3 Review(s)

Being an avid collector of old photographs, particularly those featuring railways, well-known Yorkshire writer Peter Tuffrey was aware of the vast photographic archives lurking in the depths of the Yorkshire Post newspaper. Recently renewing his contact with an old acquaintance and newspaper editor, Peter Charlton, the author was presented with a marvellous opportunity to select some of these photographs for use in Yorkshire Railways: From the Yorkshire Post Archives. Under a number of interesting chapter headings such as 'Views from the Lineside', 'Staff', 'Crashes', 'On Shed and Works' and 'Preserved Railways and Railway Stations', we see the many different ways Yorkshire people have been involved with railways, particularly in the days of steam. The lineside pictures have amazing clarity, having been scanned and enhanced expertly from large format glass plate negatives. But that is not to detract from the book's other pictures, which have been carefully composed and taken over the years by the Yorkshire Post's own reputable staff photographers. The picture captions are well-researched, informative and reflect Peter's eye for the unusual and eccentric.Yorkshire Railways not only provides interest for the real enthusiast but also for the social historians among us who want to look back and get the feel for how it really was in the days before Dr Beeching came along with his axe.