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The
club is frequently asked for details of books which describe walking old
railways, or the history of railway closures. As far as we are aware,
the following bibliography is comprehensive, but we would be pleased to
hear of any omissions. ISBN numbers are provided so that visitors to this
site can order the books from local libraries, if they wish.
Please
note that this list does not include details of books about 'forgotten
railways' or individual branch lines, since such titles are not specifically
about walking old railways. If we included such titles, this list would
become very long and (we suspect) rather time-consuming to maintain..
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ab Elis, Rhys,
Railway Rights of Way (pb, 120pp, b&w illus, plus 3 separate
appendices), Branch Line Society, 1985, no ISBN number. Original copies
of this invaluable guide are now collectors' items, but fortunately
an updated version of the entire work is now available on CD: click
here
for further details and search for 'Railway Rights of Way'.
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Atterbury, Paul,
Along Lost Lines (hb, 256pp, illus), David & Charles,
2007, ISBN 9780715325681.
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Atterbury, Paul,
Discovering Britain's Lost Railways (hb, 159pp, b&w and
colour illus), AA Publishing, 1995, ISBN 07495104555
- Bradbury, Julia, Railway Walks
with Julia Bradbury (pb, 144pp, illus), Frances Lincoln Publishers,
2010, ISBN 9780711231672; note that a DVD of the accompanying television
series is also available
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Burton, Anthony,
Walking the Line (hb, 192pp, b&w and colour illus), Blandford
Press, 1985, ISBN 0713715545
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Cockman, F.G.,
Discovering Lost Railways, Shire Publications, 1973-1980,
ISBN 0852634927. (Later editions of this book are available.)
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Daniels, Gerald,
and Dench, Les, Passengers No More (hb, 144pp, b&w illus),
Ian Allan, 1980, ISBN 0711009511. A gazetteer of railway closures,
listed by line and station name. (This book was designed as a companion
to Ian Allan's British Railways Pre Grouping Atlas, which
depicts Britain's railway network as at 31 December 1922.)
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Davies, Hunter,
A Walk Along the Tracks (2nd edition, pb, 196pp, b&w
illus), Dent, 1993, ISBN 0460860992
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Ellison, M.H.,
Scottish Railway Walks (pb, 192pp, b&w illus), Cicerone
Press, 1989, ISBN 1852840072
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Emett, Charlie,
Walking Northern Railways, Volume One: East (pb, 159pp, b&w
illus), Cicerone Press, 1986, ISBN 090236376X
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Emett, Charlie,
Walking Northern Railways, Volume Two: West (pb, 234pp, b&w
illus), Cicerone Press, 1989, ISBN 1852840064
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Hemery, Eric,
Walking the Dartmoor Railroads (pb, 144pp, b&w illus),
Peninsula Press, 1991, ISBN 1872640125
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Holland, Julian,
Exploring Britain's Lost Railways (pb, 304 pp, illus), Collins,
2015, ISBN 978-0008139537
- Holland, Julian, Lost Railway
Walks (pb, 140pp, illus), Collins, 2019 (2nd edition), ISBN 978-0008319243
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Holland, Julian,
The Lost Lines of Britain (hb, 256pp, b&w and colour
illus), AA Publishing, 31 October 2010, ISBN 978-0749566302
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Lewis, Stephen,
Boots on the Line - Walking 1000 Miles of Britain's Dismantled
Railways (pb, 364pp, illus), True to Line Publications, 2007,
ISBN 0955723604
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Lovett Jones,
Gareth, Railway Walks - Exploring Disused Railways (hb, 288pp,
b&w illus), David & Charles, 1983, ISBN 0715385437
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Jones, Mark, Discovering
Britain's First Railways – A Guide to Horse-Drawn Tramroads
and Waggonways (pb, 144pp, b&w and colour illus.), The History
Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0752462738
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Searle, Muriel
V., Lost Lines, (hb, 208pp, b&w illus), New Cavendish
Books, 1982, ISBN 0904568415
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Somerville, Christopher,
Walking Old Railways (hb, 144pp, b&w illus), David &
Charles, 1979, ISBN 0715376810
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Somerville, Christopher,
Walking West Country Railways (hb, 112pp, b&w illus),
David & Charles, 1982, ISBN 0715381431
- Suggitt, Gordon, North West
Rail Trails (pb, 150pp, illus), Sigma Leisure, 1999, ISBN 978-1850586883
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Turnock, David,
Railways in the British Isles (hb, 256pp, b&w illus),
David St. John Thomas, 1990, ISBN 0946537542
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Vinter, Jeff,
Railway Walks: GWR & SR (pb, 204pp, b&w and colour
illus), The History Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0752451039
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Vinter, Jeff,
Railway Walks: LMS (pb, 192pp, b&w and colour illus),
The History Press, 2009, ISBN 0752451046 (to be re-published in October
2009)
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Vinter, Jeff,
Railway Walks: LNER (pb, 208pp, b&w and colour illus),
The History Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0752451053
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Vinter, Jeff,
Railway Walks: Wales (pb, 208pp, b&w and colour illus),
The History Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0752449340
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Vinter, Jeff,
The Taff Trail Official Guidebook (pb, 128pp, colour illus),
Sutton Publishing, 1993, ISBN 0750903414
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Vinter, Jeff,
Vinter's Railway Gazetteer, 2017 edition (pb, 168pp, b&w
and colour illus.), The History Press, 2017, ISBN 978-0750969765
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Wham, Alasdair,
Borders Railway Rambles (pb, 94pp, b&w illus), Stenlake
Publishing, 2004, ISBN 9781840332896
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Wham, Alasdair,
Edinburgh and Lothians: Exploring the Lost Railways (pb,
152pp, b&w illus), GC Books, 2006, ISBN 9781872350141
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Wham, Alasdair,
The Lost Railway Lines of Ayrshire (pb, 80pp, b&w illus),
GC Books, 1997, ISBN 1872350275
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Wham, Alasdair,
The Lost Railway Lines of Galloway (pb, 72pp, b&w illus),
GC Books, 1996, ISBN 1872350968
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Wham, Alasdair,
The Lost Railway Lines South of Glasgow (pb, 103pp, b&w
illus), GC Books, 2000, ISBN 1872350089
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Wham, Alasdair,
Trossachs and West Highlands: Exploring the Lost Railways
(pb, 141pp, b&w illus), GC Books, 2009, ISBN 978187235 –
read a review
David Turnocks
Railways in the British Isles is the most academic study of old
railways, but a great deal of factual and historical information can be
gleaned from all of the above titles.
Two major studies of
old railways have been commissioned by the government:
The Appleton Report
was disappointing and did little more than state the obvious by listing
and categorising what remained on the ground. However, the Grimshaw Report
set out detailed proposals for the re-use of many disused lines in a series
of 32 separate annexes. The organisation which produced the
Grimshaw Report metamorphosed into Sustrans Ltd., the Bristol-based path-building
charity, and many of the proposals in the report's annexes have now been
turned into successful railway paths throughout the UK. In fact, some
now form part of the National Cycle Network.
If your appetite for
books on old railways has still not been satisfied, you could try the
11 titles in the David & Charles' Forgotten Railways series,
or the same publisher's 14 volume Regional History of the Railways
of Great Britain, although this deals with all lines, whether closed
or open. Since the 1980s, a number of 'Then and Now' books have also been
published, some of the most popular being by Mac Hawkins, who goes to
extraordinary lengths to return to the exact spot where a period photograph
was taken, even if it means hiring special equipment to regain the height
afforded by a demolished railway structure such as a signal or footbridge.
Mac's books The Great Central Then and Now and The Somerset
& Dorset Railway Then and Now are particularly recommended.
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