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The Great Northern Railway: An Irish Railway Pictorial
The Great Northern Railway An Irish Railway Pictorial Author:Tom Ferris The latest addition to Midland's popular 'Irish Railway Pictorial' series is a Joyful photographic celebration of one of Ireland's best loved and most respected railways, the Great Northern. The book focuses on the years from 1945 until the end of regular steam workings on former GNR lines in 1965. Formed by amalgamation in the 1870s, the Great ... more »Northern retained Its identity until 1958, a long innings by any standards. In terms of route mileage, this was the second largest railway in Ireland. At the heart of the GNR was its main line which linked Ireland's two largest cities, Dublin and Belfast. In addition to this there was the line from Belfast to Derry and a network of secondary routes running from coast to coast which served a large swathe of the north west of Ireland. The GNR operated a range of steam locomotives which all bore a strong family resemblance. Passenger services were generally operated by 4-4-0s with goods trains in the hands of 0-6-0s. In the post war years, many passenger engines had their already elegant lines further enhanced by a beautiful sky blue livery. One of these locomotives hauling a train of the GNR's teak liveried stock was as fine a sight as ever graced an Irish railway. The book also deals with the GNR's achievements as a pioneer of diesel traction. The company's fleet of railcars and railbuses are covered on detail. For those who knew and used the GNR this book will bring back many nostalgic memories of a large and efficent railway network now mostly closed and discarded. Those not fortunate enough to have known the railway in its heyday will be able to see from the pages of the book how much of value was lost with the closure of so much of the GNR system.« less