Author: Brian J. Miller
Publisher: Regional Publications (Bristol)
ISBN: 0906570174
Price: S/H copies available from about £3-£16 depending on condition
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 96
Format: Hardback
How Obtained: Purchased
The Barry Railway is a popular subject for authors with a colourful history and impressive engineering. But with a number of very good recent publications on the company, is it worth getting your hands on a little book from almost forty years ago?
Rails to Prosperity: The Barry and After (1884 to 1984) was written by Brian J Miller and published by Regional Publications in 1984. It has long been out of print but second hand copies are readily available at reasonable prices.
Following a brief introductory background to ‘The Barry’, the book follows the tried and tested format of a photo album with explanatory annotations. A curious two page section called Early Years is followed by an extensive survey of the range of Barry locomotives from the ‘A’ to ‘L’ Classes plus the steam motor railcar.
The Barry and after, including the GWR and BR
Five sections cover locations around the system including stations and junctions. Two further sections focus on post nationalisation and industrial locomotives. These bookend a set of photographs titled The Barry Area which is a miscellany of random images, mainly from the docks. A short appendix includes some handy maps along with some ephemera such as a timetable.
The main purpose of this little volume is a photographic miscellany celebrating the centenary of the railway. The author’s own images form a major part of the content along with others sourced from a variety of collections.
In fact, the title Rails to Prosperity is somewhat misleading as images alone cannot completely convey the way in which The Barry became so wealthy. Indeed, photographs of some of the engineering such as the Llanbradach Viaduct might lead the reader to wonder how the railway made any money at all!
Locomotive Firsts, Entertaining Anecdotes and Some Industry
Miller highlights the innovative nature of the locomotive stock. For example, the ‘D’ class locomotives built by Sharp Stewart from 1889 onwards were amongst the first in Britain to use the 0-8-0 wheel arrangement. Going one better the 0-8-2 tank configuration of the ‘H’ Class of 1896 from the same manufacturer was the very first in Britain. Sadly, neither class of locomotive was particularly long lived.
Though the emphasis of the book is on rolling stock and infrastructure, some entertaining stories of Barry staff are sprinkled throughout. One example involves a banksman nicknamed ‘Deafy’ who was, unsurprisingly, hard of hearing! Tying paper to the signal wires outside his box gave him a visual indication of the approach of a train for which brakes needed to be pinned!
Including pictures of locomotives from associated lineside industries is a welcome addition. These include Rosyth No.1, a saddle tank built by Andrew Barclay in 1914. Originally employed by the RAF at St Athan, this locomotive has been preserved and can be seen today at the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway.
In Summary
An engaging collection of photographs which illustrate the motive power and infrastructure of the Barry Railway and successor companies. Although lacking insight or historical depth the enjoyable short anecdotes and nuggets of information are well worth the reasonable price of used copies today.
The Good
- A good range of images which include many of the locomotive classes and locations around the railway
- Annotations are engaging, sprinkled with information and amusing anecdotes
- Some informative maps of junctions and important locations on the system
The Not So Good
- Lacks depth in its historical background
- Location maps are disconnected from the text making it less easy to place sites in context
Outline Contents
- The Early Years
- The Barry Railway Locomotives
- Cadoxton — Trehafod
- Tynycaeau Junction — Barry Junction (B & M)
- Barry — Cogan
- Barry — Barry Pier
- Barry — Bridgend
- Steam at Barry over the Years
- The Barry Area
- Local Industrial Locomotives
- Maps
- Appendices
About the Author
Brian Miller was born and bred in Barry and became interested in railways at a very early age. The chief reason for this was his father, then a Fireman at Barry, who went to great lengths to describe the way railways operate. Frequent visits were made to far off depots and railways, but it was always the lines of South Wales that held the most interest for the Author. Since 1963 he has been researching the activities of the Barry Railway Company and subsequent Great Western and British Rail operations in the area.
With the end of regular steam workings on British Railways in August 1968, the Author took the opportunity of becoming an officer in the Merchant Navy, so that he could still see steam locomotives at work in other parts of the World. On returning to this country some years later, he became involved with several railway preservation societies before finding full time employment in this field.
(From: Regional Publications (Bristol))
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