Railways on the Somme

[The Scorer]

I'm going on the Leger Holidays "War by Timetable" tour in July, and I'd like to do a little reading about the subject before I go. 

I'm therefore looking for a book which covers all the main points but doesn't go into copious detail. I know about "Narrow Gauge in the Somme Sector" by Martin & Joan Farebrother, and it looks very good; however, it's quite expensive and it looks like it does go into copious detail.

So, can anyone suggest an alternative for me, please? Thanks.

 

[Malcolm Linham]

The Scorer 

For a basic starting point , I would suggest Narrow Gauge at War by Plateway Press ISBN 0951110810 , it covers the Western Front not just The Somme.  

Have you considered your local library? 

Enjoy your trip

Malcolm 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

have

[The Scorer]

23 minutes ago, Malcolm Linham said:

The Scorer 

For a basic starting point , I would suggest Narrow Gauge at War by Plateway Press ISBN 0951110810 , it covers the Western Front not just The Somme.  

Have you considered your local library? 

Enjoy your trip

Malcolm 

Thanks, I'll have a look for that one.

I'm sure that I have looked at the local library, but it's worth another look just in case it's changed. 

 

[Terry_Reeves]

Other publications which you might try are:

Light Railways of the First World War - W J Davies

The Light Track From Arras - TR Heritage 

Narrow Gauge at War -Neill Taylorson

The Railway Operating Division on the Western Front - WT Aves

Incidentally, the tour name is taken from AJP Taylor's book War By Timetable: How the First War Began.

TR

 

[The Scorer]

On 15/05/2023 at 18:38, Terry_Reeves said:

Other publications which you might try are:

Light Railways of the First World War - W J Davies

The Light Track From Arras - TR Heritage 

Narrow Gauge at War -Neill Taylorson

The Railway Operating Division on the Western Front - WT Aves

Incidentally, the tour name is taken from AJP Taylor's book War By Timetable: How the First War Began.

TR

 

Thanks for these ideas, they're much appreciated. 

I've made contact with the publishers of the Neill Taylorson books, and they've been very helpful, so I think that I'll go for these in due course. 

I knew that I'd heard where the name of the tour came from before; thanks for reminding me. 

 

[green_acorn]

The previous books primarily deal with the 60cm Light Railway networks that operated in each Army area (They weren’t connected, which cause a lot of equipment loss in March/April 1918).   The book that also covers the “Broad” (standard) gauge railway operations of what became the “Railway Operating Division” in late 1916, that you should also read is  reprint of of a 1920 Railway Gazette  http://www.wdlr.org.uk/tracks2trenches/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Railway-Gazette-flyer-advert-version.pdf

 

Cheers,

Chris

Edited 30 May , 2023 by green_acorn
added comment about each Army’s LR network

[The Scorer]

Thank you; I'll certainly do that.