The Severn Valley Railway (Heritage Railway Guide) - Hardcover

Vanns, Michael A

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 147389204X ISBN 13: 9781473892040

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport, 2017

Synopsis

The Severn Valley Railway has long been considered by many to be Britain’s premier heritage railway. That reputation was earned early thanks to the quality of locomotive and carriage restoration, the careful refurbishment of stations and the standard of service offered to visitors. As with all heritage railways it has had to adapt to changing expectations over the years whilst attempting to keep the original aims of railway preservation at the heart of everything it does. This guide traces the history of the original Severn Valley Railway from the early plans of the 1840s, through its days when operated by first the Great Western Railway and then British Railways. The last chapter looks at the challenges and the achievements of the preservation era and the whole narrative should be of interest to anyone keen to know more of the story of a national treasure.

About this title

About the Author:

Michael Vanns was born in Newark-on-Trent in 1956. After studying history and history of art at Leicester University, and a short spell at Tamworth Castle Museum, Michael joined the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust in 1978. He remained there until 2009, working on a variety of projects starting with the Elton Collection which examined the Industrial Revolution through contemporary prints, drawings and books. He is the author of ‘Witness to Change: A Record of the Industrial Revolution’, an appreciation of the Elton Collection published in 2003. He was involved in museum education and in a number of large Heritage Lottery funded projects, including the refurbishment of the country’s best preserved Victorian decorative tileworks, and the recreation of a small town Victorian street. For both these projects he was responsible for designing the displays and, in the case of the latter, the choice of buildings that were to be reconstructed.

Review:

“There are so many heritage railways in the UK now – it seems that steam railway travel is becoming alost as popular now as it was during its heyday. This superb book reveals the Severn Valley Railway in all its glory – I can’t argue as to its being the finest; we have our own North Norfolk Railway here in Sheringham, and the trains are always, without exception, crowded, and they have started to regularly cross the road to the mainline. This book is a reminder of how things used to be, and how many people would like them to be once more. Stunning!” (Books Monthly)

About this edition

• Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 147389204X
• ISBN 13: 9781473892040
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 104