EllyBelly Publications

25/03/2024

Thanks to Anthony Gregory for permission to post.
Almost 10 years after the initial seeds were sown, our first magazine is finally available in digital form. The Preview Issue, can be bought for the small price of £5.00 from the link below:

https://www.ellybellypublications.co.uk/p/74313wvh/travellers-fare-magazine

Available as a PDF or ePub.

As the subtitle suggests, we aim to recall the history of British Railways from its formation in 1948 through the Modernisation Plan of the mid-1950s and up until Privatisation in the mid-1990s. This period saw the railways in Britain go through changes that affected the whole country.

Each issue will be packed with feature articles, personal memories and photo features, with contributions from railway staff, passengers, spotters, enthusiasts and railway historians. The railways have always been associated with the social fabric of British society, playing their part in carrying people to work, moving large quantities of freight, distributing goods around the country and being a means of transport for business and leisure travellers. We aim to cover the social history surrounding the railways just as much as the railways themselves, so we hope there will be something for everyone.

Priced at £5.00 an issue we are hoping to publish the magazine monthly and also offer a subscription service shortly.

If you do decide to buy the Preview Issue, I would be grateful for any feedback for the forthcoming editions.

And before you ask, I own the Trademark for "The Travellers Fare Magazine", as 'Travellers Fare' ceased to exist in 1997!

03/03/2024

We are pleased to announce Volume 2 of the Peter Collins Collection - The London Midland Region is now available.

Like Volume One, it can be bought at www.ellybellypublications.co.uk via the link below:

https://tinyurl.com/mr2kr54e

The book is currently available as an ePub and PDF for £20.00. (If we go to print, those buying the eBook will receive £15.00 off the purchase price).

Featuring 158 photographs, from London to the far reaches of Scotland, the day-to-day face of British Rail in the 1970s is seen in all its "glory". As might be expected, Class 40s and AC electrics dominate the West Coast photos, along with the early days of the Class 50s. Sulzer power dominates the Midland Main Line photos, and there is a reasonable collection of DMUs and EMUs of the day.

Inspirations for modellers are plentiful, and we have included the coach formations of services that have been identified. The variations of liveries of the same loco types on the same day give modellers plenty of excuses to run BR Green and BR Blue together!

Once again, all the photographs are available to buy separately via a link on the relevant page.

The photographs presented in this second volume reflect the changing face of British Rail in the 1970s, a steady decline trying to be arrested by electrification, but failing to appeal to new travellers. the bashers would revel in this environment, and we hope that this book will bring back fond memories.

If you have any questions then contact us via the website.

26/02/2024

COMING SOON:

Volume 2 of the Railwayman's View series from Peter Collins will be available to buy very soon. Over 160 photographs from the London Midland Region with some splendid views of Diesels and Electrics. Taken mainly in the early 1970s we see plenty of Sulzers, Class 40s and Class 50s, along with many views of various AC electrics.

Available for £20 it is available as an ePub or PDF. Buy one format and we will send you the other on request and free of charge.

Visit www.ellybellypublications.co.uk for news updates.

21/12/2023

For a preview of the Paddington photographs within Peter's Book on the Western Region follow this link:

https://simplebooklet.com/simplebooklettestpaddington

The book is available as an ePub and PDF (you get both) for £20 from

www.ellybellypublications.co.uk

The book is currently being updated, if you have bought it or buy it now for Xmas we will send you the updated version free.

21/12/2023

21/11/2023

Black Friday is nearly upon us, why not treat yourself or get a Christmas Present early!

www.ellybellypublications.co.uk

20/11/2023

Want to go back to your trainspotting days in the 1970s? Grab a copy oif Volume One of Peter Collins - A Railwayman's View series of eBooks which has some atmospheric shots from the BR Western Region. Predominantly shot in the 1970s, with a few from the 1980s, there are some classic photos from London Paddington to Penzance, and other BR WR locations. With a wide variety of traction, this book brings back memories of British Rail and should offer inspiration to railway modellers too!

Available for 25% off for Black Friday from

www.ellybellypublications.co.uk.

18/11/2023

Volume One of Peter Collns Railwayman's view series is available for just £15 during our Black Friday Sale. With a £15 voucher for the printed version when available, its a bargain. Download it from the ellyBelly Publications website.

www.ellybellypublications.co.uk

11/11/2023

Now Half Price whilst stocks last, over 90 beautiful Black and White photographs taken by long-time BR employee Ronnie Gee.

Available at:

https://www.ellybellypublications.co.uk/p/85033wcw/29796545804/ronnie-gee-railwayman-s-view-em

£7.95, plus £4.00 P&P.

Price: £7.95+£4.00 P&P, 96pp Black and White and Colour photos. I only met Ronnie Gee on a handful of occasions, each time at the Manchester Locomotive Society where he spent many hours looking through the varied , and extensive, library of photographs. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of railway...

21/02/2023

A new Railwayman’s View book is now on sale. Now available from www.ellybellypublications.co.uk is the latest book in the Railwayman’s View series of books. It is the first of four volu…

20/01/2023

Looking for your next weathering project, how about this for grime? Hymek Class 35 D7061, still bearing its ‘D’ number prefix, pulls into London Paddington with the 13.15pm 1C56 up Hereford and Worcester express in 1971.

This photo and over 150 others is now available to buy as an eBook.

"A Railwayman's View - The Photographs of Peter Collins Volume One - BR Western Region"

£20.00 gets you 157 photographs over 180pp. Available as an ePub 3.0 file (and interactive PDF). All photographs can be bought via links in the book. Buy the eBook and get a £15.00 discount voucher if the book goes to print (which is our intention).

Available to download here at : http://ow.ly/tCXS50MtXqE

A great price for a great collection of photographs of British Rail Western Region in the 1970s. Ideal for railway enthusiasts and inspiration to modellers of 1970s British Railways.

19/01/2023

Looking for your next weathering project, how about this for grime? D3964 (later 08796), a Worcester allocated Class 08 350hp shunter, is on duty at Honeybourne Tip on a Saturday afternoon assembling an engineers train ready for a working trip on what is now known as the Cotswold Line. This photo and over 150 others is now available to buy as an eBook.

"A Railwayman's View - The Photographs of Peter Collins Volume One - BR Western Region"

£20.00 gets you 157 photographs over 180pp. Available as an ePub 3.0 file (and interactive PDF). All photographs can be bought via links in the book. Buy the eBook and get a £15.00 discount voucher if the book goes to print (which is our intention). Available to download here at :

http://ow.ly/tCXS50MtXqE

A great price for a great collection of photographs of British Rail Western Region in the 1970s. Ideal for railway enthusiasts and inspiration to modellers of 1970s British Railways.

18/01/2023

Looking for your next weathering project, how about this for grime? A filthy, excess-fuel stained Western D1048 ‘Western Lady’ trundles down the ex GWR main line one cold March afternoon in the early 1970s with a freight from Acton Yard heading for Didcot and beyond. This photo and over 150 others is now available to buy as an eBook.

"A Railwayman's View - The Photographs of Peter Collins Volume One - BR Western Region"

£20.00 gets you 157 photographs over 180pp. Available as an ePub 3.0 file (and interactive PDF). All photographs can be bought via links in the book. Buy the eBook and get a £15.00 discount voucher if the book goes to print (which is our intention). Available to download here at :

http://ow.ly/tCXS50MtXqE

A great price for a great collection of photographs of British Rail Western Region in the 1970s. Ideal for railway enthusiasts and inspiration to modellers of 1970s British Railways.

20/12/2022

Beat the Postal strike......

16/12/2022

Now available to download as an eBook...

A Railwayman's View - The Photographs of Peter Collins Volume One - BR Western Region

£20.00 gets you 157 photographs over 180pp. Available as an ePub 3.0 file (and interactive PDF). All photographs can be bought via links in the book. Buy the eBook and get a £15.00 discount voucher if the book goes to print (which is our intention). Available to download here at :

https://www.ellybellypublications.co.uk/p/85033wcw/railway-books

A great price for a great collection of photographs of British Rail Western Region in the 1970s. Ideal for enthusiasts and modellers.

14/12/2022

Grab yourself a wonderful eBook for Xmas, and get a voucher for £15 to go towards the printed book when available.

Packed with over 150 quality photographs of British Rail Western Region in the 1970s and 1980s, you might even be in one of the photos...!

Great nostalgia for all those who remember BR Blue... (oh and a little BR Green too!)

Buy now at

https://www.ellybellypublications.co.uk/p/85033wcw/C385495003/peter-collins-railwayman-s-view

13/12/2022

Now available to download as an eBook...

A Railwayman's View - The Photographs of Peter Collins
Volume One - BR Western Region

£20.00 gets you 157 photographs over 180pp. Available as an ePub 3.0 file (and interactive PDF). All photographs can be bought via links in the book. Buy the eBook and get a £15.00 discount voucher if the book goes to print (which is our intention).

Available to download here at

https://www.ellybellypublications.co.uk/p/85033wcw/C385495003/peter-collins-railwayman-s-view

Grab a fantastic view into 1970s BR, when there was a proper railway.... 😀

16/11/2022

Manchester London Road, June 2nd 1956: Longsight shed (9A) had several “Britannias” on its books over the years. Two notables were Nos.70043 and sister, 70044. Both locos were un-named when built and were distinguished by being fitted with air brakes for working trials of freight trains out of Toton yard - notice the air pumps on the loco’s front. No.70044 had arrived at 9A in May 1954 and would remain there for just over four years. No.70044 waits impatiently to leave London Road with the 2.05 pm express to Euston. (The loco would return the following morning with the 8.30 am Down). The building above the engine is the former GCR’s signalbox. The nerve centre of the company’s signalling here, the system used pneumatic operation (later electro-pneumatic) for points and signals as far out as Newton. It survived until the new London Road power box came fully onstream in April 1960.

This and nearly 100 other photographs are to be found in our book, 'A Railwayman's View - The Photographs of Ronnie Gee'. Grab a bargain now, save £5.00 off the Ronnie Gee Book in our Black Friday Sale.

Do you have a railway enthusiast in the family, this book has some fabulous photographs by railwaymen Ronnie Gee, from steam to electric in the South Manchester area. Save £5 and get this book delivered for less than the RRP of the book. Some profits from the book will be donated to Macmillan Cancer Relief, who helped Ronnie towards the end of his life. The book is available to buy at the ellyBelly Publications website, follow this link:

http://ow.ly/R34r50LFQSc

15/11/2022

Grab a bargain now, save £5.00 off the Ronnie Gee Book in our Black Friday Sale. Do you have a railway enthusiast in the family, this book has some fabulous photographs by railwaymen Ronnie Gee, from steam to electric in the South Manchester area.

Save £5 and get this book delivered for less than the RRP of the book. Some profits from the book will be donated to Macmillan Cancer Relief, who helped Ronnie towards the end of his life.

The book is available to buy at the ellyBelly Publications website, follow this link:

https://www.ellybellypublications.co.uk/p/85033wcw/29796545804/ronnie-gee-railwayman-s-view-em

23/08/2022

We still have copies of this fabulous book for sale, and from now until 5th September we are giving you free delivery, worth £4.00.

Packed with over 80 full page photographs this book is the first in a series of books featuring the photographs of Ronnie Gee, a career railwayman in Manchester and Stockport.

Using his railway knowledge, Ronnie managed to capture some more unusual workings in the South Manchester area, as well as normal railway life in from the 1950s through to the 1990s.

The first book concentrates on the Manchester-Stockport-Wilmslow line, and features steam and electric traction.

Each photograph has been painstakingly restored to its former glory and each has a detailed caption.

Ronnie's life was taken by cancer and so some of the profits from the sale of the book will be donated to Macmillan Cancer Support.

You can buy yours now at

https://www.ellybellypublications.co.uk/p/85033wcw/29796545804/ronnie-gee-railwayman-s-view-em

and don't forget to add the Promo Code FREEPOST to get your £4 discount.

13/06/2022

When I look back on British Rail in my spotting days, I think of grime, remnants of steam days and generally 'run-down' facilities. But, the railways drew you in.. Yes things were dirty, horsehair stuffed seats would emit a cloud of dust when you sat down, they always smelt dusty, but they were comfortable.
Scenes like the one below were commonplace. Exeter St Davids in the early 1970s and a wet Saturday morning witnesses a Southern Region Crompton Class 33 Type 3 (possibly 6516) adjacent to Peak Class 45 number 72.

The former has arrived from London Waterloo via Salisbury and the South Western main line and has just run around its train and reattached ready for the return run to the metropolis. The Peak is at the head of a Leeds to Paignton North and West express, or Cross Country as it is now described, having reached Exeter via the Midland’s Derby to Bristol main line and the Lickey Incline.
One from Peter Collins' collection, and a photo from the first book which we have held off from publishing for numerous reasons.

It's funny that 50 years on from this photo, life hasn't really changed. High inflation, rising unemployment and the railways suffering. The only thing that seems to have changed is that buildings are cleaner, stock is cleaner, but neither are comfortable, especially the stock!

13/06/2022

Father's Day is June 19th, so if your father likes the glamorous things in life, here is an offer to make his day...

Grab yourself a bargain at www.ellybellypublications.co.uk, with 20% of all orders over £15 (excluding P&P). From the Ronnie Gee book, to railway and aviation photographs and some vintage glamour...

Offer ends 19th Jue 2022.

06/06/2022

Father's Day is June 19th, so if your father likes trains, here is an offer to make his day...

Grab yourself a bargain at www.ellybellypublications.co.uk, with 20% of all orders over £15 (excluding P&P). From the Ronnie Gee book, to railway and aviation photographs...

Offer ends 19th Jue 2022.