Cambridge Station: Its Development and Operation as a Rail Centre
Why build a Railway to Cambridge? This is the first substantive illustrated book about Cambridge Station which explores the opening of the station in 1845; the four principal railway companies which all worked to and from the station in a tangle of mutual inconvenience; the extensive goods traffic which was handled in the several goods yard around the station; and the way the Station operated from early beginnings, to what Abellio East Anglia and Network Rail offer today. Cambridge Station is renowned for having one of the longest single platforms in the UK, served by Up and Down trains. Ingenious trackwork and extensive signalling could satisfy passengers who were told at the central booking hall entrance: 'Turn left for Kings Lynn or right for London.' The book contains several pictures never before published, showing how the Eastern Counties and then the Great Eastern Railway Companies contrived Cambridge Station and the Engine Sheds, Goods Yards, Signal Boxes and extensive sidings to serve East Anglia. And it tells people stories too, because the author worked on the station in the 1950s and 1960s and knows Cambridge and East Anglia well. He is a geographer and writes with knowledge, wisdom and humour. AUTHOR: Rob Shorland-Ball grew up in Cambridge, worked for BR at Cambridge Station and was Deputy Head and Project Development Director at the National Railway Museum ,York, from 1987 to 1994. He has an extensive knowledge of railways both as a researcher and author as well as a hands-on steam engine, cleaner, fireman and driver. He has advised on projects at several heritage railways in the UK, at Steamtown, Scranton, Pennsylvania and Donetsk in the Ukraine. Rob, a former teacher, is also a born story teller so Cambridge Station comes to life in this book. 200 colour and b/w illustrations
Rob Shorland-Ball grew up in Cambridge, worked for BR at Cambridge Station and was Deputy Head and Project Development Director at the National Railway Museum ,York, from 1987 to 1994. He has an extensive knowledge of railways both as a researcher and author as well as a hands-on steam engine, cleaner, fireman and driver. He has advised on projects at several heritage railways in the UK, at Steamtown, Scranton, Pennsylvania and Donetsk in the Ukraine. Rob, a former teacher, is also a born story teller so Cambridge Station comes to life in this book.
Author: Rob Shorland-Ball
Format: Hardback, 188 pages, 172mm x 246mm
Published: 2017, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, United Kingdom
Genre: Local History, Names & Genealogy
Why build a Railway to Cambridge? This is the first substantive illustrated book about Cambridge Station which explores the opening of the station in 1845; the four principal railway companies which all worked to and from the station in a tangle of mutual inconvenience; the extensive goods traffic which was handled in the several goods yard around the station; and the way the Station operated from early beginnings, to what Abellio East Anglia and Network Rail offer today. Cambridge Station is renowned for having one of the longest single platforms in the UK, served by Up and Down trains. Ingenious trackwork and extensive signalling could satisfy passengers who were told at the central booking hall entrance: 'Turn left for Kings Lynn or right for London.' The book contains several pictures never before published, showing how the Eastern Counties and then the Great Eastern Railway Companies contrived Cambridge Station and the Engine Sheds, Goods Yards, Signal Boxes and extensive sidings to serve East Anglia. And it tells people stories too, because the author worked on the station in the 1950s and 1960s and knows Cambridge and East Anglia well. He is a geographer and writes with knowledge, wisdom and humour. AUTHOR: Rob Shorland-Ball grew up in Cambridge, worked for BR at Cambridge Station and was Deputy Head and Project Development Director at the National Railway Museum ,York, from 1987 to 1994. He has an extensive knowledge of railways both as a researcher and author as well as a hands-on steam engine, cleaner, fireman and driver. He has advised on projects at several heritage railways in the UK, at Steamtown, Scranton, Pennsylvania and Donetsk in the Ukraine. Rob, a former teacher, is also a born story teller so Cambridge Station comes to life in this book. 200 colour and b/w illustrations
Rob Shorland-Ball grew up in Cambridge, worked for BR at Cambridge Station and was Deputy Head and Project Development Director at the National Railway Museum ,York, from 1987 to 1994. He has an extensive knowledge of railways both as a researcher and author as well as a hands-on steam engine, cleaner, fireman and driver. He has advised on projects at several heritage railways in the UK, at Steamtown, Scranton, Pennsylvania and Donetsk in the Ukraine. Rob, a former teacher, is also a born story teller so Cambridge Station comes to life in this book.