Books from other publishers

Rails to Old Walhalla

By Nick Anchen

Published by Sierra Publishing

96 pages, 173 x 245 mm, card cover, 139 photographs, 76 in colour.

This is a beautiful book about one of Australia’s most iconic old gold mining towns  ̶  Walhalla. The town is located at the bottom of a very steeply sided narrow valley, which challeged road, railway and tramway builders alike, but provided spectacular photographic opportunities.

The photographs are carefully selected, well composed, and very well printed. They date from the 1880s to the present day and include views of the town, the mining operations, tramways, the difficulties of transport to the town before the railway came, railway construction, railway operation, remains of the railway after it closed, previous attempts to restore the railway, and the current railway operations.

There are some rather rare colour photographs: the Star Hotel two weeks before it burnt down in 1951 (it was rebuilt in 1999), two of the beyer-garratt locomotive G42 in 1954, one of the last train to Erica in 1954, and several of the town in the 1950s. There are also many recent photographs of the town, its buildings, other remains, and the railway, including its bridges and all the locomotives. These photographs are of extremely high quality, both technically and visually.

The photographs are accompanied with brief text giving a history of the town, the mining operations, and the railway. These include recollections from people who worked on the railway.

$A29.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $26.96 plus postage]

(Weight 350 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.42

July 2011

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• The Douglas Shire Tramway - a 2ft gauge passenger and freight carrying operation at Mossman, far north Queensland.
• Le P'tit train de la Haute Somme - a French 600mm gauge line

$A13.20 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $12.15 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Railways of the Otway Ranges

By Nick Anchen

Published by Sierra Publishing

96 pages, 173 x 245 mm, card cover, 126 photographs, many in colour.

Covers the scenic Wensleydale, Forrest, and Timboon broad-gauge branches, and the Colac-Beech Forest-Crowes narrow-gauge line with brief sections on the timber tramways in the Otways. It is in the same style as the author's popular Railways of the Yarra Valley but with slightly more text content.

A wide range of photographs are included, including passenger and goods trains, steam and diesel locomotives, rail motors, stations, bridges, and scenery. Many of photographs have not been published before.

Photographs predominate, but the text and captions are informative and well done. A widely appealing book!

$A29.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $26.96 plus postage]

(Weight 350 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.41

April 2011

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• The Douglas Shire Tramway - a 2ft gauge passenger and freight carrying operation at Mossman, far north Queensland. It had an 0-4-4-0 mallet loco, and there is a rare illustration of a 2ft gauge railcar.
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales
• A fascinating and detailed scale drawing of a typical turn of the century country store.

Model railway articles include what to do with seaweed, techniques to make plastic look like wood and many others.

$A13.20 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $12.15 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.40

January 2011

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales
• Walhalla centenary weekend

The model railway articles include making custom decals, rot-free testles in garden railways, painting backscenes, modelling in card, an old Ford railtruck, and many others.

$A13.20 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $12.15 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.39

October 2010

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• Hampton Plains tramway at Mount Lyell, Tasmania
• Tullah Tramway, Tasmania

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.38

July 2010

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• Kalgoorlie and Boulder Firewood Company, Beria, Western Australia
• Third generation diesels in the canefields
• 2010 Southern Forests Narrow Gauge Meet
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Railways of the Yarra Valley

By Nick Anchen

Published by Sierra Publishing

96 pages, 170 x 240 mm, card cover, 126 photographs, many in colour.

This well produced book covers the scenic broad-gauge Victorian Railways’ Healesville and Warburton branches, and the main timber tramways.

A wide range of photographs are included, including passenger and goods trains, steam and diesel locomotives, rail motors, stations, bridges, and scenery. It includes a photo of Powelltown tramway tickets (in colour), and a picture of a Shay loco double-heading Little Yarra on a rescue mission. Many of photographs have not been published before.

Photographs predominate, but the text and captions are informative and well done. A widely appealing book!

$A29.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $26.96 plus postage]

(Weight 350 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.37

April 2010

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• Colorado Dreaming: A day on the Cumbres and Toltec scenic railroad
• Corrimal Coal Company 2ft gauge railway
• Britton Bros diesel logging locomotive - using Climax A class trucks (bogies) - includes scale drawing (Tasmania)
• Queensland canefield diesel locomotive liveries (1978 - 2005)
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales

(The model railway articles include detailed articles on A class Shay and A class Climax locomotives).

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.36

January 2010

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• Portable track for the cane fields
• The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
• Long Tunnel Extended Tramway - Walhalla
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales
• Industrial railways in New Zealand

(The model railway articles include detailed articles on A class Shay and A class Climax locomotives).

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.35

October 2009

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• An 8 ton vertical boiler two-cylinder Shay - scale drawing (and how to build a model)
• Georgetown Loop Railway, Colorado, USA
• Queensland Railway ambulances
• Narrow gauge railway images in library databases
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales
• Industrial railways in New Zealand

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.34

July 2009

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• South Australian Railways K class No.52 3ft 6in gauge 0-6-4T loco, including scale drawings
• Ida Bay 2 ft gauge railway, Tasmania
• Small (2 ft gauge) rolling stock with character (Queensland sugar railways)
• The cane trains of Ledesma (Argentina)
• Denver & South Park Mason bogie 2-6-6T - scale drawings showing original ornate livery in full colour (USA)
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales
• Baby Krauss locomotives in Australia

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

The Anatomy of a Garratt

A detailed look at the design and construction of K1. The original Garratt locomotive built for the Tasmanian Government Railways - A century ago.

By Peter Manning

Published by Peter Manning Design & Drafting

64 pages, A4 size landscape format, card cover spiral bound, about 350 illustrations.

This is a remarkable publication unlike anything we have sold before. Firstly it contains detailed technical diagrams (CAD drawings) of almost all components of the first Garratt locomotive in the world - the TGR's K1.

In addition it contains numerous sub-assembly diagrams from various aspects, shown in both complete form, and as cut-aways showing the interior workings.

The result gives an incredible amount of detail on the structure of the locomotive, how it works, and how it all fits together.

There is enough information here to enable you to build a new K1 if you feel so inclined!

$A39.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $35.96 plus postage]

(Weight 320 gm)

The Goondah-Burrinjuck Railway

By John R Newland

Published by Australian Railway Historical Society New South Wales Division

256 pages, A4 size, hard cover, numerous excellent photographs and other illustrations.

This is a completely new revised edition of this book. So far I have only had a quick look but it looks greatly improved on the previous edition.

$A55.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $49.50 plus postage]

(Weight about 1,300 gm)

Puffing Billy in the Modern Era

By Nick Anchen

Published by Sierra Publishing

96 pages, 170 x 240 mm, card cover, 155 photographs, almost all in colour.

This very well printed book contains an excellent selection of photographs of the Puffing Billy Railway, all in colour. It includes all the locomotives, a wide selection of beautiful scenery, many unusual features, and special events. Most of the photographs display a very high standard of composition, and some are quite outstanding. It would make an excellent gift, especially to people overeas.

$A24.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $22.46 plus postage]

(Weight 350 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.33

April 2009

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

68 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• A class Climax locomotives in Australia
• The Pelican River lifting bridge on the Moreton Sugar Mill's tramway near Nambour, Queensland
• The Wee MacGregor tramway, near Cloncurry, Queensland
• The Cane Trains of Ledesma, Argentina
• Wholestick trucks of Queensland sugar tramways
• Riding the White Pass & Yukon, (USA & Canada)
• The South Park Mason (single Fairlie) locomotives (USA)
• Lake Goldsmith Steam Rally
• Magnetic Island Tramway (Queensland)

This issue includes four scale drawings of A class Climax locomotives, three of which worked in Australia. Also included are magnificent coloured drawings of a 2-6-6T Mason bogie locomotive in its as-built livery of 1878.

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.32

December 2008

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

60 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• The sugar cane trains of Ledesma, Argentina
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales
• Narrow gauge railways in Germany

The model railway articles in this issue include (amongst others) modelling Queensland sugar cane wholestick trucks, modelling Mason-Fairlie locomotives, modelling a four-wheel A class Climax locomotive. All of these articles have a high level of prototype information.

There is also an article on A class Climax locomotives, including four scale drawings. However a number of errors have occurred with the production of these, and the article needs to be treated with caution.

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Copper at the 'Curry

By Norm Houghton

Published 2008 by the author

155 pages, A4 size card cover, 170 photographs and 25 maps, plans and diagrams.

A history of copper mining and smelting operations at Cloncurry, Queensland; with an emphasis on the railways and tramways which served them.

Contents

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

2. The Setting
   1. Mount Elliott Railway
   2. Dajarra Extension Railway
   3. The Dobbyn Railway
   4. Cloncurry the Pivot
   5. Boom Collapses
   6. The Livestock Trade

3. Selwyn Line
   1. Traffic patterns
   2. The Route
   3. Stations and Sidings
   4. Time Table

4. Dajarra Extension Railway
   1. Traffic Patterns
   2. The Route
   3. Stations and Sidings
   4. Time Table
   5. Safe working
   6. Speed Limits and Loads

5. Wee Macgregor Tramway
   1. Legal Manoeuvrings
    2. Construction
    3. The 2 ft Gauge Ore Tramway
    4. Traffic
    5. Time Table
    6. Train Working

6. Trekelano Tramway
   1. Construction
   2. The Route
   3. Time Table
   4. Closure and Disposal

7. Mount Cuthbert and Dobbyn Railway
   1. Traffic patterns
    2. The Route
    3. Stations and Sidings
    4. Time Table
    5. Train Operations
    6. Removal and Disposal

8.  The Aftermath

9. References

$A34.95 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $31.46 plus postage]

(Weight 550 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.31

October 2008

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

60 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

Apart from model railway articles, this issue includes:

• Queensland cane mills' second generation mainline diesel locomotives
• Goodwood 2 ft gauge timber tramway, Port Albert, Victoria.
• Baldwin locomotive colour schemes in Australia - colour prints of Sandfly 0-4-0ST, Mount Lyell 0-6-0T, and South Australian X class 2-6-0
• A day on the footplate of Couillet 2-4-2T locomotive No.861 on the Puffing Billy Railway
• A class Climax locomotives in Australia - includes four pages of detailed scale drawings of:
  • 15 ton wooden framed locomotive owned by Great Northern Timber Company (NSW), with subsequent variations when operating on Fraser Island, Queensland, and on Briggsvale Tramway (NSW)
  • 18 ton steel framed Langley Vale tramway (NSW) locomotive
• Preserved 2 ft gauge Lawleys 4-4-0 locomotive in South Africa.
• Argentina: The cane trains of Ledesma (700 mm gauge).
• Narrow gauge railways in England and Wales.

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Narrow Gauge Downunder - No.30

July 2008

Published by Gavin & Louise Hince

60 pages, A4 size, colour printed throughout.

This very well produced magazine is primarily directed to railway modellers but includes much prototype information.

This issue includes another article by David Fletcher on Baldwin locomotive painting styles, with special reference to 0-4-0STs (eg Sandfly), South Australian Railways X class 2-6-0 locomotives, and the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company's 0-6-0T locos. It includes beautifully detailed colour reproductions of the liveries these locomotives were painted in when they left the Baldwin factory.

Other articles relating to prototypes include A class Climax locomotives in Australia (including some excellent photographs), and how to find timber tramway relics east of Powelltown.

$A12.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $10.80 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Rails through the Bush

Timber and firewood tramways and railway contractors of Western Australia

Second Edition
By Adrian Gunzburg & Jeff Austin
Published 2008 by Rail Heritage WA

304 pages, 231 x 295mm landscape format, hard cover with dust jacket, many photographs (now including 28 in colour), maps and scale drawings of many locomotives at 1:64 scale.

This is the definitive work on the steam locomotives of the Western Australian logging and firewood railways, and Western Australian railway contractors. It includes a brief historical introduction to each company. Western Australian logging tramways were very different to those in the east. They were much bigger operations, and had a more railway-like character. They had a wonderful collection of locomotives, mostly from American and British suppliers, and most were bought new. Unlike in the east, few were geared, and few were "home-made".

This is a completely revised edition of the book first published by the LRRSA in 1997 which sold out within eighteen months.The reproduction of the black and white photos is now greatly improved by the use of the duo-tone process, and many are reproduced much larger.

$A99.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $89.10 plus postage]

(Weight 2,100 gm)

Beech Forest

Capital on the Ridge

By Norm Houghton
Published 2007 by the author

112 pages, A4 size card cover, many photographs and illustrations.

A complete history of the town of Beech Forest and surrounding district. It includes the important role the narrow-gauge railway, timber tramways and the timber industry played in the town's industry.

The book is digitally printed, and the photographs are well reproduced within the limitations of the printing process.

$A29.95 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $26.96 plus postage]

(Weight 450 gm)

Focus on ... Victoria's Narrow Gauge Gembrook Line - Part Three

A Pictorial Tribute to the late Edward A. Downs, Railway Historian

Compiled by John Thompson
Published 2007 by Puffing Billy Preservation Society

42 pages A4 size landscape format, soft cover, 50 photographs most published for the first time.

A follow-up to Focus on ... Victoria's Narrow Gauge Gembrook Line Part Two and produced to the same high standard.

It starts with a continuation of photos of the Saturday morning train on 24 January 1948, hauled by 13A, including views at Gembrook, Cockatoo, crossing bridge No.8, taking water at the Water Tanks, crossing bridge No.5, crossing another train at Belgrave, en route to Upwey, and crossing bridge No.1.

Then follow a series of pictures taken in March 1954 showing an assortment of rolling stock at Upper Ferntree Gully, the locos, loco shed, and loco facilities at Upper Ferntree Gully, and the goods transfer facilities.

Then follows a series of pictures taken in January 1955 including Belgrave, Emerald, Fielder, Gembrook, Selby, Menzies Creek, Clematis, Nobelius Siding, Nobelius, Lakeside, and Wright stations.

As usual in this series the photographs are printed as duotones. They are sharp, well exposed, the composition is excellent, the detail is wonderful, and the captions are well written and informative.

$A35.95 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $32.35 plus postage]

(Weight 280 gm)

Puffing Billy

Spirit of the Dandenongs

Revised Edition

By Nick Anchen. published by Sierra Publishing

72 pages, 240 x 170 mm, card cover, 260 photographs, almost all in colour, but some very small.

A general introduction to the Upper Ferntree Gully - Gembrook railway. Includes a potted history of the railway, a description of the line, and what is to be seen on the trip, a day in the life of an engine crew, flora and fauna of the Dandenong Ranges, details of the locomotives and rolling stock, including the three non-steam locomotives, and the goods vehicles, workshop operations, and special trains.

$A24.95 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $22.46 plus postage]

(Weight 240 gm)

Launceston Municipal Transport
1911-1955

By Ian G Cooper
Published 2006 by Transit Australia Publishing

170 pages, A4 size, soft cover, 145 photographs (18 in colour), 5 maps, illustrations of tickets in colour, fleet lists, bibliography.

Launceston was late amongst Australian provincial cities in developing an electric tramway system, and they missed out on the steam and horse varieties. But once they started, they developed their 3 ft 6 in gauge system with great enthusiasm, ending up with a system that was large for a city of its size. It seems to have been appreciated too, for its traffic figures were very high compared to other Australian tramway systems. At its peak in 1946 there were eight routes and 29 tramcars. Several of the routes were in very hilly areas and provided challenges both in construction and operation, with grades of 1 in 10.

This is a thoroughly researched history of the system, and very well illustrated. It includes full details of the trolley bus system that replaced the tramways, as well as the petrol and diesel buses operated by Launceston Municipal Tramways. The book is very well illustrated, and the quality of the photographic reproduction is good. The book ends in 1955 when the installation of the trolley-bus system was practically complete, - three years after the last tram ran. It is very interesting reading of all the problems after the second-world war due to the shortages of practically everything needed to run a transport system. Amongst the colour pictures are six postcards from around the 1912 era. Perhaps for me the most memorable photographs were of the three very peculiar steam buses which were tried in 1904-05. They win the award for wierdness, I think.

$A55.00 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $49.50 plus postage]

(Weight 900 gm)

Homes in the Hills

Historic glimpses of Barongarook, Gellibrand, Banool and Carlisle River

By Norman Houghton, published by the author

48 pages, A4 size, card cover, 40 photpgraphs, 8 maps and diagrams.

This digitally printed booklet is a brief history of the areas and communities served by the northern section of the Colac to Beech Forest narrow gauge railway. Contains much information on the railway and timber tramways, and includes many very interesting photographs, which are well reproduced within the limitations of the printing process. The photographs are not limited to railways and tramways, but include community buildings. There is much information on the rail trail.

Some of the maps are from the LRRSA book The Beechy, but are printed in one colour only.

$A12.50 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $11.25 plus postage]

(Weight 170 gm)

Focus on ... Victoria's Narrow Gauge Gembrook Line - Part Two

A Pictorial Tribute to the late Edward A. Downs, Railway Historian

Compiled by John Thompson
Published 2006 by Puffing Billy Preservation Society

46 pages A4 size landscape format, soft cover, 46 photographs most published for the first time.

A follow-up to Focus on ... Victoria's Narrow Gauge Gembrook Line Part One and produced to the same high standard. This one includes views around the loco depot at Upper Ferntree Gully in 1948, and rolling stock at Upper Ferntree Gully including two different NQR trucks adapted for livestock traffic.

Then there is a series of photos of the Saturday morning train on 24 January 1948, hauled by 13A, including views from the train, at the water tanks, passengers riding on the footboards, shunting at Cockatoo, arrival at Gembrook station, watering the loco at Gembrook, timber tramway trucks at Gembrook, and crossing the afternoon train at Belgrave hauled by 3A.

This is followed by views on another trip on Saturday 13 March 1948, showing many passengers clinging to the outside of the train, arrival at Emerald, and views around Gembrook station.

The photographs are printed as duotones. They are sharp, well exposed, the composition is excellent, the detail is wonderful, and the captions are well written and informative. The pictures were taken at a time when few people owned cars, petrol was rationed, tyres were hard to get, and Puffing Billy was used as an escape from the city for the residents of Melbourne.

$A35.95 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $32.35 plus postage]

(Weight 280 gm)

Focus on ... Victoria's Narrow Gauge Gembrook Line - Part One

A Pictorial Tribute to the late Edward A. Downs, Railway Historian

Compiled by John Thompson
Published 2003 by Puffing Billy Preservation Society

48 pages A4 size landscape format, soft cover, 50 photographs most published for the first time.

Similar to Focus on ... Victoria's Narrow Gauge Walhalla Line and produced to the same high standard. Photographs taken from the mid-1930s  to the mid-1940s, few if any, have previously been published. They include many taken at Upper Ferntree Gully and Gembrook, bridges No.1 and No.4, the water tanks between Selby and Menzies Creek, passenger trains crossing at Belgrave, and shunting at Clematis and Cockatoo. Locomotives include 3A, 6A, 8A, 9A, and 12A, in some cases hauling very short mixed trains.

As with the other books in this series, the photographs are printed as duotones. They are sharp, well exposed, the composition is excellent, the detail is wonderful, and the captions are well written and informative.

$A35.95 plus postage
[price to LRRSA members $32.35 plus postage]

(Weight 280 gm)

Beechy Rail

Historical and Engineering Guide to the Old Beechy Line Rail Trail

By Norman Houghton, published by the author.

16 pages, A4 size, card cover, 24 photos, timetables, gradient profiles, but no map.

A digitally printed booklet giving historical information on the Beech Forest railway with special reference to engineering features and the method of construction. Also includes a section on relics of the line.

Includes an interesting range of photographs, most of which have been published before. The photographic reproduction is reasonable within the limitations of the printing process.

$A7.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $6.30 plus postage]

(Weight 100 gm)

The Ridge

A brief historical guide to the West Otway Ridge

By Norman Houghton, published by the author

16 pages, A4 size, card cover, 22 photpgraphs, 3 maps.

This digitally printed booklet is a brief history of the areas and communities served by the Beech Forest to Crowes narrow gauge railway. Contains some information on the railway and timber tramways, and includes some very interesting photographs, which are well reproduced within the limitations of the printing process.

The maps are from the LRRSA book The Beechy, but are printed in one colour only.

$A7.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $6.30 plus postage]

(Weight 100 gm)

By the Barwon

A History of Forrest and Barramunga

By Norman Houghton, published by the author

24 pages, A4 size, card cover, 42 photographs, one double-page map.

This digitally printed book is a general history of the townships of Forrest and Barramunga in Victoria. Includes much information on timber tramways including a very detailed map, which is much more comprehensive than any previously published. The photographs include two very nice views of the locomotive Tom Cue on Sanderson's timber tramway.

$A7.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $6.30 plus postage]

(Weight 120 gm)

Merthyr Tydfil Tramroads and their Locomotives

By Gordon Rattenbury & M.J.T. Lewis, published by the Railway & Canal Historical Society.

88 pages, 172 x 230mm, soft cover, 48 illustrations, six maps.

ISBN 0 901461 52 0

A high-quality book about early tramways of the Dowlais, Penydarren, and Cyfarthfa ironworks in South Wales. It includes extensive details of the routes and remains of the tramways, and of the primitive steam locomotives that worked on them, including Trevithick's 1804 locomotive.

See review

$A46.00 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $41.40 plus postage]

(Weight 350 gm)

The Hay and Kington Railways

By Gordon Rattenbury & Ray Cook, published by the Railway & Canal Historical Society

132 pages, 172 x 230mm, soft cover, 60 illustrations, 15 maps.

A detailed history of two connected 3 ft 6 in gauge horse-hauled plateways built in 1816 at Hay on Wye, Herefordshire, England, which operated until about 1860.

$A45.65 plus postage.
[price to LRRSA members $41.09 plus postage]

(Weight 450 gm)

A Journey by Train to Walhalla

Published by John Thompson

This 24 page soft cover booklet presents a detailed account by William G.A. Lewis of a trip by train from Melbourne to Walhalla on the Australia Day Holiday, 31 January 1938. It is a high quality production, illustrated with photographs and maps, printed in duotones throughout on gloss art paper.

$A16.95 plus postage. (Weight 200 gm)
[price to LRRSA members $15.26 plus postage]

The Mapleton Tramway

The line of the diminutive Shay locomotives

By John Knowles

Published by the author

92 pages, A4 size, plus card cover, 81 illustrations, references, and index.

The Mapleton Tramway was an 18 km long 2 ft gauge railway, which climbed the Highworth and Blackall Ranges, west of Nambour, and about 110 km north of Brisbane, Queensland. In many places the line was located on shelves in the mountainsides with magnificent views over the coastal lands to the sea. It used steep gradients and very sharp curves, and reached 380 metres (1247 ft) altitude.

The line was built over the first range by the Moreton Central Sugar Mill Company of Nambour between 1897 and 1904 to tap what it was hoped would become sugar growing lands. Building that section severely damaged the finances of the company. It was extended to the top of the second range at Mapleton by the Maroochy Shire Council in 1914-15, the Shire having purchased the section already built by the mill company.

The company portion was initially operated by horses and gravity, but that was very expensive, and eventually a Shay geared locomotive was obtained. The Shire bought a second such locomotive. The line as extended was used to haul sugar cane, logs and sawn timber, fruit, cream, small livestock and supplies, as well as passengers and mails. With its poor alignment, the very slow speed of the geared engines, and the stops en route, the journey took two hours.

With the light loads possible on each tram, the need to tranship some of the traffic to or from the 3 ft 6 ins gauge Queensland Railways at Nambour, and the development of road transport the line was outdated almost from the time it was built.

It had to be supported financially by ratepayers. The Council kept it running only while revenue paid the working expenses, something which was prolonged a little by the shortages of World War II. It was closed at the end of 1944, but it was not until 1966 that the Shire paid the last of its debt.

This book includes a detailed description of the route, and gives an interesting insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the Shay geared locomotives. Train operations are described, including the excursions operated at weekends which connected with QR trains.

An interesting feature of the line was the private siding to the general store at Mapleton, where goods were unloaded from the daily tram across the store verandah.

The illustrations include five aerial photographs of the route in 1940, four maps of the route, and six scale drawings of the rolling stock and one of the locomotives.

$A28.50 plus postage (Weight 480 gm)

[price to LRRSA members $A25.65 plus postage]

John Moffat of Irvinebank

A Biography of a Regional Enrepreneur, by Ruth Kerr

Published by J.D. & R.S. Kerr

296 pages, 243 mm x 172 mm, 3 maps, 47 photographs, references, bibliography and index.

This is not a railway history as such, but a history of an Australian mining magnate who was very much involved with associated railways and tramways.

John Moffatt was involved in the establishment of mines in North Queensland, notably at Chillagoe and Irvinebank. He was unusual in looking after the interests of his workers and was seen as a "monument to honesty". This is a very well researched biography of the man and his work. It covers a very interesting, rugged and remote part of Australia.

It includes information on construction and early operation of the Chillagoe, Mount Molloy, Mount Mulligan, and Mount Garnet railways, and the Irvinebank and Stannary Hills tramways. It also includes information on the tramways in the Chillagoe area.

Most of this has not been published before.

$A30.00 soft cover plus postage (Weight 820 gm)
[price to LRRSA members $27.00 plus postage]

$A45.00 hard cover plus postage (Weight 950 gm)
[price to LRRSA members $40.50 plus postage]

Rack Railways of Australia

by David Jehan

Published by the author.

112 pages A4 size, soft cover, 83 photographs, 6 chapters, 36 maps/diagrams/drawings, References and bibliography

This book was first published in 1997. This edition, published in 2003, includes a one page review of changes since 1997, notably the re-opening of the Mount Lyell Railway as a tourist operation, and the closure of the Ellalong Colliery underground colliery railway.

This book describes the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company's rack railway in Tasmania, which closed in 1963; the Queensland Government Railways Kabra - Mount Morgan rack railway operated until 1952; the Skitube Rack Railway in the Kosciusko National Park; an underground colliery rack and adhesion railway; and an underground rack railway used in tunnel construction.

Also included is an introductory chapter describing the development of rack railways, and the different types used throughout the world, and a chapter describing the steam locos used on the Mount Lyell and Mount Morgan lines.

The photographs are excellent, and the text is backed up by well presented diagrams, drawings and maps. Apart from the high quality of the graphics, the great strength of this book is that it presents technical details in an easy to read non-technical way.

$A27.50 plus postage. (Weight 510 gm)
[price to LRRSA members $A24.75 plus postage]

A Day in the Life of G42

Mixed Train to Erica - Thursday 18th March 1954

Photographs by Edward A. Downs


Compiled by John Thompson

Published 2001 by Puffing Billy Preservation Society

48 pages A4 size landscape format, soft cover, many duotone photographs published for the first time.

A Day in the Life of G42 is a high quality production featuring a series of magnificent photographs taken by the late Edward A. Downs (author of Speed Limit 20) on the occasion of his journey behind G42 on the weekly "Erica Mixed" on 18 March 1954, only a few weeks before the final closure of the Moe-Erica-Walhalla narrow-gauge line.

Introductory pages include background information about Ted Downs himself, the Victorian narrow-gauge branch lines, the Moe - Walhalla line, and beyer-garratt locomotive G42.

The photographs are reproduced as high-resolution duotones on art paper, with comprehensive text captions to each photograph. It is believed none of the photographs have been published before.

$A35.95 plus postage (Weight 280 gm)
[price to LRRSA members $32.35 plus postage]

Echoes through the Tall Timber

The Life and Times of a Steam Man 1895 - 1984

By Dorothy Owen

Published 2001 by Brunel Gooch Publications

176 pages A5 size, soft cover, 48 illustrations.

"I found it extremely interesting and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. This is a splendid evocation of the life of an ordinary working man in an environment that most of us would find to be intolerable. This book opens our eyes to the reality of the time and place... The content and the details of the precarious, uncertain, frequently lonely and generally hard and uncomfortable life of those bush-workers is so well portrayed and direct knowledge of these conditions is rapidly being forgotten."

Echoes through the Tall Timber is the life story of Harry Matheson who worked in places such as Warburton, Starvation Creek, Federal Mill, Ada No.2 Mill, Toorongo, Barwon Downs, and Shelley. He drove logging winches and mill engines, was a saw doctor, and a climber in the rigging of high-lead logging systems. He drove a Washington winch, and outside the timber industry drove traction engines, a huge steam shovel at the O'Shannassy Weir, and mining batteries.

Harry lived through the 1926 bushfires, and was a Ada No.2 Mill in the 1939 bushfires.

The author is Harry's daughter. When her father was 84 years old she gave him a battered old typewriter and suggested he write his life story. He mastered the typewriter and from his notes Dorothy Owen has developed this biography.

$A22.95 plus postage (Weight 375 gm)
[price to LRRSA members $20.66 plus postage]