Local transport interest in North Oxfordshire - a delightful finger-post on the B4035 near Swalcliffe.
Tim Edmonds - research interests and recent publications
My main research interests are in railway subjects worldwide, but I am interested in aspects of the history of road and maritime transport. Currently I am researching a short-lived steam omnibus service that ran from nearby Shipston-on-Stour in the early 1900s. I am also interested in historic transport artefacts in the local area where I live, including road signs (see photo above), mileposts and dismantled railways.
Some of my recent publications are:
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'Footplating on the Barsi'
Narrow Gauge World
Issue 181, January/February 2024
Footplate rides with friendly loco crews on the Barsi line in India, December 1981.
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'Who coined the phrase 'Beeching axe' and when?'
Journal of the Railway & Canal Historical Society
248, November 2023, 164
The 'Beeching axe' was referred to in a newspaper headline in August 1961, well before the Beeching Report was published in 1963, but was that the first time?
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'Budd Car Travels in BC, 1976'
Locomotives International
Issue 143, June/July 2023, 54-59
Use of the innovative Budd Railcars on two scenic Canadian railways with descriptions of journeys made in 1976. Neither journey is possible today.
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'Blue Motors of Minehead - the archaeology of a West Somerset bus and coach operator'
Somerset Industrial Archaeological Society Bulletin
No 150, August 2022, 9-16
Description of surviving buildings, vehicles and artefacts of a local bus and coach company in West Somerset.
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'On the Indian narrow gauge, 1981'
Locomotives International
Issue 135, February/March 2022, 48-51
Description of photos of the Matheran Hill, Barsi, Murtajapur, Pulgaon and Dabhoi narrow gauge systems.
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'Colossus at Dalegarth Cottages'
Narrow Gauge World
Issue 163, January/February 2021
Analysis of a 1920s postcard of a scene on the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway which shows an unusual locomotive at a short-lived station.
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'Alford Valley revival?'
Narrow Gauge World
Issue 161, October 2021
History of a 2ft gauge pleasure line built using industrial track and locomomotives. Covers development, motive power and rolling stock, decline and closure in 2017, with a look at current attempts to reopen the railway.
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'Bradley Gate - what's in a name?'
Somerset Industrial Archaeological Society Bulletin
No 147, August 2021, 11-19
History of the Bradley Gate landing place on Blue Anchor Bay, including chronology, name and the location of the eponymous gate.
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'By train to Niagara Falls and (nearly) back in 1983'
Locomotives International
Issue 132, August/September 2021, 56-8
Description of a visit to Niagara Falls by train from Windsor Ontario, but with a breakdown on the return journey. Illustrated with photos of railways at Windsor and Niagara Falls.
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''A very dangerous place': the Bradenham Crossing accident of 1929'
BackTrack Vol 35 No 8, August 2021, 420-3
An investigation into the circumstances of a fatal accident in which a Buckinghamshire postman was hit by a local train at a foot crossing in 1929.
Two that didn't make it into the Barsi article (see above) showing the view from the footplate of G726 approaching Mahisgaon and the footplate crew of G732 on 2 December 1981.