Cumbrian Railway Photographer - The William Nash Collection, by Kate Robinson and Robert Forsythe
Book published by The Oakwood Press in 2002. Rectangular paperback c.21cm by 14.5cm (N6484)
From the rear side cover: When only 14 years old, he started taking railway pictures. Outside the family circle, these remained unknown until 2000. Nash had, for one so young, a good eye for composition and a keen awareness of what would be a worthwhile subject. Furness Baltic tanks, the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway and the LMS’s West Coast main line are amongst the many subjects that fill his albums.
William Nash (1909-1952) was a gifted individual born at St Bees in Cumbria. Between 1926 and 1952 he worked on the railway starting out in a signal box at the time of the General Strike. His talents were recognised with promotion. In World War II he was assistant district controller at Rugby and by 1952 he was working in the London Midland Region headquarters planning Royal Train journeys. All this was cut short when he lost his life in the Harrow railway disaster of 8th October, 1952.
His youngest daughter Kate Robinson and transport historian Robert Forsythe have shared the task of presenting his material. This volume has been produced to coincide with a series of retrospective exhibitions being staged in Cumbria to mark the 50th anniversary of William Nash’s death. It focusses on his material covering the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, standard gauge steam in Cumbria, along with his images of the railway owned Lakeland steamers and a selection of Lake District landscapes. All the material was taken between 1923 and 1935 or thereabouts. Newly originated hand prints from the original negatives have been made for the book by Kate Robinson. A number of railway postcards from Nash’s own boyhood collection are included, along with biographical detail.
The condition of the book is generally very good. The covers are clean and bright, the spine is intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound. The book is slightly bowed and curves gently upwards along the left and right hand edges.
| Condition | New |