The pre-Grouping companies were fiercely competitive and would defend any incursion by another company penetrating what they considered to be their ‘territories’. Nevertheless, at times they would co-operate.
This co-operation resulted in a large number of joint lines. These joint lines ranged from fully independent operations, complete with their own staff, locomotives and rolling stock, to short lengths of railway used by the joint companies, with the cost of maintenance shared.
There were more than seventy of these joint lines and all feature in this series by popular railway author Patrick Bennett. This volume focuses on those found in Scotland and the north of England.
Chapter List:
- The Great Northern & London and North Western Joint Railway
- The Ashby & Nuneaton Joint Railway
- The Mid-Notts Joint Railway
- The Halesowen Railway
- The Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway
- Shrewsbury and Wellington, Shrewsbury and Welshpool, Woofferton and Tenbury Wells
- Cheltenham and Gloucester
- The Wrexham & Minera Extension Railway
- The Vale of Towy Railway
- Dowlais & Merthyr Area
- Brecon and Merthyr Junction/London North Western Joint
- The Severn & Wye Railway
- Fratton to Portsmouth and Southsea
- The Bristol Port & Pier Railway
- The Weymouth & Portland Railway
- The Somerset & Dorset Railway
Each chapter consists of entries for each Joint Line in the area, with a brief history included for each line alongside a number of archive black & white or more recent colour photographs illustrating the lines. 96 pages.