£35.00
Author: Peter Skellon
Published: 2024
Format: Hardback
Pages: 256
Genre: London Midland & Scottish
Status: Available
Synopsis
Bahamas: The Story of a Steam Locomotive by Peter Skellon.
This is both an in-depth look at the history of the locomotive (No. 45596) and of the people involved with the engine throughout its revenue-earning career and subsequent preservation era. Set against the contemporary social background, the book charts the creation of this class of locomotive, its flaws, and the challenge to improve performance against the deteriorating quality of coal.
The story continues with the decline of the steam locomotive and the first steps towards today’s heritage railway industry via the ‘steam ban’ and the ‘return to steam’, through which Bahamas had its part to play, albeit with plenty of anxiety for those involved.
The story is brought up-to-date through the rise and fall of the Dinting Railway Centre, the move to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, and the overhauls undertaken necessary for it to be “…a working locomotive, not a museum piece,” a phrase often quoted in 1968 by Society member No.1, Alan Bidder. Includes 300 illustrations.