Railway history » John Petley Book
John Petley Book
An associate of Geoffrey Kingscott Consultants Limited, John Petley, has produced a book, Southern, Loco-Hauled Finale, 1980-2005, ISBN 0 9950918 0 2, commemorating, in a series of superb photographs, the last years of the old Southern Region of British Rail.
Published by, High Weald Transport Publishing, it consists of 128 pages in hardback A4 format, and contains 244 black and white illustrations. Copies can be obtained from the John Petley, Appletree Cottage, Stunts Green, Herstmonceux, E. Sussex, BN27 4PR for £21.95 plus £2 postage.. Cheques should be made payable to J. Petley.
Ever since the Brighton Main Line was electrified in 1933, the Southern Railway and its successors have been in the forefront of replacing locomotive-hauled passenger trains with multiple units. However, it has taken until 2005 for timetabled loco-hauled trains to disappear completely.
This book, consisting entirely of pictures from the author's collection, is a commemoration of the final 25 years of these services. Some of the workings covered, such as Waterloo-Exeter and Victoria-Gatwick, will be familiar to many. However, some rarely-photographed trains are depicted as well, such as the short-lived Newhaven-Manchester train, withdrawn in 1987 after only a year, and the cross-country services to Portsmouth via Guildford. A few memories will also be stirred by pictures of long-forgotten trains such as the "Crompton"-hauled 17.20 London Bridge-Uckfield and the overnight newspaper trains, complete with solitary Mk I coach. Overall, in fact, the author has deliberately chosen not to concentrate excessively on the better-known workings, for these (especially the West of England Line) have been adequately covered elsewhere.
Although the book primarily covers scheduled loco-hauled trains, a few specials are also illustrated, including the late-lamented "Merrymakers" and SAGA trains, along with a few pictures of the VSOE Pullmans and some enthusiasts' specials.
Although Black & White may seem a bit "Retro" these days, it is quite surprising how good even quite contemporary liveries, such as Virgin Red and Wessex Pink can look in monochrome. The book will certainly bring back a lot of fond memories for many Modern Traction fans in the South of England.
If Britain has been slow off the mark with the Plandampf, Virgin Trains can probably take credit for the first Plandiesel. We bid farewell to the unsuccessful attempt to put Kent on to the Cross Country map with another look at D9000 Royal Scots Grey on the 6.58 a.m. Birmingham-Ramsgate, this time at Westgate-on-Sea on August 21, 1999.