John Scott-Morgan – författare

The light Railways Act 1896 marked the final phase in the development of the traditional railway in Britain, being designed to open up rural areas of Britain that had been bypassed by the larger railway companies.The promoting and construction of light railways allowed many parts of Britain and Ireland, to have an outlet to the outside world and major cities, which previously they had not enjoyed.The Light Railway is not designed to be a definitive history, but a pictorial tribute to the brave attempt to develop a rural network of lines to serve some of the areas of the British Isles and Ireland that had sadly been neglected by the large main line companies throughout the initial and later railway development period from 1825 to 1896.This volume looks at the railways themselves, motive power and infrastructure that made up these small but important lines, promoted by our Victorian and Edwardian ancestors.

The Stroudley Brighton Terriers were one of the most successful designs of tank locomotive to run on the railways of Britain.They were introduced in 1872 and operated in main line service until November 1963, when ten members of the class were preserved both officially and by heritage railways.This volume tells the facinating story of there service and operational life, both on the main line and later when many of them had a further existence on light railways and in industry.John Scott-Morgan and Peter Steer have spent many hours reserching the interesting history of these Victorian survivors that operated long after there original lifespan on many railways across Britain.

Southern Railway Gallery is the first volume in a new series of picture books, designed to be of interest to railway historians and modellers. The series subjects are themed to include an interesting mixture of useful historic illustrations, depicting locomotives, rolling stock and infrastructure.Southern Railway Gallery covers the history of the Southern Railway from its beginings in 1923, to nationalisation in 1948, covering most aspects of its fascinating history and operations. The book looks at aspects of the Southern from the early years in the early 1920s, when the company had old worn-out stock on many of its lines, through to the introduction of new modern rolling stock and the electrification of much of its network in Kent, Sussex, Surrey and parts of Hampshire.The company operated an extensive rail and bus network on the Isle of Wight, which covered the whole island and is well remembered to this day.Although the Southern introduced a number of modern new steam classes, its main goal was to electrify as much of the network as possible, however this did not preclude the company from introducing two classes of successful Pacific type locomotives in the 1940s.The company owned and operated docks and harbours throughout its existence, having an extensive fleet of ferries and cargo vessels, some of which served with the Royal Navy in the Second World War as hospital ships. The Southern, also operated bus and road services, which covered many areas not served by a local railway station on the system.The Southern Railway ceased to exist at midnight on 31 December 1947, after a remarkable existence of twenty-four years.

Southern Railway Gallery is the first volume in a new series of picture books, designed to be of interest to railway historians and modellers. The series subjects are themed to include an interesting mixture of useful historic illustrations, depicting locomotives, rolling stock and infrastructure.Southern Railway Gallery covers the history of the Southern Railway from its beginings in 1923, to nationalisation in 1948, covering most aspects of its fascinating history and operations. The book looks at aspects of the Southern from the early years in the early 1920s, when the company had old worn-out stock on many of its lines, through to the introduction of new modern rolling stock and the electrification of much of its network in Kent, Sussex, Surrey and parts of Hampshire.The company operated an extensive rail and bus network on the Isle of Wight, which covered the whole island and is well remembered to this day.Although the Southern introduced a number of modern new steam classes, its main goal was to electrify as much of the network as possible, however this did not preclude the company from introducing two classes of successful Pacific type locomotives in the 1940s.The company owned and operated docks and harbours throughout its existence, having an extensive fleet of ferries and cargo vessels, some of which served with the Royal Navy in the Second World War as hospital ships. The Southern, also operated bus and road services, which covered many areas not served by a local railway station on the system.The Southern Railway ceased to exist at midnight on 31 December 1947, after a remarkable existence of twenty-four years.

First published in 1985 by Moorland Press, The Light Railways of Britain & Ireland has remained unavailable for more than twenty-five years, until now. Re-released by Pen & Sword, this is a thorough and engaging book that covers, in depth, the fascinating story of Britain's last railway development, the Rural light railways, constructed as a result of the Light Railways Act 1896.Rigorously detailed, it charts the overall history of the last great railway boom in Britain – the light railway boom – from 1896, to the beginning of the Great War in 1914. During this period a large number of narrow and standard gauge lines were constructed in both Britain and Ireland, in order to serve and open up areas in both countries that, at the time, lacked adequate transport links. This book tells the story of how these lines were constructed and why, in most cases, they eventually failed, due to post-First World War road competition.Authored by two highly acclaimed writers of transport history, this is a true testament to, and a timely reminder of, Britain's last railway development.

The Hayling Island Branch was one of Britain's most iconic sea side lines, connecting Havant with Hayling Island via Langston Harbour. Opening in 1865 for freight and 1867 to passenger traffic, it was after a few years of local control, managed and operated as part of the London Brighton & South Coast Railway, who were responsible for its upkeep until the railway grouping in 1923, when it became a part of the Southern Railway. The railway had a colourful and bucolic existence, with trains headed by the attractive Stroudley Terrier class tank locomotives and a collection of vintage carriage stock. In 1948 the branch became part of the Southern Region of British Railways, carrying on as a local and at times heavily used branch line, until its closure in November 1963\. Today the lines track bed is a walking path from end to end, with only the former goods shed at Hayling Island to show the visitor any tangible evidence of the railways existence.

The East Kent Railway was one of Britain's less well known light railways, a part of the Colonel Stephens group of lines, the East Kent Railway was meant to open up the newly discovered Kent coal field and help to make its shareholders wealthy, however things took a different turn, when the projected colliery's along the line did not materialise the way the promoters had first envisaged.The only colliery to produce quantities of coal being Tilmanstone near Shepherdswell, which opened in 1912.There were other pits started along the formation of the line from Shepherdswell to Wingham, but in the cases of the other pits, only the surface buildings or test shafts were constructed, before the work was abandoned.This was largely due to flooding and the poor calorific quality of East Kent coal, which had to be mixed with other coal to be effectively used.There were four colliery's completed in Kent, the East Kent Railway only served one of them and this together with the other three lasted until the latter part of the 20th century.The railway operated a loss making passenger service to Wingham and for a few years to Sandwich Road halt on the line to Richborough Port line, however the service to Wingham Canterbury Road came to an end in October 1948, after British Railways had taken control.The East Kent Railway lasted through two world wars and was nationalised in 1948, becoming part of the Southern Region of British Railways, it closed to traffic in 1984, during the coal strike.