{"product_id":"an-illustrated-history-of-the-atlantic-coast-express-9780860936343","title":"An Illustrated History of the Atlantic Coast Express","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 'Atlantic Coast Express was one of the most interesting trains on Britain's railway network, departing Waterloo with up to 13 carriages and being divided at various points at route to serve numerous destinations throughout Devon and north Cornwall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFormally named in 1926 as part of a drive to improve the image of the Southern Railway, the 'ACE', as it was commonly known, had its origins in the Ocean Mail expresses introduced in the late 19th century by the Southern's forbear, the London \u0026amp; South Western Railway, as part of its ongoing rivalry with the Great Western. Suspended for the duration of World War 2, the train was restored to the timetable in 1947, Bulleid's powerful Pacifies taking over from the Maunsell 'King Arthurs' that had been used since the its inauguration. Timings improved throughout the 1950s, but by the early 1960s holiday patterns in Britain were changing as people increasingly travelled by car.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Beeching report of 1963, together with the transfer that year of all former Southern lines west of Salisbury to the Western Region, sealed the fate of most of what had already become known as the 'Withered Arm', and the last 'Atlantic Coast Express ran on 5 September 1964.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this addition to the 'Illustrated History' series John Scott-Morgan considers the circumstances that led to the introduction of the 'ACE', the locomotives and rolling stock used and the destinations served, as well as giving a detailed description of the route from Waterloo and including personal reminiscences from those who recall the train in its heyday. Illustrated with more than 250 photographs, most previously unpublished, the book will prove invaluable to modellers and historians as well as to readers with a more general interest in the Southern Railway and the places it served in an era now long passed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardback with dust jacket, 128 pages, over 250 black \u0026amp; white photographs\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: Good-Very Good\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"OPC","offers":[{"title":"Secondhand (246)","offer_id":32721921900653,"sku":"9780860936343","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1910\/7111\/products\/9780860936343.jpg?v=1591704354","url":"https:\/\/rail-books.co.uk\/products\/an-illustrated-history-of-the-atlantic-coast-express-9780860936343","provider":"Rail Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}