Peter Collins - A Railwayman's View

Railway Books > Peter Collins - A Railwayman's View

The Peter Collins books are currently ONLY available as eBooks in the ePub 3.0 format.

This decision was made due to the currently high costs of paper and the price we would need to charge customers for the book
is too high for us given the current economic climate.

However, if you purchase the eBook then we will provide you with a discount code
to get £15 off the printed version when it is printed.

An Interactive PDF version is also available to those buying the ePub format, please contact us if you require this format.

ePub readers are available for tablets and PCs. (They can be read on smart phones, but we do not recommend it).

	For Apple OS and Apple iOS devices then please use the Apple Books app to read the book. This is free to download from the AppStore.
	For Apple iOS, AppleOS, AndroidOS and Microsoft Windows devices the Adobe Digital Editions software can be used to read the book. This is free and available here.

Click here to search this collection:

Images 1-1 of 1 displayed.

PC-Book-BR-Western-Region-Vol1
Price: £15.00 (during Black Friday Sale) for ePub format Digital Book, 180pp, 157 Black and White photos. All photos are available to buy separately via links on the book.

I met Peter Collins for a coffee and a croissant in Carluccios at Manchester Piccadilly station several years ago. He had contacted me after seeing an advertisement in the Railway Magazine seeking railway enthusiasts with a photographic collection that might be worth publishing. Given Peter lives south of London and the fact he was willing to make the journey north made it a no-brainer to meet up; but it is always interesting to see whether other people’s perceptions of a good photo collection match your own.

I wasn’t disappointed. Peter’s collection of over 1300 images, predominantly from the 1970s, spans all regions of British Rail. Even better, the large majority of negatives are in excellent condition, especially given they had been stored in envelopes and plastic sleeves for over 50 years in some cases. The only problem, as I found out early in the conversation, was that Peter didn’t take notes of his photographic exploits and as most negatives are from Ilford Black & White film we have no specific dates in most cases of when photos were taken. We have to rely on Peter’s memory.

Undaunted, however, what we do have are some well taken and well composed (in my humble opinion) photographs of British Rail in the 1970s and early 1980s. This was a time when British Rail still ran a network of passenger services based on locomotives and rakes of carriages and most freight was still made up of 4-wheel vans and mineral wagons. In most regions the Modernisation Plan of 1955 was still in place, although as we shall see in the first volume of Peter’s collection the Western Region had reluctantly begun to divest itself of the Diesel Hydraulics in favour of the ‘standard’ Class 31s, 47s and then 50s.

We have had some ‘healthy’ debates about what should be included in this book (and hopefully future books) and even more energetic ‘discussions’ on the possible dates and services that Peter has captured with his cameras. Fortunately, for us both, the internet and social media has come to the rescue on many occasions to resolve uncertainties. Moreover, we hope that the captions provide some useful background to some well composed photographs that are not the normal record of the railways at this time. For me personally, Peter captures a broad picture of 1970s British Rail, in all its grim glory before the arrival of bland trains painted in bright colours, their designs led by marketeers and accountants.

This first volume depicts the Western Region, from London Paddington to Penzance, Wales and the Midlands. Warships, Hymeks and Westerns are superseded by Goyles, Syphons, Duffs and Hoovers. The future of intercity travel is represented by the Prototype High Speed Train. Many of the photographs include spotters or passengers. If you recognise yourself, get in touch with us at ellybellypublications@outlook.com.

I hope you enjoy the book as much as we both enjoyed putting it together. Peter and I are now looking forward to having more ‘debates’ and ‘investigations’ as we move on to producing the second volume from Peter’s collection; the Eastern Region.

Images 1-1 of 1 displayed.