YORKSHIRE HERITAGE STEAM RAILWAYS - MIKE AND KARL HEATH - HALSGROVE

Yorkshire has, within its border, vast areas of unspoilt countryside said to be the greenest in England. Yet this historic county was also at the heart of the Industrial Revolution with its extensive coalfields, textile mills and steel foundries.

The demands of these industries saw the rapid growth of railways to provide links from the coalfields, and access to their markets to the north and south of the country and overseas via the ports on the east and west coasts.

This intense railway development also led to the county becoming a major centre for locomotive construction. The subsequent demise of these industries and the associated closure of sections of the railway network cleared the landscape of much of the industrial skyline of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

However the Heritage movement generally and railway enthusiasts in particular have ensured that not all is lost. Thanks to their efforts Yorkshire now has some of the best steam and heritage railways in the country.

From their stunning portfolios Mike and Karl Heath take us on a photographic journey around the county. They visit the world’s oldest working railway, the Middleton Railway in Hunslet, Leeds. Take a journey through the Yorkshire Dales along the idyllic rural line of the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. Travel back in time to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, a complete branch line, set in the 1950s and the first standard gauge railway sold by British Rail to a preservation society. Explore the bleak expanse of heathercarpeted moorland on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway before climbing the steeply graded Settle to Carlisle Railway line through Settle and onto the magnificent Ribblehead Viaduct.

This book provides ample evidence of great days out available for families and enthusiasts alike on the Heritage Railways of Yorkshire.

Mike Heath has been enjoying his hobby of visiting and photographing Heritage Railways up and down the country since purchasing his first SLR camera in 1980. For many years these were family trips with his wife Shirley and sons Darren and Karl, so it is no surprise that, from a very early age, his sons too caught the photography bug. In fact both sons won prizes in Amateur Photographer of the Year competitions before the age of ten! Whilst his older son Darren has moved on to a much wider range of photography, Karl has developed his interest in railways to the point that whilst he still accompanies his Dad at many railway events, he also travels independently across the country in search of that master shot! His photographs regularly appear in the railway press.

Together Mike and Karl have amassed a vast collection of stunning photographs covering all aspects of the railways across all four seasons, day and night. Selections from Mike’s portfolio have already been seen in previous books in the Halsgrove Railway Series but for this look at the Heritage Railways of Yorkshire they have worked together to produce a fascinating album.

Imprint: Halsgrove. ISBN 978 0 85704 261 3, hardback, 214x230mm, 144 pages. Published April 2016.