One of our best received railway titles in recent years was Northern Rail Rover. That book was a selection of unpublished photos taken in the final years of steam on Britain’s railways by photographer, Allan Heyes. We were delighted when Allan agreed to compile a sequel from his extensive archive which covers his travels in search of steam in the 1960s. The result is this all new collection of his work, Northern Rail Steam.
This book takes the reader on a journey, recorded in over 200 images, which starts in North Wales and then moves on through Chester to Merseyside. There follows a roughly circular itinerary starting around the Wigan area and south east Lancashire before heading to the north east and Cumbria before returning to Lancashire. While the majority of photos cover steam on the BR network, some explore the colliery and other industrial lines which fed traffic onto the main lines. Sequences of pictures at certain locations will recreate the lineside experience of many enthusiasts at this time and will bring them to life for those too young to remember those days.
A feature of the photographs of Allan Heyes is that they honestly and accurately portray the reality of those last years of steam. There is no attempt to glamorise the subject, the dirty and unkempt nature of engine sheds and their locos is here for all to see. The book also focuses on the infrastructure and the environment of the steam railway so much of which has been swept away in the decades following the end of steam on Britain’s railways.
