Book - reminiscences of Porton Station,Wiltshire

[whole diary]

[Marlburian]

I've just finished reading Porton - Reminiscences of Porton Railway Station, the Railway Cottages and the Porton Camp Light Railway by Terry Grace. Terry grew up very locally in the 1950s and, with his young friends, took part in typical childhood escapades that would shock H & S today: helping with the shunting of goods wagons (including applying their brakes on the move) and, after the Porton Military Light Railway was closed, reinstating abandoned coal wagons on its track, pushing them up the line and climbing aboard for a downhill ride.

There are photos of these wagons in military use, as well of the locomotives with timber shields around their cabs. There's an account of  the Pedrail landship (with caterpillar-type tracks and designed to convey troops) that was tested locally - and found to be unsuitable. A landslip onto the main line in January 1959 is described, when the author's grandfather stopping an oncoming train just in time.

Porton was produced through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing Service, which can be an excellent way for authors to self-publish books that would not otherwise appear in print.

Terry has also produced books on aviation before the Great War at Lark Hill, near Stonehenge.