AuthorsPaul LawtonandDavid Southerncontinue this series of pocket books exploring Wales’s railway heritage, each revealing one of the nation’s ‘lost lines’.

Though theConwy Valley lineis not ‘lost’ in the traditional sense and continues operations, this title recalls a by-gone era when steam locomotives were at their peak.

Opened in 1863, the Conwy Valley line began with the primary purpose of transporting slate from the Ffestiniog quarries for export by sea. It also served many isolated communities in Snowdonia and contributed to Wales’s developing tourist industry.

The history and social background of the railway and its passengers during this period is explored station by station and brought vividly to life through extensive research and archive photography, some of which has never been published before.

Paul Lawton grew up in Somerset next to the Cheddar Valley line and adds personal insight to this tour through its former stations. He later moved to Wales, writing extensively on the history and railway history of Denbighshire, and is the co-author of three titles in the Lost Lines of Wales series: Rhyl to Corwen, Bangor to Afon Wen and Conwy Valley Line.

David Southern.

The foreword and introduction describe succinctly and knowledgeably the history of each line, mentioning other lines it connected with. The route is then illustrated by carefully selected quality captioned photographs displaying much variety. Every photograph has a steam train in it and along with describing the location the author explains the features that caused that particular class of locomotive to be used. The device of bleeding the photographs to the edge of the page with no white borders is dramatic. Although he does not say so, these books are a celebration of the work of enthusiastic post-World War II railway photographers. [...] Good value for money for a wide audience.'Journal of the Railway & Canal Historical Society