18:27

Welcome to Railway Forum!
Welcome!

Thank you for finding your way to Railway Forum, a dedicated community for railway and train enthusiasts. There's a variety of forums, a wonderful gallery, and what's more, we are absolutely FREE. You are very welcome to join, take part in the discussion, and post your pictures!

Click here to go to the forums home page and find out more.
Click here to join.


Go Back   Railway Forum > Members Area > Say Hello

Hello! Can someone suggest a good book for a beginner?

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 1st December 2015, 15:01
Gaazy Gaazy is offline  
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Llangwyllog
Posts: 5
Hello! Can someone suggest a good book for a beginner?

Hello. I was a trainspotter in the early 60s, but stopped when (and because) steam trains ceased operating. Now someone's given me a book containing old photos of local lines around here in Anglesey, and it's rekindled an interest - not in trainspotting again, but in understanding more about railways. The book I was given contains phrases that I don't have any idea what they mean, for example "Class B headcode", "bunker first", "trap point", "headshunt", "Down starter" (a kind of signal, I think - in fact I don't really know where 'up and 'down' are in railway parlance!) and so on.

What I really need is a book that would explain the whole subject for an absolute beginner, describing how the whole system, including signalling, works/worked, and without necessarily delving too deeply into the intricate inner workings of locomotives. If the best book for the job is one aimed at children, I don't mind! Any suggestions?


Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 1st December 2015, 21:18
TRP's Avatar
TRP TRP is offline  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Hastings & St Leonards
Posts: 5,069
Images: 2865
Welcome to the forum!

Not sure about the best book - I'll have a think to see if I can make any suggestions.
In the mean time, I might be able to shed some light on a few of the phrases mentioned in your post.

Bunker first: The short answer is a steam loco running backwards ie. with it's bunker leading (as opposed to running chimney first ie. forwards).
The term bunker first would specifically refer to a tank engine which has a coal bunker behind the cab, as a tender engine would be running 'tender first' if running backwards.
Operating steam locos 'bunker first' (or tender first) was common practice if there were no turning facilities to turn the loco to run forwards and this is now commonly seen on preserved railways. Running backwards is not a problem at all for the loco itself, but running forwards is always preferable for the crew as they are then facing all of their controls as well as the direction of travel.

Headshunt: In short, it is a siding used to access more sidings. It can also be a siding used to carry out shunting moves without having to access the main running lines. A diagram here would help enormously, but I can't manage that in this format!

Down Starter: It is a signal, and you are correct that the 'Down' refers to the direction of travel. In general terms, railways use 'Up' to refer to the direction of travel towards the main terminus of the line - almost always running towards London in the UK. 'Down' is the opposite direction ie. running away from the main terminus.
A Starting signal (or Starter) is the signal at the end of a station platform which signals trains away from the platform. Each platform will have it's own Starting signal. See these at my local station: http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/...searchid=10060
NB. Not to be confused with an 'Advance Starter'!

Headcodes were displayed by different combinations of lamps (or discs on the Southern Railway) - the pattern displayed represented a different class of train, or a specific route for the train. I don't know specifically what a 'Class B Headcode' is, but I'm sure another member of the forum could enlighten you.

Likewise, I'm not sure of the specifics of a 'Trap Point'. The terms 'Trap Point' & 'Catch Point' are often mixed up, but refer to different types of points which protect main running lines by either derailing or stopping a train that may be about to enter the main lines without permission. I think the differences between Trap & Catch point have been discussed on this forum before, but I'm not entirely sure which is which!

The enthusiast section of the UK & Ireland Heritage Railways website does have some useful information such as steam locomotive and boiler diagrams, signalling information and a railway glossary, which probably gives better explanations than I have here! Follow the link here: http://www.heritage-railways.com/enthus.php

Anyway, hope this helps. Please ask any other questions that you may have - there's some very knowledgable folk on this forum!

Regards,
Tony

Last edited by TRP; 1st December 2015 at 21:25.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 1st December 2015, 22:17
G6 UXU's Avatar
G6 UXU G6 UXU is offline  
Station Manager
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 3,253
Images: 2702
Hello Gaazy and welcome to the forum from all the Admin and staff, hope you find your book.
__________________
Chris G6 UXU Station Manager.
aviationnostalgia.com
truckandbusforum.com birdforum.net
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 1st December 2015, 23:13
DSY011's Avatar
DSY011 DSY011 is offline  
Station Manager
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: BRISTOL U.K.
Posts: 4,464
Images: 547
Hello Gaazy and welcome to the Railway Forum.
__________________
The Old Git, Syd
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 1st December 2015, 23:29
Gaazy Gaazy is offline  
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Llangwyllog
Posts: 5
Thanks so much, Tony! I'll print this out and have a good read. Thanks too to DSY011 and Chris for the welcome.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 2nd December 2015, 01:13
Sentinel Sentinel is offline  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Glastonbury
Posts: 747
And a very warm welcome to the forum from me too, dear Gaazy
__________________
A simple philosophy for life - do your best and be kind
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 2nd December 2015, 21:34
johnmoly johnmoly is offline  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Liverpool
Posts: 149
Apart from books, if you want to see certain movements in action eg: shunting, headshunts, tracklaying, search Youtube, there are literally hundreds of videos, some going back to British Railways days, also plenty of cab rides but these are mostly diesel/electric so maybe not your cup of tea.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 3rd December 2015, 23:28
Gaazy Gaazy is offline  
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Llangwyllog
Posts: 5
Thanks to Sentinel and Johnmoly for your replies. There are many hundreds of railway books out there, so it's very difficult to narrow the choice down. Many seem to concentrate on particular lines, or regions or Britain; others are too technical or detailed for the limited knowledge I possess. But I have ordered a copy of "The Railways: Nation, Network and People" by Simon Bradley, which seems to be very well thought of, and I found a good article on semaphore signalling on Wikipedia, so together with this excellent forum of yours I should be able to fill the gaps in my learning!
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 4th December 2015, 09:10
ticketsmustbeshewn's Avatar
ticketsmustbeshewn ticketsmustbeshewn is offline  
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: buggleskelly
Posts: 27
Images: 140
Hi and welcome. Just to say you've made a really good choice of book with Simon Bradley's 'The Railways'. I have approx 140 books on Britain's railways and this book is in my top three. A large book with very few photographs but written in a way that makes it hard to put down. Steve.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 4th December 2015, 09:16
Gaazy Gaazy is offline  
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Llangwyllog
Posts: 5
Thanks! Glad I made a good choice.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
beginner, book


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 18:27.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.