A book written by Ray with the foregoing title is expected to be launched during mid 2026 and an hour talk or a full 2 hour talk could be offered in connection. This is entirely a rail interest talk and the majority of the c.46 loco sheds included can be shown with a picture, track and location plan and something about the work undertaken.
Ray says: ''Almost as soon as I developed a serious interest in railways I was introduced to the locomotive shed and was fascinated by it. Here, steam locomotives were kept waiting for their next turn, repaired, serviced, turned and sometimes stored out of use. Here, one could get close up to the beast and train-spot more locos quicker than simply waiting for them on stations or at the line-side. My quest for knowledge regarding these churches and cathedrals of the steam locomotive started to be satisfied in 1974 with the publication of An historical survey of Great Western engine sheds 1947, by Eddie Lyons. Then, one by one, books covering the loco sheds of each of the pre-grouping companies appeared with one significant exeption, that iconic of all railways, the Great Central together with its vassal, the Cheshire Lines Committee, and my book is an attempt to remedy that.''
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Views: 17 | Enquiries: 0Retired Chartered Engineer who has undertaken tour management for UK worldwide rail travel company. Widely travelled, much of which is independent, around the 5 continents of the world plus Aus and NZ. Visited parts that most others haven’t e.g., North Korea, Pakistan, Eritrea, Paraguay, Syria .......
Talks are generally associated with trains (mostly nostalgic steam) the railways themselves and associated historical aspects. Most talks were planned for railway interest groups but can be tailored to audience, whether knowledgeable on rail subjects or not and using both Ray's own photo material and other sourced images.
Presentations will be in digital format and in Power Point format.
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