It is now forty years since the publication of Carriage Stock of the LB&SCR by PJ Newbury, and twenty since David Gould produced Bogie Carriages of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway. This new book is the first of two volumes intended to complete the coverage of LB&SCR carriages and passenger-rated vans. A second volume will describe the four- and six-wheeled saloon and passenger-rated vans, and will also give an account of the restoration of LB&SCR carriages at the Bluebell Railway. This is the first comprehensive coverage of all LB&SCR designs, with many previously unseen photographs, and will appeal to followers of the SR, LB&SCR and Bluebell Railway, and railway carriage enthusiasts in general. In particular, the newly-produced scale drawings and prototype details will be of great interest to railway modellers.
The aim is to provide a “design history” based on contemporary historical documents supplemented by practical knowledge gained through the study and restoration of surviving carriage bodies. Written by acknowledged experts in the field, who have all been involved in the restoration of LB&SCR carriages on the Bluebell Railway, the two volumes describe how carriage design developed, and how it followed new developments in train lighting, braking, communication and the social distinctions of the time.
Both volumes are profusely illustrated with photographs and scale drawings, and are produced to the same high standard as this publisher’s LSWR Carriages Volume 3 and LSWR Carriages Volume 4 by the late Gordon Weddell. LB&SCR Carriages Volume 2 will be available in early 2016. All royalties from the sale of these volumes are being donated to the Bluebell Stroudley Coach Fund.
