RAILWAY WALKS: LONDON, MIDLAND AND SCOTTISH RAILWAY

Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Alan Sutton. Very Good/Very Good. 1995. Reprint. Hard Cover. 8vo 0862997348 Dust jacket complete in a clear protective sleeve, slight wear to edges. Illustrated boards. No ownership inscription. 178 pages clean and tight. In this third volume of the Railway Walks series, Jeff Vinter turns his attention to the territory of the former London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Bus competition and economic depression in the 1920s and 1930s led to the first railway closures, the narrow gauge Leek and Manifold line being a typical victim. It was closed by the LMS in September 1935 but the company then donated it to the nation for use as a footpath - one which may still be walked today. Unfortunately, the railway's public-spirited gesture did not set a precedent. A trickle of closures continued throughout the 1950s until the appointment of Dr Beeching as chairman of British Railways in 1961 ushered in a new era of rationalization and wholesale line closures. It is to a large extent the so-called `Beeching' lines which imaginative local authorities and private companies have been able to convert into the long-distance walks and cycleways we can enjoy today. Railway Walks: LMS provides a detailed guide to ten of the best walks, ranging from the Midland Railway's express line through the Peak District to the incredible Cromford and High Peak Railway. This was built before railway engineering had evolved fully, being constructed on canal principles with a series of level sections connected by mountainous inclines. Between these two extremes the rambler can explore such delights as the Brampton Valley Way in Northamptonshire, with its gentle countryside and stone villages, or a network of lines radiating from Lancaster into the delightful Lune Valley. The detailed description of each walk includes OS grid references, helpful maps and illustrations, and comprehensive transport and refreshments information. .