what its going to cost you in AU$. The best site for currency exchange is undoubtedly Xe.com which does up-to date conversions on current market rates- crucial! You should always check the exchange rate just before you hit 'buy'- if you check even one hour earlier things can change for better or worse.



One thing to watch out for in exchange rates: Paypal, the choice of payment used by an awful lot of sites, exchanges money at a lower rate (maybe 1 or 2 cents) than what it is currently being sold for, meaning this will increase your costs slightly- a thing to watch out for. Also, NEVER pay for an item by international money order from your bank- they will charge you though the nose.



One final recommendation I can make: be extremely careful dealing with any country who uses the Euro. Even though this is cheaper than the pound, the postage costs are HORRIFIC. I once ordered a book from italy that cost 10 euros, and had 28 euros postage added to it...coming out at around 70 DOLLARS.



Some good sites:

T-P Rail Books (this gentlemen has some great books, some of which are at very low prices: his postage to australia is 3 pounds surface: extremely fair

UK Book World

Amazon UK (the american one is simply .com)

Antiqbook UK: a fantastic collection of books of every kind, from all manner of seller.


I will add more as I find them, or if you have any good ones please comment!

More T-shirts, REVIEW: "The Leader Project- Fiasco or Triumph?"

Right, about time for an update. At the moment I'm working on a special Highland Railway shirt (which has been praised by the Highland Railway Society!) so anybody who's a fan of the Scottish Lines will be very happy.

Now, for the first of my reviews: given that a limited 00 Gauge run of the famous 'Leader' prototype built by Oliver Bulleid for the Southern is to be expected within one or two years, I thought it timely to cover what is undoubtedly one of the best books about this controversial engine. 'The Leader Project: Fiasco or Triumph?' by Kevin Robertson covers every aspect of the engine's life: from the first experiments done on the H1 Atlantic 'Hartland Point' through to the designs life under BR and its highly sketchy decision to scrap it and two partially completed sisters. The author carefully examines the merits and demerits of the project, and comes to an extremely fair conclusion (and one that most steam fans should agree with in light of the evidence).

What is interesting is not only the engine data but also what has until recently been swept under the proverbial carpet- the attitudes of BR to the project, and the mystery behind why 'Leader' seemed to behave better whenever Bulleid was present and why a number of successful runs were ignored. As for the photographs, it is PROFUSELY and superbly illustrated, with photographs that have seen publication. 'Hartland Point', the Leader itself, its operations and its demise all appear, sadly there is no colour but given the time period and the relative secrecy associated with the project this is unsurprising. However, the magnificent painting on the front cover is definately a great shot!

My verdict?

9/10

If my review has interested you, check out the amazon link (avaliable in papaerback or more expensive hardcover- although the painting is bigger on the hardcover:

LEADER: FIASCO OR TRIUMPH?

As a follow up, consider tracking down a book written about of the 'Leader's' little brother, which has been covered much less but in fact seems to have done much better- it was designed by Bulleid after becoming chief of the Irish CIC railway, to burn peat turf, giving rise to its famous 'Turfburner' tag.

This book, 'Bulleid and the Turf Burner' is not as easy to find but is a great tome not just about the 'Irish Leader' but also other Irish experiments in turf-burning locomotives. Although a litle thin for my liking, it is probably the only good book on the subject, so it is also recommended:

8/10 (deducted a point for the length, which is irritating for non-british buyers given how bad the exchange rate is!)

Amazon link (but try ebay and amazon.co.uk as well)

My LNWR' "battle of the CMEs" post has fallen pretty much by the wayside, in the meantime let me try and bring the best to the blog of all the railways' many subjects!

T-SHIRTS FOR SALE!

INTERJECTION!

Now in addition to enjoying this blog, you can purchase the first of what will be many rail-way themed shirts on my redbubble page. And what better way to start than with two designs of LNER shirt?

One has 'LNER 4472 DONCASTER' in the classic yellow/red lettering (as close as I could get it without seeing the original writing close people!), and the classic LNER ellipse symbol, made with great difficulty in Photoshop!

Please consider purchasing one and help support my efforts to make even better ones!

REDBUBBLE PAGE LINK

Sittingbourne holding on....

Much to the relief of many, the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway seems to now have a better chance of survival. In addition to powerful council and public support, this news has been posted on the official website:

Until very recently these discussions had proved fruitless and meant that we had to resort to a legal approach to add weight to our case.

In early December an offer was received from M-real which is being considered by both the Trustees of the Railway and Swale Borough Council. We will update this website when further information is available

I urge all to continue supporting the line, through the donation pages avaliable on their website (bottom of this post), so we have an even greater chance of pulling off a marvellous resurrection!

Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway

Save the Sittingbourne and Kemsley!!!!

STOP PRESS!

This is an emergency public announcement on belhalf of a member of the Heritage sector who desperately needs help in surviving. The Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway is an industrial heritage railway operating out of Sittingbourne Paper Mill, which is owned by Finnish company M-real and is currently up for sale. As a result, the railway has been given notice to quit the place they have been for almost 40 years to leave when the lease runs out at the end of January.

The line is attempting to tender a bid to buy the land, and desperately needs our help in raising money. I encourage all railfans and history lovers to dig deep and help our friends in Sittingbourne to keep an important piece of industrial history running. A donation of 20 pounds (50$AU) is not a huge amount, and it will be especially worth it if we can all pull off the impossible, done only with our help.

The donation website.
Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway Homepage.

BREAKING NEWS! Tornado's final main line test

Although I'm still plugging along with my LNWR post, I thought it might be best to quickly post up some exciting news that's just been posted on the A1 Trust website, concerning that wonderful engine, Tornado:

Tornado...will haul her final test train on the Network Rail main line from York to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and return on Tuesday 18th November 2008. This test train, sponsored by National Express East Coast, will consist of 10 carriages plus a class 67 diesel locomotive, equating to about 550 tons, and will run at up to 75mph. The new £3 million Peppercorn class A1 60163 Tornado will be wearing National Express livery for the test train as the train operator is the modern-day inheritor of the routes the class A1s were designed to work on.

So, let me just weigh in a brief statement: today, Tueday the 18th, will see Tornado in its LAST tests for mainline running, and thus getting closer to hauling its first main line official passenger train. To make it even better, we'll see it for the first time in a paint scheme other than the plain works grey we've seen it in thus far.

The full post can be read here.

Also, a reminder that the engine needs money to continue to operate, so please free up a little cash and donate something to the A1 Steam Trust! Actually, it would probably be a good thing to donate something to the other new build projects while you're about it too!

Surviving LNWR lovomotives

As a further pre-script to the LNWR 'Battle of the CME's' which I'm currently researching, I will present a short list of surviving LNWR locomotives- and I do mean a SHORT list. Only two pure Webb engines survive (no counted as well as a Webb/Ramsbottom rebuild, and an unusual engine I will mention later!) thanks to the sledgehammer that was Whale's arrival as CME and the later sickle of the Midland Railway faction in the LMS after the grouping. And what they didn't scrap, British Railways took care of later on.

From the 20th Century only ONE LNWR ENGINE survives, (for the reasons above). As it is, the Bowen-Cooke designed G2'Super D'0-8-0 no 49395 is a fine example of the Premier Line, and, incredibly, is back in operation after a protracted overhaul! The engine can be (at the time of writing) found on the Churnet Valley Railway.

The other engines are of course from the previous century. One of Webb's successful 0-6-2T 'Coal Tanks'from 1881 has survived, on the famous Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. Currently, it is out of service undergoing restoration, at Ingrow Workshops with work progressing well.

The other Webb Engine is 790 'Hardwicke', one of the legendary Webb 'Improved Precedent' 2-4-0s...but known to most enthusiasts and enginemen as the '6ft 6in "Jumbos"'. It is especially happy that this engine has survived, given its mighty performance in the 1895 "Races to the North". In a magnificent run from Crewe to Carlisle, no.790 reached its destination in just 2 hours and 6 minutes, at an average speed of just over 67 miles per hour! The feat is all the more impressive given that its route included the steep and difficult Shap summit in its path. ('Hardwicke', coincidentally, is not the only famed 'Jumbo', classmate 'Charles Dickens' worked the Manchester-Euston return express for over 20 years- and in doing so covered over 2 million miles- a record for steam locomotives that still stands today! It is unlikely to be broken, much like Mallard's speed record. Sadly 'Charles Dickens' did not survive into preservation, joining many other 'should-have-been-saved' engines). Number 790 is in the National Collection at the National Railway Museum, York.

The last official LNWR engine (not one that was absorbed from another railway company), 'Orion', is ironically, one of the much-demonised Webb compounds (in this case, the 'Alfred the Great' class). The reaction of most enthusiasts to this would be: 'what? they were all scrapped!ALL of them!!' which was true, except for this oddity. It is not, indeed, a full sized engine- but a minature built to run on 9 1/2" gauge track! However, it is still an official LNWR engine- and built in the same manner as its compound brothers. Here it is best to let the official owners, the Stephenson Locomotive Society, explain:

Although only a miniature locomotive, constructed to run on 9 1/2" gauge track, Orion (LNWR 1957 of the 'Alfred the Great' class) was built approximately 100 years ago by G.R.S. Darroch. Darroch was Assistant Works Manager at Crewe until 1941, and he bequeathed Orion to the Society on his death in 1959.

The size of the engine does not diminish this significance. Orion is the last surviving Webb Compound in the world to have been built at Crewe Works by the London & North Western Railway. Orion is one of only a handful of former LNWR locomotives surviving in preservation anywhere in the world, to any scale. Although built for private use by Mr Darroch all the parts of the locomotive were cast and machined at Crewe Works and the locomotive therefore qualifies as a genuine LNWR locomotive. There are undoubtedly other live steam locomotives built as replicas of LNWR prototype designs. The SLS-owned Orion is unique, this example is the only one built by the LNWR in its main workshops and therefore, as mentioned above, is a genuine LNWR locomotive survivor!

In 2005, 'Orion' was fully restored to working order, and can currently be found in the 'Locomotion' centre (owned by the National Railway Museum) in Shildon, County Durham). Thus, despite all the efforts by a number of factions to eliminate Webb's compounds entirely, one has managed to live on! As mentioned, even though it is a minature, it is built to exactly the same specifications as the larger originals! So, thankfully, we can still see one of the odd designs in action, although it was a sad act of history that none of the originals survive(particularly, in my view, the 'Teutonic' class legend, Jeanie Deans).

The other two survivors are not pure LNWR engines, coming into the company via another railway after its absorption into the Premier Line- in this case, the highly profitable Grand Junction Railway, who built the famous works at Crewe! The pleasant lined Columbine 2-2-2 no. 49 dates from 1845, and was the first new engine to be built at Crewe Works! After its retirement from express passenger work, this engine was used to haul directors saloons (having been given an LNWR cab, later removed in preservation) before being withdrawn for preservation at Crewe in 1902! It is currently in the National Railway Museum on static display.

The last steam survivor (an LNWR EMU from the pre-grouping days survives) is quite the oddity, although most visitors that see it at 'Locomotion' would not guess so! Originally built as a Crampton locomotive (with a very low slung boiler- and two MASSIVE driving wheels- 8'6"! Incredibly, these are not the largest driving wheels seen in the UK-according to H.C.Casserley, the Bristol and Exeter Railway had some 9 footers!) 4-2-2 by Francis Trevithick for the GJR. The design was realy an attempt to compete with the very large engines deisnged for the GWR Broad Gauge by I.K Brunel, although, according to O.S. Nock:

One cannot help feeling that these 'fancy' engines- 'Cornwall', the Southern Dividion 'Cramptons', the Stephenson long-boilered 4-2-0s and others- must have appealed to Brunel's sense of humour, not least in the flourish of trumpets with which they emerged from several works.

("The Premier Line", pg 27)

It was later rebuilt as a conventional locomotive by John Ramsbottom in LNWR days, the drawings done by a young F.W. Webb! Like 'Columbine', this engine was used to haul director's saloons, although it lasted well into LMS days- 1927! After this, it was withdrawn and preserved- currently, at the 'Locomotion' in Shildon.

There is a strange legend started by persons unknown, who claim that Cornwall travelled down the Madeley bank at 117mph! Nock's view on this ridiculous rumour is thus:

The tale of 'Cornwall' travelling down Madeley Bank is of course, just fiction, if she had been able to attain anything approaching such a speed with a loaded train, it is tolerably certain that with the primitive brakes [avaliable]..then she would never have stopped in Crewe. For corroborative evidence on this point, ask anyone who travelled on the "invitation Run" of the "Coronation Scot" in 1937!

("the Premier Line", pg 27)

As a side note here, the strange Crampton design has been covered by a number of authors, and a notable account of the various experiments with the odd types (not just by the LNWR) can be found in the book "Experiments with Steam " by Charles Fryer.

I think it best to leave the last words on 'Cornwall' once again to that celebrated railway writer, O.S.Nock, taken from his fine book The Premier Line:

As for 'Cornwall', it can only be described as a freak in its original 4-2-2 condition, with boiler below the driving axle. But the rebuilt 'Cornwall', which dates from 1856, is still with us today, and maintained in fine condition at Crewe Works, and is naturally the subject of great historical interest. The one certain feature of the original Cornwall handed down to posterity is that pair of lovely great 8ft 6in wheels...embodied most successfully in Mr Webb's rebuild of 1858. As existing today she has something of three engineers about her: [the driving wheels] of Trevithick, a modified Allan form of double framing, while her 'upper works' are pure Webb...One feels a debt of gratitude towards Webb for turning the wheels and chassis of a pretty hopeless freak into a handsome engine- and to later Chief Mechanical Engineers for preserving her from the scrap heap!

(pg 26-27)


It is sad that so few of the LNWR's engines survive, particularily mixed are some of the classic classes: the 'Lady of the Lakes' (also known as 'Problems'), DX Goods, the 'Cauliflowers', Whales 'Precursors', Bowen-Cooke's 'George the Fifths'...however, it could be worse- at least we are blessed with a few survivors- and remember that only around 11 LNER engines have survived, despite the advent of the preservation movement during the last years of its designs working life!

Next up, the mighty battle of two great locomotive men, Francis William Webb and George Whale, the CMEs of the LNWR and the final question as to whether Webb was a bad CME or not! (in this case, a preview- the answer is a resounding 'not!')