lamdha books -
Catalogue of railway books

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85293 Allen, Cecil J. Royal Trains Ian Allen Ltd., London, nd. (c.1955) Octavo; stapled pamphlet with illustrated wrappers; 40pp. with many monochrome illustrations. Minor wear; retailer's ink stamp to the inside front cover; original printed price obscured by a piece of tape. Very Good. Click here to order $15

213703 Allen, G. Freeman Salute to the LNER Ian Allan, London,1977. Quarto hardcover; illustrated boards; 100pp., with b&w illustrations. Bookseller's sticker. Minor wear; lightly toned and spotted text block edges. Very good. No dustwrapper. Click here to order $22

90694 Anderson, Janic & Edmund Swinglehurst Train and Transport: A Collector's Guide Bracken Books, London, 1989. Quarto hardcover; black cloth boards with gilt spine titling; 96pp., colour and monochrome illustrations. Minor wear; mild offsetting to endpapers; laminate slightly lifting on head of dustwrapper spine and mild wear to edges. Very good to near fine otherwise and wrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. The story of travel and transport is preserved on library bookshelves. Less formally but often more graphically it is also documented in the transient paper oddments which it has generated. Here, in tickets, notices, leaflets, labels, folders, billheads and other throwaways, is an epitome of mankind's love affair with the way from A to B. By pack-horse, stagecoach, clipper ship, steamer, penny-farthing, rail, motor and flying machine, not to mention shanks's pony - man has been on the move for as long as he can remember. These fragments are his souvenirs. Click here to order $22

213700 Awdry, Rev. W & Chris Cook (eds.) A Guide to the Steam Railways of Great Britain Pelham Books, London, 1979. Quarto hardcover; blue boards with gilt spine titling, map endpapers; 239pp., colour & b&w illustrations. Minor wear; mildly spotted text block edges. Near fine in like dustwrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Of 'Thomas the Tank Engine' fame. Click here to order $22

209823 Awdry, Rev. W. (C. Reginald Dalby, John T. Kenney & Gunvor & Peter Edwards, illus.) The Complete Railway series - 26 volumes Kaye & Ward Ltd., London, 1967-1979. Reprints: 26 volumes, landscape duodecimo; hardcover, with illustrated boards; 539pp., with many colour illustrations. Minor wear; some volumes rolled; light scuffing to the boards; some discolouration to the boards of Volume 21. No dustwrappers as issued. Very good. Click here to order $150

93167 Butcher, A.R. Specials in Action D. Bradford Barton Ltd., Truro Cornwall UK, 1975. Square octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine-titling; 96pp., with many monochrome photographic illustrations. Minor wear; light spotting to the text block top edge; an old sticker mark to the flyleaf. Price-clipped dustwrapper is mildly scuffed with some marks; light edgewear; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $20

84441 Davies, Hunter George Stephenson: A Biographical Study of the Father of Railways On the Occasion of the 150th anniversary of the opening of the World's first public railway The Stockton and Darlington 1825-1975 including an account of railway mania and a consideration of Stephensonia today Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1975. Hardcover, octavo; green/blue boards with gilt spine titling and green endpapers with decorative train motifs; 337pp., monochrome plates. Lightly toned text block edges with some marks and spotting. Illustrated dustwrapper worn and scraped along edges with a tear on upper front corner and on lower front spine edge. Now protected in archival film with white paper backing. Good to very good. Click here to order $18

67556 Ellis, C. Hamilton The Lore of the Train Crescent Books/Crown Publishers Inc., New York NY, 1987. Quarto; hardcover, with illustrated boards and endpapers; 240pp., with many colour and monochrome illustrations. Moderate wear; mildly shaken; spine extremities lightly softened; light toning and spotting to the text block edges; mild spotting to the preliminaries; previous owner's ink inscription to the half-title page. Dustwrapper sunned along the spine panel and edges; mildly rubbed and edgeworn. Very good. Magnificent large format volume concentrating on the train itself, the machine for actual conveyance, and all its components - steam, electric and oil-propelled locomotives, and passenger, freight and special cars. All important developments in the history of the train are illustrated by detailed drawings, many of them fully and accurately coloured. Click here to order $35

213696 Fairclough, Tony & Alan Wills (eds.) Southern Steam Locomotive Survey: Bulleid; Merchant Navy; Pacifics D. Bradford Barton, Truro, 1976. Quarto hardcover; green boards with gilt spine titling, gray endpapers; 96pp., b&w illustrations, top edges dyed green. Bookseller's sticker. Minor wear; mildly spotted text block edges. Near fine in like dustwrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Click here to order $23

91631 Frankenheimer, John The Train: DVD n/a New. Special price. Paris, August 1944. With the Allied army closing in, German commander and art fanatic Colonel von Waldheim steals a vast collection of modern paintings and loads them onto a train bound for Berlin. But when a beloved French patriot is murdered while trying to sabotage von Waldheim's scheme, Labiche (played by Burt Lancaster), a stalwart member of the Resistance, vows to stop the train at any cost. Inspired by an actual event and highlighted by spectacular stuntwork and visual effects, The Train is one of the great locomotive movies! Click here to order $12

95886 Free, Dan Early Japanese Railways, 1853-1914 Engineering Triumphs that Transformed Meiji-Era Japan Tuttle Publishing/Periplus Edition (HK) Ltd., Tokyo Japan, 2008. Quarto; hardcover; 288pp., with many monochrome and colour illustrations. Dustwrapper. Remainder. New. The importance of early railways in the industrialization of the United States and Europe is a fact all of us are familiar with. To witness the amazing parallel development of the railways in Japan, happening at much the same time as America was connecting its vast hinterland to the East and West coasts, is an eye-opening realization. In Early Japanese Railways 1853-1914, Dan Free tells the fascinating story of the rise of Japanese rail amidst a period of rapid modernization during Japan's Meiji era. Leaving behind centuries of stagnation and isolation, Japan would emerge into the 20th century as a leading modern industrialized state. The development of the railways was a significant factor in the cultural and technological development of Japan during this pivotal period. Free's rare photographic and historical materials concerning Japan's early railways, including a print showing the miniature steam engine brought to Japan by Admiral Perry aboard his 'Black Ships' to demonstrate American superiority, combine to form a richly detailed account that will appeal to students of Japanese history and railway buffs alike. This book, Early Japanese Railways 1853-1914, illuminates the early history of Japanese railroads, and in the process the fascinating story of Japan's prewar industrial modernization. Click here to order $50

213721 Haut, F.J.G. A History of the Electric Locomotive Volume II: Railcars and the Industrial Locomotive A.S. Barnes & Company Inc., La Jolla CA, 1981. Quarto; hardcover, full-cloth with gilt spine titles; 180pp., with many monochrome illustrations and 8pp. of full-colour plates. Minor wear; a mark to the text block fore-edge. Dustwrapper is mildly rubbed and edgeworn; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $35

213688 Kennedy, Duncan The Birth and Death of a Highland Railway John Murray, London, 1971. First edition: hardcover, octavo; pink boards with gilt spine titling; 171pp., b&w plates and illustrations. Minor wear; slight rubbing to board edges with upper board very slightly fanned; toned text block edges and very mild offsetting to endpapers. Illustrated dustwrapper with well-worn and scraped edges and corners (now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film with white paper backing). Very good. Constructed between 1898 and 1903, the Ballachulish line was almost the last branch line to be built in Britain towards the end of the great railway era, and it has been described as one of the most imposing of them all. It runs from Connel Ferry by Benderloch, Appin and Kentallen to Ballachulish at the opening of Glencoe, passing through some of the most beautiful highland scenery to be found in Scotland, and for three-quarters of its length of 28 miles it never loses sight of the sea. The natural features of the landscape, the rugged and devious line of the coast, the encroaching sea at Connel and Loch Creran, created major problems for the engineers and Duncan Kennedy, a civil engineer, describes the building of it. As well as detailed descriptions of the methods used - the drilling and blasting of the rocks, the concreting of the bridges and the laying of the tracks - he pictures the working day of the contractor's engineer and his relationship with his opposite number on the resident engineer's staff. In addition he gives lively character sketches of the people working with him - engineers, walking gangers, gangers and navvies (many Irish among them) - describing the way they worked and the tricks that they got up to. A unique and engrossing story in railway history. Click here to order $22

69310 Kraus, George High Road to Promontory Building the Central Pacific Across the High Sierra Castle Books, New York NY, 1969. Quarto hardcover, 317pp., monochrome illustrations. Owner's book plate on pastedown; browned and spotted text block edges; scuffed and slightly discoloured dustwrapper with scraped and worn edges and corners; some chipping and small missing segment over head of spine. Very good in good dustwrapper and protected with archival film with white paper backing. The dramatic story of the Central Pacific's epic struggle to lay rails across the fearful wall of the Sierra Nevada and the arid reaches of the desert in the face of nearly every natural and man-made obstacle that could be imagined. With the exercise of vision, money and engineering muscle, determined railway men tied the Atlantic to the Pacific with bands of steel that opened up the West and forever changed its history. Click here to order $23

201888 Krieger, Michael Where Rails Meet Sea America's Connections Between Ships & Trains Metro, New York NY, 1998. Quarto hardcover; blue boards with gilt spine titling, illustrated endpapers; 176pp., colour and monochrome illustrations. Owner's name stamp. A few scattered spots on half-title page and spotting to upper text block edge. Very good to near fine in like dustwrapper Region by region, "Where Rails Meet the Sea" chronicles the fascinating history of America's railroad and maritime development through vividly detailed descriptions of the railroads' waterfront operation, buildings, facilities, and majestic sea-faring fleet. In addition to these insightful historical accounts, hundreds of rare photographs and ephemera bring to life the rich history and lively character of the American port cities that thrived in the years between 1830 and 1960. Click here to order $30

85145 Levy, Allen A Century of Model Trains Crescent Books, New York, 1986. Oblong quarto; hardcover, with gilt spine titling; 208pp., with many full-colour and monochrome illustrations. Minor wear; rear free endpaper creased; very faint spotting to the text block top edge. Dustwrapper mildly rubbed and sunned; a small tear and some chipping to the spine panel extremities; now backed by archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by superior non-adhesive film. Near fine otherwise. Alan Levy is a renowned, international expert on toy trains. He and Andries Grabowsky created ACE Trains; and was a co-founder of the London Toy and Model Museum. With Andries Grabowsky of the Netherlands, who created toy trains since the early 90s, they developed the initial ACE products, such as the first tinplate E/1 series of 4-4-4 tank locomotives, essentially a reproduction of one the earliest Hornby locomotives powered by an electric vice clockwork motor, produced both in British and French liveries along with a series of compatible tinplate passenger coaches. This book is acknowledged as one of the truly classic works dealing with the varied history of toy and model trains. Click here to order $45

202050 Maskelyne, J.N. A Further Selection of Locomotives I Have Known Percival Marshall & Co. Ltd., London, 1962. Landscape quarto; hardcover, with gilt spine and upper board titles and decorations; 71pp., with a colour frontispiece and many monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; slightly rolled; spine extremities softened; old tape stains to the boards; mild toning and spotting to the text block edges; offset to the endpapers and preliminaries; retailer's bookplate to the front pastedown; some internal marks. Price-clipped dustwrapper is well-rubbed and edgeworn; some chipping to the spine panel extremities; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $75

84531 Ransome-Wallis, P. Preserved Steam Locomotives of Western Europe Volume Two Ian Allen Ltd., Shepperton, Surrey, UK, 1971. Octavo; hardcover, with silver-gilt spine-titling; 285pp., on lacquered stock, with many monochrome photographic illustrations. Spine extremities mildly softened; offset to endpapers; previous owner's ink inscription to the flyleaf; text block and page edges lightly toned. Price-clipped dustwrapper is sunned along the spine panel and edgeworn; some spotting to the verso; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $22

213718 Rogers, Col. H.C.B. Bulleid Pacifics at Work Ian Allen Ltd., Shepperton Surrey UK, 1980. Quarto; hardcover, full cloth with gilt spine titles and decorative endpapers; 128pp., with a monochrome frontispiece and many schematics and illustrations likewise. Mild wear; some light spotting to the text block edges. Dustwrapper rubbed and edgeworn; spine panel sunned with some scuffing to the extremities; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $25

213717 Townend, P.N. East Coast Pacifics at Work Ian Allen Ltd., Shepperton Surrey UK, 1982. Quarto; hardcover, full cloth with gilt spine titles; 192pp., with a monochrome frontispiece and many schematics and illustrations likewise. Mild wear; some light spotting to the text block top edge; some mild offset to the endpapers. Dustwrapper a little rubbed and edgeworn; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. The story starts on the Great Northern Railway when No 1470 Great Northern, the first of Gresley's Pacifics, was designed and put into traffic. When the GNR amalgamated with other companies to form the LNER, Gresley became chief mechanical engineer and proceeded to continue the development of a range of Pacific locomotives that had a major impact on the British railway scene: in early 1923 the Flying Scotsman appeared - to gain fame in 1928 as the engine that headed the first Kings Cross to Edinburgh non-stop service; in 1935 the first streamlined 'A4' was unveiled and in 1938 one of the 'A4s', Mallard, became the world speed record holder for steam haulage with a record that exists to this day - 126 miles an hour. The story doesn't end with Gresley's retirement: his successors Thompson and Peppercorn continued to experiment and innovate and developed the final range of LNER Pacifics - Peppercorn's 'A1' and 'A2' classes. Click here to order $45

201893 Whitehouse, Patrick & David Jenkinson From BR to Beeching - Three Volumes The Routes of the Stars, Castles and Kings; Four Coupled Twilight; The Routes of the Thompson and Peppercorn Pacifics Atlantic Transport Publishers, Penryn, 1990. Three paperback, small quarto volumes; 60pp. in each and monochrome illustrations. Owner's name stamp. Mild spotting to upper text block edges; some scattered spotting to cover verso and first page of Vol. 1& 3 as well as creasing to front cover of Vol.3; mild wear to cover edges. Very good. Click here to order $35

55721 Wiesenthal, M. The Belle Epoque of the Orient-Express Geocolor, Barcelona, 1979. Quarto hardcover; green boards with white upper board and spine titles; 96pp., colour and monochrome illustrations. Minor wear; very slightly rolled; tiny scrapes to board corners; offsetting to endpapers and page edges lightly toned. Otherwise very good in bright dustwrapper with slight wear to edges, tiny chips and tears on corners and spine panel extremities; professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Click here to order $30

211477 Wolmar, Christian Blood, Iron & Gold How the Railways Transformed the World Atlantic Books/Grove Atlantic Ltd., London, 2009. Reprint: octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine titles; 373pp., with maps and 20pp. of colour and monochrome plates. Minor wear. Dustwrapper mildly rubbed and edgeworn; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. The opening of the world's first railroad in Britain and America in 1830 marked the dawn of a new age. Within the course of a decade, tracks were being laid as far afield as Australia and Cuba, and by the outbreak of World War I, the United States alone boasted over a quarter of a million miles. With unrelenting determination, architectural innovation, and under gruesome labor conditions, a global railroad network was built that forever changed the way people lived. From Panama to Punjab, from Tasmania to Turin, Christian Wolmar shows how cultures were enriched, and destroyed, by one of the greatest global transport revolutions of our time, and celebrates the visionaries and laborers responsible for its creation. Click here to order $24