Description

Kevin Robertson. Hardback Alan Sutton 1988

London was Mecca for the railway enthusiast when steam was in its heyday: here, at the various terminuses, could be seen engines large and small representing all four pre-Nationalisation companies – the London & North Eastern, the Great Western, the London, Midland and Scottish, and the Southern. Here huge steam monsters fought their way out of Euston or Waterloo, fussy little tank engines pushing them with all their might; and in the background smaller machines busily shunted stock ready for the next working.

The areas around London were popular among steam photographers, and in The Last Days of Steam Around London, Kevin Robertson has drawn together the best of the available material in a vivid portrait of each of the four regions. Included are not only the express engines at the main terminuses, but also on some of the more obscure workings, as well as the less well-known types of train.

In addition to this unique collection of photographs – many of which have never been seen before – Kevin Robertson traces the development of the lines and the demise of steam. There are glimpses of railway life, of the drivers and of those who worked behind the scenes, of the stations and the passengers and of the many places along the lines either invisible to the public, or perhaps long forgotten.

The Last Days of Steam around London is a unique photographic record of an era of steam now gone and lost for ever that will be of interest to all steam enthusiasts.

Hardback with dust jacket, 176 pages, black & white photographs