This volume covers the final decade of British steam, looking at steam traction in a wide variety of geographical locations around the British Railways network.
The book covers a wide variety of classes of locomotives, that were withdrawn during the last decade of steam traction, some of which examples are now preserved.
Malcolm Clegg, has been taking railway pictures since the early 1960s and has access to collections taken by friends who were recording the steam railway scene during this period.
This book is a record of his and other peoples journeys during the last decade of steam in the 1960s.
GUEST REVIEW FROM MARK MAGUIRE
Today I am delighted to be able to hand over my blog to my husband Mark so that he can share with you his review for The Last Days of British Steam:
“The end of mainline steam operations in Great Britain in the summer of 1968 needs no introduction to railway enthusiasts. The incremental, but relentless elimination of steam traction in favour of diesel and electric traction under the rubric of ‘modernisation’ remains a contentious matter to this day with countless books; magazines and ‘bookazines’ being devoted it.
Images of rows of perfectly serviceable steam locomotives awaiting the cutters torch are galling, and their presence appeared to complement the rolling programme of branch line closures; the loss of freight traffic to the expanding motorway network, and the loss of passenger traffic to rising personal car ownership. In essence, the death of the steam locomotive became a metaphor for the decline of, and disinvestment in, the former nationalised railway network and the broader loss of the vocation of the railwayman.
However, if there was a saving grace to the ‘Modernisation Programme’, it was the impetus that it provided to enthusiasts and photographers the length and breadth of the country to document steam operations across a variety of operational settings as steam retreated towards it’s final northern enclave. Indeed, there are no shortage works in this field. The sight of work-stained express locomotives stripped of nameplates hauling freight services; work-stained tank engines on dilapidated branch lines, and desultory freight workings emanating from overgrown marshalling yards will be a sad, yet familiar sight to many.
This brings us neatly onto the subject matter at hand; ‘The Last Days of British Steam’ by Malcolm Clegg.
During the course of the introduction, the Author establishes the foundations for the broader work and provides a brief outline behind the modernisation of the railways. The narrative views the last decade of steam as being one underpinned by government disinterest; profligacy, and the eradication of community transport links in predominantly rural areas. By making judicious use of the Author’s own collection of photographs and those of Peter Cookson, the Author provides a considered snapshot of steam tractions’ final decade across a variety of settings ranging from shunting; freight workings, steam-hauled passenger expresses and even the odd diesel-drag!
The work comprises of a significant number of high quality black and white images from across the regions, albeit with a Yorkshire preponderance. The variety of locomotives covered by the book is impressive, ranging from the diminutive Pug through to rarities such as Thompson’s A1/1. Most appetites are catered for, with representatives of GWR; LMS, LNER and Southern Railway classes being documented alongside the BR standard classes. In their own way, each of the enclosed images successfully captures both the enduring romance of the steam-age railway, and the melancholy of it’s destruction. The sheer variety of traffic flows; the heavy industrial connection, and the charming rural disposition of the archetypal branch line, all apparently lost, are all captured for posterity within this book. The images focusing upon the Welsh Valleys; Weymouth Tramway, and the Somerset and Dorset Joint being cases in point.
In conclusion, this is an enjoyable sojourn into the de-facto ‘mixed traction’ period where steam was celebrating it’s last hurrah. The assembled photographs are of a high standard, and the accompanying captions are concise but informative. The book is rounded out by a chapter devoted to additional locomotive details and information which whilst detailed, is a little dry but does not detract from the book as a whole.
This book would make a sensible addition to the library of any steam enthusiast with an interest in steam’s final years.”
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