{"title":"Books by Peter Johnson","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781399077262","title":"The Corris Railway","description":"One of Wales’ oldest narrow gauge railways, the 2ft 3in gauge Corris Railway was built to carry slate from several quarries in the Dulas valley to wharves on the river Dyfi. At first forbidden to use steam locomotives or to carry passengers, it overcame these obstacles and became an essential part of the community that it served.It was also a forerunner in encouraging tourists, offering inclusive tours to nearby Talyllyn, passengers traveling on the train and on railway-operated road services.Taken over by the Great Western Railway in 1930, the railway was closed by British Railways in 1948, apparently for good. Fortunately, the last two steam locomotives and some rolling stock was saved by the nearby Talyllyn Railway, where it played an essential role in that railway’s preservation. Eventually, the thoughts of enthusiasts turned to reviving the Corris Railway, and, after many twists and turns, the first passengers were carried on a short section in 2002.Historian Peter Johnson has delved into many sources to uncover the intricacies of the railway’s origins, its development, operation and revival.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298394026357,"sku":"9781399077262","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399077262_b7544b86-f5d3-4de2-af2d-d42ce8bdebd3.jpg?v=1786019690"},{"product_id":"9781399048309","title":"Cliff Railways","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the 19th Century there was a widespread feeling in seaside resorts with cliffs that visitor numbers would be increased if there was an easy way of reaching, and more importantly, returning from the beach, avoiding flights of stairs or long zig-zag paths. To address this issue, the first cliff railway was built at Scarborough in 1875. Since then, another twenty-nine, or thirty if the Leas lift at Folkestone, which was duplicated in 1890, is counted as two, have been built, including three at inland locations. Despite having the same function, all the cliff railways are different and have their own characteristics. Some of them still use water as a power source. The remainder use electric motors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn addition to telling the story of Britain’s cliff railways, author Peter Johnson tells the story of the authorised but unbuilt cliff railways, vertical lifts and electric stairways that serve or served the same function in a few places, and adds details of what might be called ‘cliff railway derivatives,’ steep-grade, rope-hauled, railways, airport automated people movers, and modern inclined lift installations that might have been built as cliff railways if they had been built a hundred years ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo compile this new book, Peter Johnson, who has written books on Welsh and narrow gauge railways for Pen \u0026amp; Sword, has carried out extensive research in government files and old newspapers. Many of the illustrations have not been published previously and a few of them are very rare.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298655252853,"sku":"9781399048309","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399048309_3c69382c-ffcb-468a-8da2-bd60af2de204.jpg?v=1786019260"},{"product_id":"9781526718051","title":"The Vale of Rheidol Railway","description":"Built to carry minerals from mines in the Rheidol valley, the 2ft gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway found its niche carrying tourists to the tourist attraction at Devil's Bridge, 12 miles inland from the Cardigan coast resort of Aberystwyth. Taken over by the Cambrian Railways and then the Great Western Railway, it became the last steam railway operated by British Rail. In 1989 it became the first part of the national network to be privatised.   Now under the control of a charitable trust it is undergoing a revival that will see it become one of the leading tourist attractions in Mid-Wales.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56303085453685,"sku":"9781526718051","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781526718051_3ace8198-4dee-4419-8fe8-83eab6d48682.jpg?v=1786022237"},{"product_id":"9781526776136","title":"Mail by Rail - The Story of the Post Office and the Railways","description":"Railways have been used for the carriage of mail since soon after the Liverpool \u0026amp; Manchester Railway opened in 1830, the development of the first travelling post offices following, enabling the Post Office to achieve maximum efficiencies in mail transportation. As the rail network grew the mail network grew with it, reaching a peak with the dedicated mail trains that ran between London and Aberdeen.   The Post Office also turned to railways when it sought a solution to the London traffic that hindered its operations in the Capital, obtaining powers to build its own narrow gauge, automatic underground railway under the streets to connect railway stations and sorting offices. Although construction and completion were delayed by the First World War, the Post Office (London) Railway was eventually brought into use and was an essential part of Post Office operations for many years.   Changing circumstances brought an end to both the travelling post offices and the underground railway but mail is still carried, in bulk, by train and a part of the railway has found a new life as the Mail Rail tourist attraction.   Author Peter Johnson has delved into the archives and old newspapers to uncover the inside story of the Post Office and its use of railways to carry the mail for nearly 200 years.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56303344124277,"sku":"9781526776136","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781526776136_9c0137cc-469e-44a6-9789-4e730fce5cf3.jpg?v=1786021844"},{"product_id":"9781803130798","title":"It’s Cold at the End of the Bed","description":"\u003cp\u003eA story unfolds of loss, love, family tensions, frustrated ambitions and shattered hopes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExplores the mental and physical demands of professional rugby, a topic of particular relevance currently with both mental health and head injuries in sport under scrutiny.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307359744373,"sku":"9781803130798","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781803130798_05b80f32-b05b-4b9d-9cd3-168dade060c0.jpg?v=1786026683"},{"product_id":"9781847970640","title":"Rugby Union","description":"Crowood Sports Guides provide sound, practical advice that will help make you a better player whether you are learning the basic skills, discovering more advanced techniques or reviewing the fundamentals of your game.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307859194229,"sku":"9781847970640","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781847970640_4c889fdc-16e3-45b4-97e3-917bd5478c07.jpg?v=1786029330"},{"product_id":"the-formation-and-development-of-small-business","title":"The Formation and Development of Small Business","description":"Here Peter Johnson has put together a collection of his groundbreaking research. Now in one volume for the first time, it will be of great interest to those in every area of business and economics.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466553139573,"sku":"9780415394093","price":171.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780415394093.jpg?v=1785654610"},{"product_id":"the-tanat-valley-light-railway","title":"The Tanat Valley Light Railway","description":"\u003cp\u003eSituated in the Welsh borderland to the West of Oswestry, the scenic Tanat Valley reached westwards into Wales, its Llangynog terminus nestling where the road starts the climb over the Berwyn mountain range towards Bala.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was a lightly populated area that sustained agriculture and some mineral extraction whose residents struggled to get their produce to market. During the 19th Century there were several schemes for a railway that failed due their inability to raise sufficient capital.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Tanat Valley Light Railway is, therefore, a true child of the 1896 Light Railways Act, promoted by the Oswestry Urban District Council the following year to take advantage of the grant-making facilities of that legislation. Because it took so long to obtain powers, and it was not opened until 1906, the Light Railway never really fulfilled its potential. Operated initially by the Cambrian Railways, it was not heavily worked, although it benefited from pipe traffic generated by renewals of Liverpool Corporation’s Vyrnwy reservoir pipeline. Although closure came in stages during the 1950s, and was deemed to be complete in 1960, a short section of track remains in situ at Porthywaen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAuthor Peter Johnson has drawn on the material available at the National Archives at Kew and the Parliamentary Archives in the House of Lords as well as conducting extensive research in digitised newspapers to tell the Light Railway’s story, producing the first in-depth account of its development, operation and closure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeter Johnson is also the author of The Shropshire \u0026amp; Montgomeryshire Light Railway – the rise and fall of a rural byway, published by Pen \u0026amp; Sword Transport in 2024\\. The two railways were connected at Blodwel Junction and the surviving section of the Tanat Valley Light Railway thence to Porthywaen enabled stone traffic on the Shropshire \u0026amp; Montgomeryshire’s Nantmawr branch to continue until 1971.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57483523457397,"sku":"9781399039673","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399039673.jpg?v=1786178696"},{"product_id":"echoes-of-yesterday","title":"Echoes of Yesterday","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEmma Johnson has been shortlisted for the post of \u003cem\u003eSouthwest Young Poet Laureate\u003c\/em\u003e for 2026\/2027\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFamily memories, growing up, getting old, the Troubles, quirky personalities, Covid, cancer, 9\/11, Mr Trump, friendship, loss, love, the pangolin, a toad and even the humble potato find a place in this grandfather–granddaughter collaboration of prose and poetry. Sixty-five years between them but a special bond brought about by a shared passion for writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmma’s award-winning successes have given her the confidence and desire to continue her writing. Despite her other school commitments, rarely a day goes by without her putting words on a page. She is currently working on a fantasy novel.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487690989941,"sku":"9781806344284","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781806344284.jpg?v=1786354917"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-peter-johnson.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}