Train books are very popular, and we have some lovely books for all ages!
We’re not solely talking about the Rail Collection at Winchester Discovery Centre – a collection of hundreds of books all about trains!
If you’re a train enthusiast, we can highly recommend a visit to browse through the Collection. These are books about specific trains, about the history of the railway, history of trains, how different routes came about and anything else you could ever wish to know about trains and the railway
The Rail Collection is best for older children and adults as the books have a lot of text in them, if these books are a bit too advanced still for your little train enthusiast, than these lovely books, all about trains, are bound to put a smile on their face!
First book of trains
by Isabel Thomas
From trams to rollercoasters and everything in between! Find out all about 30 types of train – steam trains, monorails, cable cars, electric trains and many more – in this illustrated and annotated first guide to trains.
City trains
by Nikki Bruno Clapper
All aboard! Hop on a city train to see where they go, how they work, and why so many people use trains to get around. Train types include underground trains, elevated railways, and light rail.
It’s all about… speedy trains
Speedy Trains tells you everything you want to know about trains, from building the first railways to steam engines and trains that hover above the rails. Learn about trains that go underground, across water, through rock and more.
Freight trains
by Nikki Bruno Clapper
All aboard! Hop on a freight train to see where they go, what they carry, and why they are used around the world.
Cars, trains, ships & planes : a visual encyclopedia of every vehicle
by Clive Gifford
This is a comprehensive kid’s encyclopedia packed with photos of all modes of transportation, from classic cars and motorbikes to sailboats and spaceships. The book displays exciting vehicles that float, fly or speed across the land, including the record breakers – the fastest, largest, longest, and costliest modes of transportation ever to zoom, sail or soar.
For the older train enthusiasts; these are just a handful of books you can find in the Rail Collection at Winchester Discovery Centre:
50 famous British locomotives
by Peter Herring
A nostalgic guide to 50 of the most famous locomotives of the steam train and early diesel age, including the people, power and popularity that made them famous.
For the love of trains : a celebration of the railways
by Ray Hamilton
More than just a means of transport, trains connect communities, evoke memories, and promise adventures galore. This fact-packed miscellany tracks their development from the earliest locomotives to today’s superfast trains, stopping off along the way to explore great railway journeys, iconic stations, and memorable depictions in the arts.
APT : the untold story
by David N. Clough
The story of the APT is one of ultimate failure. The pioneering project for a tilting train was headline news in the 1970s and 1980s but it failed as much for political reasons as it did for technical reasons. The story is still controversial, and many still see it as a missed opportunity. Yet the legacy of the original APT project is that tilting trains built by foreign competitors run almost unnoticed on Britain’s railway network today and much of the power car technology heavily influenced the design of the later InterCity 225s and the Class 91 locomotives. Now David Clough has delved into recently released archive material and has unearthed a story never before told. He reveals some of the top-level thinking behind the APT project, internal politics and some of the real reasons for APT’s eventual, and expensive, demise.
The early morning milk train : the cream of Emett railway drawings
by Rowland Emett
British main line services in the age of steam, 1900-1968
by Michael Harris
British Mainline Services is a detailed survey of scheduled passenger trains on Britain’s main line railways from the beginning of the century to the end of the steam haulage in 1968
Hampshire Libraries 