Southern Steam
This is a long-awaited account of the story of steam power on the Southern Railway as a whole. It is told from intimate inside knowledge; Mr Nock knew personally many of the people principally involved and had wide experience of Southern steam both as a passenger and on the footplate. The three major constituents of the Southern entered the 1923 'grouping' with workmanlike if not very ornate liveries of dark grey, brown and green. Only a handful of engines were named. The vigorous administration of Sir Herbert Walker—ever driving towards greater efficiency—earned the displeasure of some travellers by its standardization and change, and even roused the wrath of some sections of the Press. A campaign of counter publicity from Waterloo included the bestowal of names upon all main-line express locomotives, and Maunsell's fine new 4-6-0s of the `King Arthur' and 'Lord Nelson' classes quickly became immensely popular. There was, of course, far more to it all than mere publicity. After dealing with the problems and triumphs of the Maunsell era, Mr Nock traces the swift transition to Bulleid; to the impact his Pacifics' made upon a public eagerly looking for anything new, and to the astonishing performances of these engines in the interchange trials of 1948. In addition to a fine selection of photographic illustrations there are dimensional particulars of all the principal locomotives produced in the period under review.
Hardback with dust jacket, 14x22cm, 200 pages, black & white photographs
Condition: Good/Very Good with a little foxing to edge of book
ISBN: 9780715352359
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