Glory Days: Western Region Steam Around London

Kevin McCormack

• Publisher: Amberley Publishing
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9781445694566
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: History of Photography
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Glory Days: Western Region Steam Around London is a photographic tribute to the former Great Western Railway (GWR) in the post-war years up to the end of Western Region (WR) steam on 31 December 1965. There was certainly a great deal of glory to be found in the 1950s, especially in the second half of the decade, with the creation of new named express trains, the reintroduction of the old GWR chocolate and cream colours on express coaching stock and the adoption of green livery with full lining out on all classes of locomotive that were likely to haul passenger trains. However, by the last two years covered in this book, the locomotives were generally unkempt and had been demoted to menial tasks. Numberplates and nameplates had often been lost and it was very depressing to see them in this deplorable state. Explore the glory days of Western Region steam around the capital in this wonderfully evocative book.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• The Main Lines to the West and Northwest
• The Final Fling of the ‘Castles’
• Preservation of the Pioneer ‘Castle’
• Locomotive Depots
• The ‘Dukedogs’ Western Region Farewell
• The Greenford Branch
• The Brentford Branch
• The Uxbridge Branch
• The Staines West Branch
• The Windsor Branch
• The Wycombe and Marlow Railways
• The 4.15 p.m. from Paddington