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See me talking about my research for Steaming to Victory on a super new DVD free with the new October issue of the Railway Magazine and filmed at the Great Central Railway.

    On this week’s 75th anniversary of the start of WW2, let’s not forget the words of Winston Churchill, as victory neared, about the “grim determination, unwavering courage and constant resourcefulness of the railwaymen of all ranks” – without whom the war could not have been won. This great story of heroism in my

Here, without comment, is a lovely recent review of Steaming to Victory on Amazon:http://amzn.to/1gTNP3B 5.0 out of 5 stars A Riveting Read, 9 July 2014 By Imelda “Imelda” (a village in Berkshire) – See all my reviews Verified Purchase(What is this?) This review is from: Steaming to Victory: How Britain’s Railways Won the War (Kindle Edition) How I loved this

Filming this week with Michael Portillo for his new BBC2 series of Great British Railway Journeys, to be screened in the spring. We’re at Knottingley in Yorkshire here, where we took one of the very rare trains from Leeds to Goole http://bit.ly/1tlZEPZ

“Fresh and accessible. Make you feel you were there”. Another nice review – from the  railways and war commemorative issue of the Railway Magazine – Britain’s best-selling railway publication

Today, the Cotswolds village of Adlestrop was celebrating 100 years since the poet Edward Thomas’s train stopped at the tiny station there, inspiring him to write one of the most loved poems in the English language It was a special period in time – and here’s what I wrote about it in my book On

A nice review of Steaming to Victory from ‘Frost’ magazine. Here’s what it says: My grandfather was a railway man for years. It left him with a lifelong love of the railway. He was also in the RAF during World War II, which veers off topic from this book, although the obvious love and respect

As the Queen, and President Obama commemorate this week the heroes of the D-Day invasion, which helped bring WW2 to an end, it should not be forgotten that some of the greatest heroes of D-Day were not on the Normandy beaches, but on Britain’s railways as they prepared for the invasion. Here’s the story of

  A SMASHING FEATURE about how I came to write Steaming to Victory from the Western Daily Press: It may not have been the front line – but it was certainly the line behind the lines. With the country at war, the fibrous network of Britain’s railways became, irrefutably, the lifeline of the nation. During

The Indy asked me this weekend for my memories of  the great days of trainspotting – not the Irvine Welsh kind!. I tried to explain the difference between a trainspotter and a railway enthusiast. But then I thought no point in being pompous – just go for it. After all, Julia Bradbury was including her

  In a couple of weeks, it’s the 70th anniversary of Operation Overlord – the heroic Normandy landings that brought World War 2 to an end. It couldn’t have been done without the ‘Tarpaulin Armada’ operated by Britain’s railways, as I write in my new book ‘Steaming to Victory: how Britain’s railways won the war’.

I’m talking about my books, and especially Steaming to Victory, at the Swindon Festival of Literature tomorrow. Do come and hear me if you can. The talk, with illustrations is at Steam museum at 7pm http://www.swindonfestivalofliterature.co.uk/

    Just got a copy of Railway Ribaldry, newly re-published by Old House Books. This is surely the funniest railway book ever. I loved it when I was a child, when I found it on the bookshelf of my aunt – and couldn’t stop reading it. I love it even more now! Railway Ribaldry

Hear the story of how the men and Great Western Railway helped to win the Second World War in my talk at the Swindon Literary Festival on May 14. Here’s an extract from my interview with the amazing Kathleen Halls – the Great Western’s first woman porter as she recalled her life for my book

  Ashley Jackson enjoys an exploration of the key role that Britain’s railway network played in the Second World War:    Steaming to Victory is the story of how Britain’s rail network, its engines and rolling stock, and the thousands of railway workers who operated it, contributed to the war effort from 1939 to 1945. With

They certainly like the new paperback edition of Steaming to Victory in Spalding in Lincolnshire. Here’s the review from Spalding Today, via the local independent bookshop. (I must say how fond I am of local bookshops. They are a treasure to be cherished): http://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/what-s-on/lifestyle-and-leisure/book-review-steaming-to-victory-how-britain-s-railways-won-the-war-1-6014214    

A lovely review of the new edition of ‘Steaming to Victory’ in Choice magazine – which selects it as  ‘Pick of the Paperbacks’. The reviewer says: ‘A story of quiet but vital heroism…’

Delighted to be talking to the Royal National Institute for the Blind nationally tomorrow about the business of  book writing, and my own books. Hurrah for this community who really love books! 

With publication of Steaming to Victory in paperback, it’s nice to see it’s now Five Stars with reviewers on amazon\1

Here’s a link my article from today’s Independent newspaper about how I bonded with my 12-year-old boy through our twin faiths as he prepares for manhood http://ind.pn/1eQiE8o

  Chatting with my friend Chris Milner, Deputy Editor of the Railway Magazine, he points out that in 1954, it took a steam train, on average, 1hr 15min to travel the 33 miles from Nottingham Midland to Lincoln St Marks, calling at all stations. All but one of the stations are still open today, and

Phew! Just passed 42,500-word halfway mark for my new book for Random House out next year – ‘The Trains We Have Lost’. With thanks to the British Library for a tranquil research berth and historically minded train companies, including East Coast, FGW, Virgin, Eurostar, for all sorts of backing to dig in dusty archives…

I’m giving two talks at Nottingham University this Saturday on the national press and investigative journalism. The debate about both is coming nicely to a head this week in the row about Culture Secretary Maria Miller’s expenses…

Coincidence or what? With the new updated edition of Steaming to Victory out in a few days, my local paper, the CNJ, rang me last night to ask advice about the origin of an unexploded bomb found not far from my home in Camden yesterday, closing busy Hatton Garden to traffic. I’ve written lots about

  Here’s an item from Sixth Sense – the newspaper of the British Forces in Germany – about the special Steaming to Victory train on June 6. I’m giving a talk on the day in Gloucester Cathedral: A special steam train commemorating the crucial role played by the British home and military railways supporting Operation