INDIAN LOCOMOTIVES, PART 1 ‑ BROAD GAUGE (1851‑1940), by Hugh Hughes

The main object of this book is to list and describe the 10,000 5ft 6in gauge locomotives put intoservice in India during the period 1851‑1940, of which 94% came from British manufacturers. Although the vast majority were steam engines, electric and internalcombustion units are also included. After an introductory chapter each railway is dealt with in turn, giving complete locomotive lists with basic dimensions, makers, makers' numbers, dates and renumberings, together with historical notes on the various classes.

References are also made to the numbers carried by the surviving engines under the 1957All‑India renumbering scheme. The broad gauge railways now in Pakistan and Bangladesh are fully covered too, as well as those of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), whose inclusion is justified on geographical grounds. Supplementary chapters cover the various port railways and all known deliveries and transfers to industrial concerns, followed by more detailed lists of the main dimensions of many of the more important locomotive classes. The photographs illustrate many of the more interesting types described in the text. The book has 112 pages 9 1/4in x 7in (23cm x 18cm), 76 photographs, 2 drawings and a map, and is bound in a flexible card cover.

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INDIAN LOCOMOTIVES, PART 2 ‑ METRE GAUGE (1872‑1940), by Hugh Hughes.

The layout of this book is similar to Part 1. This time the number of engines, including those in Burma. is markedly less totalling just over 4500, of which 80% were built in Britain and 10% in India (Ajmer). On the other hand the greater complexity of the railway systems involved and the comparative smallness of most of the locomotive orders, together with the fact that published references are few and far between, have combined to make the number of pages the same as Part 1.

Each railway is dealt with in turn giving complete locomotive lists including makers, makers' numbers and renumberings, together with historical notes on the various classes. Of particular interest is the Indian State Railways chapter which includes for the first time a record of all the locomotives supplied in 1872‑85 which were originally numbered in one list from 1 to 698. Another section details all the metre gauge engines sent to Mesopotamia and East Africa during 1915‑19. with dates of departure and return. Supplementary chapters cover industrial locomotives and the main dimensions of all the more important classes. The book has 112 pages 91/4in x 7in (23cm x 18cm), 80 photographs, 4 drawings and a map, and is bound in a flexible card cover. 

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INDIAN LOCOMOTIVES, PART 3 ‑ NARROW GAUGE (1863‑1940), by Hugh Hughes.

This book. the layout of which is similar to that of Parts 1 and 2, covers all the 2ft and 2ft 6in gauge railways in the areas now known as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. Sri Lanka, Burma and Nepal. Each of the 36 different railways is dealt with in turn giving complete locomotive lists including makers, makers' numbers and renumberings, together with historical notes on the various classes. Other sections cover stock sent to Mesopotamia and Persia in 1915‑19, a list of no less than 784 locomotives sent out by manufacturers to industrial concerns in the area, and tables of main dimensions of many of the engines mentioned in the text. A final page lists further sources available for study at the India Office Library and elsewhere. The book has 112 pages 91/4in x 7in (23cm x 18cm), 76 photographs. 17 diagrams and 3 maps. and is bound in a flexible card cover.

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INDIAN LOCOMOTIVES, PART 4  ‑ ALL GAUGES (1941‑1990) by Hugh Hughes.

This fourth and final part covers the railways of India, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka from the early war years through the hectic post‑war period, when steam enthusiasts flocked to India before the encroachment of diesel and electric motive power altered for ever the overall picture. The account is based on material at the India Office Library, Indian Government publications such an the Reports of the Locomotive Standards Committee, Annual Reports and Accounts of Indian Railways, and Rolling Stock Programmes seen at India House Library and at Rail Bhavan in New Delhi. Further information regarding renumbering of the stock, and railway allocations, was extracted from the locomotive diagram books compiled by the various railway zones in India. For the first time, complete lists of the diesel and electric main‑line stock are included. Altogether, including industrials, the total number of locomotives listed here is well over 16,000, but as in previous volumes small diesel locomotives below 40 horse power have not generally been included. The book has 112 pages 91/4in x 7in (23cm x 18cm) 96 photographs, one drawing and one map, and is bound in a flexible card cover

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TODAY'S STEAM ON THE SUGAR LINES OF CUBA (VOLUME TWO), by David Eatwell

This book provides a collection of high quality photographs of Cuban sugar mill locomotives and trains, mainly reproduced one to a page, accompanied by lengthy and informative captions. Also included is a selection of pictures of preserved locomotives. The book complements Volume 1 which was published in Canada, by BRMNA of Calgary, by featuring several different mills and mainly different locomotives. Originally intended as a guide for prospective visitors to the Cuban sugar mills, the book has now become, because of the closure of many mills and massive decline in steam operations, a pictorial tribute to what could be seen just a few years ago. The book has 48 landscape pages 81/2in x 11in (22cm x 28cm), with 56 photographs, including two in colour on the card cover.

 Note: Volume One is also available from the Circle (while stocks last) at the same price of £8.40

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The following book, published by the Barotse Development Trust in Zambia, is distributed in the United Kingdom by the Continental Railway circle.

 SITIMELA ‑ A history of the Zambesi Saw hills logging railway 1911‑1972, by Geoff M.Calvert.  Based in Livingstone (Northern Rhodesia), the Zambesi Saw Mills logging railway, in its heyday in the late 1950s/early 1960's laid claim to be the longest privately‑owned railway in the world. Superseding ox‑waggons, river barges and a two‑foot gauge wooden tramway, the 3ft 6in "Cape" gauge line was built from 1924 and ultimately reached a length of about 175 route miles of “main line" and about 25 miles of temporary timber extraction trackage. It accumulated 18 vintage steam locomotives and about 180 items of rolling stock. From 1961, the author, a professional forrester-cum-ecologist and a railway enthusiast, collected photographs, maps, references and contemporary personal records, so enabling him to present this comprehensive picture of the ZSM line from its inception to closure in 1972. The 101 miles of the former “main line" from Livingstone north‑west to Mulobezi still provide a public service today under the auspices of the national railway system, and there are displays of artifacts at both ends of the line. The book has 106 pages 9in x 7in( 23cm x 18cm) 111 black &:white photographs, 19 colour including three on the card covers, 25 drawings, 5 maps and 7 track diagrams.

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