Wales

The railways of Wales represented a considerable contrast: there were the largely rural routes of the central and southwestern parts of the country on the one hand and, on the other, the highly complex network of lines that served the coal and steel industries of the Valleys to the south. Like much of the country, however, economics proved to be unkind to the railway network. The largely rural lines succumbed, for the most part, to the growth of the motor car and the loss of both passenger and freight traffic whilst, in the industrial heartland of the Valleys, the massive reduction in the region's industrial base - a process that continues to this day - saw much of the railway network eradicated. A comparison between a railway atlas of 1955 and that of the present day illustrates well how much of the railway network of Wales has disappeared over the past 50 years. From the later 1950s onwards, Nigel Welbourn travelled widely throughout the British Isles recording the railway scene. These travels have formed the basis of the highly successful 'Lost lines' series, of which this is the 10th to be published.
Covering exclusively the standard gauge lines in Wales - the narrow gauge network was covered in the earlier volume on the British Narrow Gauge - the author provides a pictorial account to more than 20 of the routes that once formed an essential part of the transport infrastructure of the country. In each case, the author has returned to the routes concerned to record what remain visible today. Comprehensively illustrated throughout with historic and contemporary photographs, allied to line drawings and items of railwayana, the book is a graphic remainder of the rapid diminution of the nation's railway network over the past five decades. The 'Lost Lines' series has proved itself to be one of Ian Allan Publishing's most successful series of railway titles, with most of the earlier volumes being regularly reprinted. This new addition to the series is certain to enhance yet further the reputation of the series and will be eagerly sought after by all those with an interest in the history of Welsh railways.