The Galloping Sausage and Other Train Curiosities

Author: Geoff Body
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750968524
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 282

Book Description
The formative years of Britain's railway network produced a host of ideas, activities and characters, quite a few of which now seem not only highly unusual, but sometimes little short of ridiculous. Weird schemes and designs, extravagant behaviour, reckless competition and larger-than-life characters all featured in the genuine struggle of the railway system to evolve. While the dawning of regulation and common sense brought about more uniform and responsible practices, factors like the weather and the innate complexity of railway operation continued to produce a stream of nonstandard incidents and outcomes, from wild storms to unusual equipment. This book, by ex-railwaymen Geoff and Ian Body, captures over 150 entertaining snippets, stories, and strange and unusual facts from an ample supply of railway curiosities.

The Galloping Sausage and Other Train Curiosities

Author: Geoff Body
Publisher: History Press
ISBN: 9780750965934
Category : Railroads
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The Galloping Sausage and Other Train Curiosities

Real Railway Tales

Author: Geoff Body
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750957026
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 237

Book Description
Running a railway is a complex business, constantly throwing up drama, misadventure and the unexpected. Geoff Body and Bill Parker have collated a rich selection of railwaymen's memories and anecdotes to create an enjoyable book of escapades and mishaps, illustrating the daily obstacles faced on the railways, from handling the new Eurostar to train catering, nights on the Tay Bridge to rail 'traffic cops', and from mystery derailments to track subsidence. However interesting the infrastructure of the large and varied railway business may be, the real heart of this great industry lies in its people, the complex jobs they occupy and the dedicated way in which they carry them out.

False Starts, Near Misses and Dangerous Goods

Author: Geoff Body
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 075098189X
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 247

Book Description
Running a railway is a complex business beset with drama. The operation of heavy equipment at speed, twenty-four hours a day, across the full length of the country and using extremely technical signaling, track and mechanical engineering is no mean feat and throws up a constant stream of challenges. Fortunately, the highly professional railway staff are ready to deal with these daily obstacles using their expertise, dedication and, as is so often required, a sense of humour. Here Geoff Body and his son Ian have collated a selection of entertaining and revealing anecdotes that illustrate just how unexpected working on the railways can be.

Amazing and Curious Railway Tales

Author: Colin G. Maggs
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750997818
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 227

Book Description
Who won in a race between a train and a pigeon? How can you warn bats to leave a railway tunnel? Before the era of the car, which railway company carried the most prisoners? Colin G. Maggs has collected all of these answers – and more! – in Amazing and Curious Railway Tales, a compendium of stories, curiosities and little-known facts about Britain's railways.

The Great Western Steam Retreat

Author: Keith Widdowson
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750999772
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Book Description
In mid-1964, Keith Widdowson got wind that the Western Region was hell-bent on being the first to eliminate the steam locomotive on its tracks by December 1965. The 17-year-old hurriedly homed in on train services still in the hands of GWR steam power, aiming to catch runs with the last examples before their premature annihilation. The Great Western Steam Retreat recalls Widdowson's teenage exploits, soundtracked by hits from the Beatles, the Kinks and the Rolling Stones, throughout the Western Region and former Great Western Railway lines. He documents the extreme disorder that resulted from that decision, paying tribute to the train crews who managed to meet demanding timings in the face of declining cleanliness, the poor quality of coal and the major problem of recruiting both footplate and shed staff. This book completes the author's Steam Chase series and provides a snapshot into the comradery that characterised the final years of steam alongside the long-gone journeys that can never be recreated.

Along Different Lines

Author: Geoff Body
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752490915
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Book Description
Running a railway is a complex business. However organised it is, there will always be surprises: often hilarious, frequently unexpected, but sometimes serious. Along Different Lines includes such bizarre 'everyday' events as coping with hurricanes, rogue locomotives and runaway wagons; PR successes and otherwise; the Brighton Belle, Flying Scotsman and Mallard; training-course capers; a wino invasion; trackside antics; the Eurostar backdrop; the birth of a prison; and royal and other special occasions. Expert authors Geoff Body and Bill Parker lovingly compiled this entertaining collection in which railway professionals recall notable incidents from across their careers. This illustrated compilation provides an enjoyable look back at life on the railways.

Second Chances at the Board Game Cafe

Author: Jennifer Page
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1035905515
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
** Buy CHRISTMAS AT THE BOARD GAME CAFE, the new festive, cosy romance in the Board Game Cafe series, now! ** *** In the cosy Yorkshire village of Hebbleswick, single mum Taylor dreams of a fashion design career, but she spends her days fixing zips, hemming skirts and worrying about her son, Max. At the local board game cafe, railway enthusiast Harry, still recovering from a painful breakup, dreams of fatherhood. When Taylor and Harry cross paths, sparks fly, but Harry's confidence issues and Taylor's concerns for Max threaten their budding romance. Can they find a second chance at love where they least expect it? Readers of Holly Martin and Christie Barlow will LOVE Jennifer Page *** Perfect for fans of: Cosy romance Small-town settings Characters that are made for each other *** Praise for Jennifer Page: 'An absolute delight from the very first page to the delicious end!' Faith Hogan 'Word perfect! I loved it!' Heidi Swain 'Another cracker from Jennifer Page! This is a hug of a book.' Caroline James 'A heart-warming romance perfect for curling up with. I absolutely loved it.' Kitty Wilson

Britain's Toy Car Wars

Author: Giles Chapman
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750999098
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Book Description
For fifty years, Britain made the best toy cars in the world, expertly shrinking every kind of reallife vehicle and producing them in their countless, die-cast millions. Dinky Toys were the 1930s pioneers, then in the 1950s came the pocket-money Matchbox series, followed by Corgi Toys bristling with ingenious features and movie stardust. But who were the driving forces behind this phenomenon? And how did they keep putting the latest, most exciting cars into the palm of your hand year after year? In this illustrated and expanded edition of Britain's Toy Car Wars, Giles Chapman reveals the extraordinary battle to dominate Britain's toy car industry, and the dramas and disasters that finally saw the tiny wheels come off ...

Death, Dynamite and Disaster

Author: Rosa Matheson
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750957018
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 244

Book Description
A safe mode of transport today, the railways were far from vehicles of sleepy commute when they first came into service; indeed, accidents were commonplace and sometimes were a result of something far more sinister. In this fresh approach to railway history, Rosa Matheson explores the grim and grisly railway past. These horrible happenings include memorable disasters and accidents, the lack of burial grounds for London's dead, leading to the 'Necropolis Railway', the gruesome necessity of digging up the dead to accommodate the railways and how the discovery of dynamite gave rise to the 'Dynamite Wars' on the London Underground in the 1880s and 1890s. Join Rosa as she treads carefully through the fascinating gruesome history of Britain's railways.