RAILWAY HISTORY

Andrew had a lifelong fascination with railways and how they changed the social landscape of Britain, and wrote 8 volumes of railway history covering Central and South-East Scotland and South London. His books are of interest both to enthusiasts and casual readers alike, as they provide not only an account of the workings of the various lines but also an entertaining and informative look at wider aspects of social history.

THE NORTH BERWICK AND GULLANE BRANCH LINES

Oakwood Press, 1992, 2019 ISBN: 9780853615521

Andrew’s first and best-selling book, now in a full-colour second edition, covers the still popular North Berwick Branch Line in East Lothian, on which he travelled many times with family and dogs in tow for day trips to the seaside, and the now closed Gullane Branch Line.

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THE HADDINGTON, MACMERRY AND GIFFORD BRANCH LINES

Oakwood Press, 1994 ISBN: 9780853614562

Andrew’s second book on the railways of East Lothian explores an unusual trio of three now lost branch lines controlled by North British Railways which carried everything from passengers, potatoes, coal and whisky.

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THE LAUDER LIGHT RAILWAY

Oakwood Press, 1996 ISBN: 9780853614951

The small town of Lauder in the Scottish Borders was served by this little known railway for only 30 years before succumbing to competition from buses. This account covers a now lost time when sheep and schoolchildren both trundled their way by steam up the rolling green hills and quiet valleys

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THE RAILWAYS OF BECKENHAM

Noodle Books, 2011 ISBN: 9781906419592

Andrew’s only book on English railways covers an area he knew well, the complex maze of lines that run through his childhood home of Beckenham, Dulwich and Bromley in South London. A fascinating tale covering three centuries of history.

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EAST FIFE SERIES CO-AUTHORED BY MICHAEL JODELUK AND ALAN SIMPSON

THE ST ANDREWS RAILWAY

Oakwood Press, 2008 ISBN: 9780853616733

Details the surprisingly turbulent history of the five mile branch line from Leuchars Junction to the ancient university and ecclesiastical town and home of golf, St Andrews. Built entirely by local residents and with local capital it was a pioneer of the cheap railway movement and there is a significant movement to reopen it after its closure in the Beeching era.

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THE ANSTRUTHER & ST ANDREWS RAILWAY

Oakwood Press, 2009 ISBN: 9780853616870

This book tells the fascinating history of the ill-fated small company that ran the 16 mile loop around the twisting East Neuk of Fife, connecting Leven at one end to St Andrews at the other, via the fishing villages of Crail and Anstruther, the latter where Andrew enjoyed many happy holidays at his parents’ holiday home in Cellardyke.

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THE LEVEN & EAST OF FIFE RAILWAY

Oakwood Press, 2013 ISBN: 9780853617280

Recalls the history of the line that, for over a century, took coal, fish, farmers and tourists along the Northern shores of the Firth of Forth from the Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth mainline to Leven and on to the fishing villages of the East Neuk.

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THE EAST FIFE CENTRAL RAILWAY - THE LOCHTY LINE

Oakwood Press, 2015 ISBN: 9780853617389

The Lochty Line as it was known to locals, was a small meandering rural byway with an interesting but sad history that snaked its way through quiet countryside to a handful of remote villages, farms and coal pits. Having closed in the Beeching era it found new life as Scotland’s first heritage railway for a further quarter of a century before finally closing in 1992.

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