Farewell to Trains: A Lifetime's Journey Along Britain's Changing Railways by David St.John Thomas

$49.99 NZD

Category: Railway & Trains

David St John Thomas is Britain's one-time bestselling railway author, who built a formidable publishing empire first based mainly on railways. In Farewell to Trains, he summarizes his lifetime's passion. Personal reminiscences and evocative descriptions of railway life are interspersed with extracts fr om over 65 years of the author's railway writings, and illustrated throughout with archive photography. In this poignant love letter, the author says farewell to the restaurant cars, the sleeping carriages, the non-stop expresses and the cheap excursion trains, the local stations bustling with the railway's peripheral trades and liveried staff, the semaphore and signal boxes, and of course the great steam engines. ...Show more

To the Edge of the World: The Story of the World's Greatest Railway by Christian Wolmar

$55.00 NZD

Category: Railway & Trains

It is the world's longest railway line. But it is so much more than that, too. The Trans-Siberian stretches nearly 6,000 miles between Moscow and Vladivostok on the Pacific Coast and was the most ambitious railway project in the nineteenth century. A journey on the railway evokes a romantic roam through the Russian steppes, but also reminds travellers of the vastness of our world and hints at the hardships that were endured in its construction. Christian Wolmar expertly tells the story of the Trans-Siberian railway from its conception and construction under Tsar Alexander III, to the northern extension ordered by Brezhnev and its current success as a vital artery. He also explores the crucial role the line played in both the Russian Civil War -Trotsky famously used an armoured carriage as his command post - and the Second World War, during which the railway saved the country from certain defeat. Like the author's previous railway histories, it focuses on the personalities, as well as the political and economic events, that lay behind one of the most extraordinary engineering triumphs of the nineteenth century. ...Show more

Great Railway Maps of the World by Mark Ovenden

$30.00 NZD

Category: Railway & Trains

From Mark Ovenden, the author of London Underground by Design and Metro Maps of the World, comes Great Railway Maps of the World, a beautifully illustrated, comprehensive history of the greatest railway maps, and the story behind them. The history of the railway is the history of Britain - and France, and America, and Japan, and Russia, among many others. Featuring hundreds of images, covering two centuries of advertising, surveyors' maps, route guides, travel posters, photos, and Google Earth maps, this is a book brimming with history, data and anecdotes. It is a must-have guide for every train fanatic, armchair or ticketed, as well as lovers of graphic design, history and the romance of railway travel. 'The romance of the overground railway pours from the edges of many of the images in Great Railway Maps...Few other subjects can envelop such a heady mixture of design, history, geography and - more often than not - usefulness. It's well worth alighting on' - Will Dean, Independent 'Just the ticket...it is a glorious celebration of the pioneering history - and romance - of the railways' - Sunday Times Travel Books of the Year 2011 'If you love railways or know someone who does...this is the book for you' - Robert Elms, BBC London   Mark Ovenden is a British writer and broadcaster. At the age of seven, he travelled alone ten miles on the London Underground, armed only with a map. He later gained entry to a Graphic Design course by submitting a reworking of the London tube map. His previous books are Metro Maps of the World, Paris Metro Style and London Underground by Design. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and lives in Paris, France. ...Show more

World Railway Journeys : Discover 50 of the World's Greatest Railways by Julian Holland

$34.99 NZD

Category: Railway & Trains

Discover the fascinating histories and routes of 50 of the world's most scenic railways. Railway expert Julian Holland takes you on a journey around the world. Take a journey around the world by rail, from the American Rockies to the Australian outback, covering 50 routes from 35 countries. Detailed com mentary on the geography and history of each line, from leading railways expert Julian Holland, is complemented by prestigious Times mapping and beautiful photography. Railway journeys include; * Le Petit Train Jaune in the Pyrenees featuring France's highest railway station. * Cape Town to Kimberley in South Africa a feat of late Victorian engineering through the Hex River Mountains and across the Karoo Desert. * Qinghai-Tibet Railway in China contains the highest railway, tunnel and station in the world. * Trans-Australian Railway in Australia contains the world's longest stretch of dead straight track. * Cumbres Toltec Railroad in USA takes passengers on an awe-inspiring scenic 64-mile journey through the Rocky Mountains along the Colorado-New Mexico border. * La Trochita in Argentina where original oil-fired steam locomotives travel along a narrow gauge railway in the shadow of the Andes Mountains. ...Show more

Trains Unlimited in the 21st Century by Tim Fischer

$49.99 NZD

Category: Railway & Trains

ABC Local Radio's hugely successful podcast series The Great Train Show unearthed thousands of train enthusiasts across the country. Hosted by former deputy PM and renowned train obsessive Tim Fischer, the series covered such topics as the restoration of locomotives, childhood train memories, the import ance of rail during wartime, and travel on the Trans-Siberian railway. Trains Unlimited continues this entertaining and illuminating journey along the world's railways. It is about the history, excitement and romance of rail, including the twelve best rail experiences in the world, and it explores the future potential of rail - with unequalled energy efficiencies and strong environmental credentials, Tim makes a compelling case for an even greater role for rail transport in the 21st century and beyond. As wide-ranging, authoritative, fascinating and quirky as the radio program, Trains Unlimited is sure to delight all train enthusiasts and interested general readers alike. All aboard! ...Show more

Fifty Famous British Locomotives: The Story of the Stars of the Steam and Early Diesel Age by Peter Herring

$79.99 NZD

Category: Railway & Trains

This is a nostalgic guide to fifty of the most famous locomotives of the steam train and early diesel age, including the people, power and popularity that made them famous. It is packed with thrilling photographs of the locomotives at full steam, as well as colour photos taken after their restoration - many of which are unique to this book. It is complete with details of the engineering works that brought these exciting engines to life and the work of the men that kept them running, along with vital statistics for all the locomotives in the book. It is a perfect identification guide for today's trainspotters and railway enthusiasts, old or new. ...Show more

The Trans-Siberian Railway by Deborah Manley

$59.99 NZD

Category: Railway & Trains

No railway journey on Earth can equal the Trans-Siberian between Moscow and Vladivostok. It is not just its vast length and the great variety of the lands and climes through which it passes. It is not just its history as the line that linked the huge territories which are Russia together. It is a dream which calls countless travellers to the adventure of the longest railway in the world. This new edition of a classic anthology takes us through the tremendous achievement of the railways construction across harsh, unsettled lands through the earliest journeys of Western travellers and the trains on which they travelled, and their descriptions of fellow travellers, food, scenery, domestic arrangements, adventures on and off the train, convicts, revolution and war as the train carried them through a lonely, lovely landscape. ...Show more

Amazing and Extraordinary London Underground Facts by Stephen Halliday

$39.99 NZD

Category: Railway & Trains

This is a fascinating and useful reference to the history of the London Underground that reveals new insights into the history of the iconic transport system - the perfect gift for commuters, tourists and railway enthusiasts alike. For anyone who has lived, worked, visited or even passed through London, the tube is one of the iconic and defining characteristics of the city. "Amazing & Extraordinary London Underground Facts" takes you from the famous roundel symbol and standing on the right of the escalators, to the instantly recognisable and hugely influential route map. This title helps to discover the tales of the building of the first lines in the mid-nineteenth century and the steam trains that ran along them, the ever expanding network of routes, the abandoned ghost stations, the notorious incidents and colourful characters that have all played a part in the amazing and extraordinary history of the London Underground. ...Show more

Fading Steam by Holdsworth Malcolm

$69.99 NZD

Category: Railway & Trains

North American Railroads: The Illustrated Encyclopedia by Brian Solomon

$84.99 NZD

Category: Railway & Trains

This richly illustrated encyclopedia of classic and contemporary American railroads features consise histories of 101 U.S. and Canadian railroads, past and present. Illustrated with period and modern photography in both color and black and white, evocative print ads, and system maps, each profile is als o accompanied by one or more fact boxes offering details on the railroads' geographic scope, hardware, and freight and passenger operations. Spanning more than a century and a half, this giant compendium of "fallen flags," Class I behemoths, classic regional carriers, and transportation icons is sure to become the go-to compendium for railfans of all stripes. ...Show more

The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How it Changed the City Forever by Christian Wolmar

$29.99 NZD

Category: Railway & Trains

Since the Victorian era, London's Underground has had played a vital role in the daily life of generations of Londoners. In The Subterranean Railway, Christian Wolmar celebrates the vision and determination of the nineteenth-century pioneers who made the world's first, and still the largest, underground passenger railway: one of the most impressive engineering achievements in history. From the early days of steam to electrification, via the Underground's contribution to twentieth-century industrial design and its role during two world wars, the story comes right up to the present with its sleek, driverless trains and the wrangles over the future of the system. The Subterranean Railway reveals London's hidden wonder in all its glory and shows how the railway beneath the streets helped create the city we know today. ...Show more

Addington Railway Workshops: Working with Wood by Keith G. Brown

$49.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand Historical

Keith G. Brown documents Addington Workshops rich history from formation to closure and details his own experiences working as a tradesman carpenter at Addington from 1949 to 1987. The first book to document Addington's leading role in the manufacture and repair of rolling stock for New Zealand Railways , this is a fascinating look behind the fence of this once-famous facility. Lavishly illustrated with colour and black and white photographs, the workshop buildings, manufacture and repair of locomotives, carriages and wagons are all extensively covered. ...Show more