As a collector of old photographs, particularly those depicting railways, well-known Yorkshire writer Peter Tuffrey has always been aware of the vast photographic archive lurking in the depths of the Yorkshire Post newspaper. Renewing his contact recently with an old acquaintance, Peter Charlton, now Editor of the Yorkshire Post, Peter has been able to select some of these photographs for use in his new book Yorkshire People & Railways. Under various chapter headings - Views from the Lineside; Staff; Crashes; On Shed and Works; Preserved Railways; Railway Stations - we see the many different ways Yorkshire people have been involved with railways, particularly in the days of steam, in their own county.

Some of the lineside pictures are pin-sharp, having been scanned from large format glass plate negatives. But that is not to detract from the other pictures in the book, which have been carefully composed and taken over the years by the Yorkshire Post’s own reputable staff photographers. The picture captions are well researched, informative and refl ect Peter’s eye for the unusual and eccentric.

Yorkshire People & Railways not only provides interest for the real enthusiast but also for the social historians among us who want to look back and get a feel for how it really was in the days when steam was King.