You don't have to dig very deep into the history of the railways in the South West to come across the name of Bath writer Colin Maggs.
A retired schoolmaster, he is a celebrated railway enthusiast who has probably done more than anyone else in the area to further our knowledge of railways in the region and those in and around Bath in particular.
And that's not surprising since until now he has had no fewer than 89 books published.
And now, just in time for the stocking filler market, Colin has had published his 90th volume.
The book, published by Countryside Books is called Bristol & Bath Railways: The Age of Steam.
In the modern world of fast transport and instant communication it is difficult to visualise how the coming of the railways revolutionised life for the people of Somerset.
The new book offers a feast of nostalgia and explains in detail how Bristol and Bath were transformed by the arrival of steam, describing the lines the people who built them and the trains and the people who travelled on them.
In his new book Colin looks at the railways from more than a purely engineering perspective and explains how the area was transformed by the arrival of steam.
Stone was a major influence on the development of a railway network for Bath.
The first line opened in 1731 to carry stone from the quarries outside Bath. The opening of the line lowered the price of stone by a quarter. Rails were later laid on the north side of the River Avon and the wagons were carried across on barges. Thus the train ferry was invented.
It took a great deal of time to get a steam locomotive ready. Apart from lubricating its moving parts steam could not be raised instantly.
The steam raiser had to light the fire in an engine eight hours before she was needed. Using up to 8cwt of coal and half a dozen firelighters with another dozen lumps of coal on top, the left the damper open, closed the firebox and left her to her own devices.
Black smoke poured out through the cracks around the door and it could take four hours before she began to generate steam.
The steam raiser was not concerned about making a lot of steam. As long as he raised 40 to 50lb before the engine was due out for traffic he had done his job and the rest was the responsibility of the crew.
Colin explains how tea could not be made on an engine so it was the last job before leaving a depot to make a brew.
"It was kept warm in a can on a tray above the firebox door. Eggs, bacon and mushrooms could be fried on a shovel. Firstly the slacking pipe producing water at high pressure was used to clean the shovel and then it was plunged into the firebox to dry. Fat was placed on the shovel followed by the food. One minute was enough. Cooking could only be carried out when an engine was stationary. If moving the blast would have whisked the food off the shovel.".
Bristol & Bath Railways: The Age of Steam by Colin Maggs is published by Countryside Books at ^9.95 from bookshops or at
www.countrysidebooks.co.ukI met Colin Maggs some years ago at a book signing/talk in Taunton. Nice chap. And he really knows his stuff about the history of the railways in the west. Particularly around Somerset and Bristol. This new book may just have to go on my list to Santa!
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