R H N Hardy - A Life on the Lines

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Richard H N Hardy and Posthouse Publishing Ltd, 2012, 2016

First published by Anova Books Ltd 2012

Second edition published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2016

This electronic edition published in 2020 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Richard H N Hardy and Posthouse Publishing Ltd have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

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ISBN: 978-1-78442-460-2

ePub: 978-1-78442-461-9

XML: 978-1-78442-459-6

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All images are the copyright of The Transport Treasury (www.transporttreasury.co.uk) apart from those listed separately below. The majority of Transport Treasury photographs were taken by the author, but photographs by A E Bennett, R C Riley, R E Vincent, Dr I C Allen and G A Barlow have also been included.

Nick Brodrick .

National Railway Museum / Science & Society Picture Library John Sagar.

AUTHORS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Bloomsbury Publishing who have taken over the publishing of this second edition of the book and in particular publisher, Janet Murphy and editor, Jonathan Eyers. I owe a particular debt to Rupert Wheeler whose idea this book was and whose judgement has helped me so much in bringing this book together. I must also thank both Philip Murgatroyd and Ben Maclay (as well as my own family), who have forgotten more than I shall ever know about computers and their little ways. Had it not been for their practical support, I should have got nowhere very fast indeed. And finally my gratitude to Barry Hoper for the excellent printing of my old box camera negatives and the work of the Transport Treasury who have made those images available worldwide and to the descendants of men whose photographs I took at work maybe over 70 years ago.

INTRODUCTION

I n July 1936 when I was 12, rising 13, my parents gave me a Kodak Box camera just before we went on holiday to Lausanne overlooking Lake Geneva: the idea was that I should take an educational interest in my surroundings and so I did to the extent of three scenic efforts with the camera, two of the Lausanne trams and about 20 pictures of the splendid paddle steamers on Lac Leman. Their engines and their shaven-headed engineers were visible for all to see but actually I loved every moment of that holiday and in 1949, on our honeymoon, my wife and I stayed at the same hotel and travelled in the same paddle-steamers. But the day before I left, there was just time to visit Amersham station on the Metropolitan and Great Central (Met & GC) and photograph the arrival of the 1606 to Marylebone.