The Railways of Sir Arthur Percival Heywood
This is the long awaited first volume of the new book on Sir Arthur Heywood by James Waterfield, and the wait was definitely worth it.
James has spent many years studying and researching the work of Sir Arthur Heywood, particularly with regards the ‘Minimum Gauge Railways' concept and has also built fine full-size working replicas of the locomotives and various items of Heywood rolling stock.
The detail on Heywood's two railways - the major one at Duffield Bank, and the much smaller one at Dove Leys, and on the locomtives, rolling stock and infrastructure is extraordinary, and of considerable historic interest. And there is an interesting chapter on what happened to the rolling stock after Sir Arthur's death, much of it going to the then nascent Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway.
Almost as a bonus, there is a lot on the Heywood family, and some of its employees - necessary to the story of the railways themselves, but an interesting glimpse into the life of a wealthy Edwardian family.
Volume Two will cover the only equally interesting story of the only Estate railway Sir Arthur built - the Duke of Westminster's Eaton Hall Railway.
This is a large hardbound book with 336 pages, over 300 photographs, 42 modellers’ scale drawings, 40 drawings, diagrams, maps and plans.