Well known South Yorkshire writer Peter Tuffrey has always wanted to live in a railway station – with the tracks still intact so that he could leisurely watch trains pass in the comfort on his own unique home. That in part, along with a conversation with pop artist Peter Blake who once lived in a railway station himself, has inspired Peter to amass a mine of information and a unique collection of pictures illustrating the many aspects of South Yorkshire railway station history. We not only see the unique grand architecture that stations once displayed, like those at Sheffield Victoria and Rotherham Masborough, but the armies of staff they once employed. Many staff are seen posing proudly with the stationmaster, on platforms or the rail tracks themselves. Other pictures show evacuees on the platform of Sheffield Victoria station, floods at Sheffield Midland, and the horrific pile up of carriages at the Hexthorpe platform.
Being an illustrated A-Z book, it is one where the reader can pick it up at leisure and learn on each occasion some interesting facts or marvel at something in the illustrations. Sadly we see a number of stations being demolished, abandoned or lost in overgrowth.
Nevertheless this adds to our understanding of local history – the railways that once criss-crossed over South Yorkshire were quickly superseded by the advent of motorised transport.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter Tuffrey was born in Doncaster in 1953. He studied Fine Art at Doncaster College of Art from 1970 to 1971 and then at Leeds University until 1974. He held the position of Keeper of Fine and Decorative Arts at Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery 1975-1995, was a freelance writer 1995-2000, and PR Media Consultant for Doncaster Rovers 2000- 2002. He was Area Manager for the Music Ground Group of Companies 2003-2010. In his spare time, he has built up a massive photographic archive of the region’s towns and villages. With this he has produced over 50 publications including Doncaster’s Old Inns and Taverns and Rotherham from the Scrivens Collection. He has also written many articles for local and regional newspapers.
He lives in Doncaster
248 x 172 mm | paperback | 192 pages | black and white illustrations throughout
