Befittingly capturing the headlines in all the leading railway periodicals of the time was 2008’s landmark commemoration of the four decades that had passed since the end of BR steam. Such an auspicious juncture in history (at least for we railway enthusiasts!) obviously came and went to the accompaniment of much in the way of special events - these extending even to attempts to re-orchestrate a number of the best-remembered passenger and freight workings from those final days.

However, for those of us ancient enough to actually recall such times with any clarity, all that these occasions served to underline was that the steam railway age, in which we had grown up and learnt to love with a passion, had totally vanished and neither that special magic nor the unique ambience that accompanied it - both visibly and sensually - could ever return.

It is a great pity, therefore, that publication of such an evocative photographic album as “On Parallel Lines” could not have coincided with such a particular anniversary milestone, even if only to provide us all with an appropriately timely reminder of what life really was like for steam railwaymen back then (and, of course, not forgetting the ‘supporting cast’ of fans) and to adequately explain just why the periodic marking of such a feeling of nostalgic appreciation for the past still remains so very important to so many today. Nevertheless, whatever age-group the readers of this new book might come from, we should all count ourselves extremely fortunate in that such a delightful piece of work has succeeded in reaching the bookshelves.

This is Ted Parker’s and Ken Horan’s first foray into publishing and the ‘Introduction’ to their jointly-produced effort - with its ingeniously contrived title – explains that what we now see has materialised only at the conclusion of years of hard work and planning. Further to that, the superb image quality within 180 action-packed landscape A4 pages clearly indicates many additional hours spent in the ‘digital darkroom’ … this, to coax the very best out of negatives that, in many cases, were approaching half a century in age. Taking such factors appropriately into account, it was, very obviously, not going to be a piece of work to be at all hurried and, like all good things, has proved to be well worth the wait for.

The content of the album comprises almost entirely of previously unpublished material, this produced generally in a chronological manner – two factors which established a particular rapport with this reviewer – and is very much a collation of first-hand reflections, all presented in an exceptionally readable manner … so well-composed in fact that the occasional (but perhaps inevitable) inaccuracy is hardly noticed. Indeed, throughout the whole of the 1960s, even with diesels and electrics increasingly becoming part of the everyday railway scene, sensibly, only a handful are permitted to appear here in what is intended to be essentially a tribute to steam and the authors are, therefore, totally excused in that the major ‘gaffe’ noticed within the entire book does relate to the captioning of one such picture!

With perhaps a couple of significant exceptions, comprehensive down-to-earth ‘warts and all’ portraitures of the final years of Britain’s steam-age have always been sadly lacking and, in many respects, those that did make it into print only really succeeded where authors were able to prove that they knew their subjects intimately. Such a factor is especially the case here, for Ted and Ken’s particular skills have produced just the right mix of extended and informative captioning, accompanied by more than the occasional personal anecdote. Little in the way of views through rose-tinted spectacles and certainly not a single example of the regularly regurgitated photographic material that we see all too often; all of the aforementioned are factors that combine to produce the major selling-point of all, in that this is not a work created merely to blatantly capitalise upon one of the market’s periodic thirsts for nostalgia.

In the 1960s, the eventual creators of “On Parallel Lines” were both ‘local lads’, superbly located in one of the final areas where steam still predominated and, equally, both able and equipped to document the demise of the era literally from their own Sheffield doorsteps. Indeed, from Ken’s exalted position as a fireman on BR main-line steam - and being one of very few who regularly took his camera with him to work - he took full advantage of such a unique opportunity to obtain some superb and often striking images from locations not normally accessible to others.
Whilst Ted and Ken were going about recording their experiences on film, the year of 1968 was drawing ever closer and soon proving to be pivotal in a period of great change. With the march of so-called ‘progress’ - that included man being a matter of months away from walking on the moon – ‘time’ was about to be called upon steam. As these pages so graphically depict, the net was being cast ever further by our two intrepid photographers, with them soon encompassing Manchester, Leeds, York and Tyneside, as well as the scenic Pennine routes over Ais Gill and Shap Fell. By the opening months of the final year, many forays had also been made into the North West and where the final rites were about to be eked out at a rapidly-decreasing number of surviving loco-sheds.

Decent cameras were obscenely expensive during such times, and so was film … indeed it was only the more affluent who could afford to invest in colour imagery. Nevertheless, that singular lack of a further dimension in no way detracts from the otherwise superb quality of the book’s content, particularly, as explained (and depicted right up there on Page 2), many of the photographs were captured using far from costly equipment … albeit more latterly with the assistance of some 21st Century digital improvements, which have been executed to perfection. Indeed, given the atmospheric ‘fire, smoke & steam’ message conveyed through many of the pictures, monochrome somehow seems eminently appropriate and certainly is the perfect medium to emphasise the ‘grime & grease’ characteristic that accompanied years of abuse and neglect during steam’s declining years.

By no means a volume depicting little other than ‘¾ frontal’ images … particularly of immaculate locos, with sky-high exhausts, in gloriously-lit rural scenery or, conversely, ‘spot the train’ (if one has a microscope) panoramas - both of which have already been ‘done to death’ by so many eminent (and not so eminent) names in railway photography who have gone before – this offering does totally succeed in other ways. As a result of its presentation of a comfortable and well-balanced amalgam of photographic styles, we enjoy delightful cameos of the period, but with the steam locomotive always noticeably the centre of attention.

Many publishing houses demand ‘money up front’ from writers, before even preparing to go to press, only then to offer precious little financial reward in return for the handing over to them of the labours of a lifetime. In this instance, that has not been permitted to occur, for the two authors have been brave enough to personally finance the book’s production out of their own pockets and then to proceed to publish it as well. Fortunately, such confidence in ultimate success was amply rewarded and stocks of the initial print-run did soon become rapidly depleted, even in the few outlets where it has been available!

On an even more positive note, that did also mean that the design and layout could be very much that of its instigators and not what might have been forced upon them by some third party. However, in the absence of hindsight, it was unfortunate that consideration could not have been given towards producing a far more robust hardback edition; one specifically for the coffee table and where such a well-produced piece of work as this would have rightly deserved a place. That might yet occur, but the latest news is that work is currently being concentrated on a ‘Part Two’ book that it is hoped might be published by Christmas 2011. Of those lucky enough to already have ‘Part One’ in their libraries, most will surely soon be queuing up to get their hands upon its successor.

To summarise? Tebay shed at 4-30am, with only a couple of yard lamps for illumination, or on one of the gloomy platforms of Manchester Victoria on a foggy, raw, wintery night and where you could cut the atmosphere with a knife – at some time we’ve all been there, or somewhere like it …. but how many of us would actually have thought to record such experiences on film? Nevertheless, such scenes were all part of the real steam railway!

In “On Parallel Lines”, all that's missing to bring such emotional pictures fully back to life is the sound of hissing steam, accompanied by the evocative aroma of arguably one of the most delicious smells in the world … that of the heady mix of hot oil, smoke and steam that permeates every fibre of one’s being.

“24C”