Rolt's Lines of Character & other books

Lionel Thomas Carswell (Tom) Rolt (1910-74)

The following stems from Jack Simmons' excellent brief biographical sketch in the Oxford Companion. and the ODNB entry (below).
Born in Chester on 11 February 1910, died Stanley Pontlarge on 9 May 1974. Educated at Cheltenham College, then at Bomfords at Pitchill (agricultural engineers), then apprenticed to Kerr Stuart, the locomotive manufacturing firm of Stoke-on-Trent, but was turned adrift when it collapsed in 1930 and had to complete his training at R.A. Lister in Dursley. In 1934 he and two friends opened a garage near Basingstoke, specializing in the rehabilitation of old motor cars. He bought a canal boat in 1939, living on it until 1951. His first book, Narrow Boat (1944), an evocation of canal life, was the result, followed by his Inland Waterways of England (1950). Among those who have written extensively about railways, Rolt stands out as the engineer of most diverse practical experience. He became directly involved with them firstly in 1950, when he took a leading part in saving the Talyllyn Railway from total closure, helping to float a preservation society for the purpose and taking part in the management of the reopened line. All this he recorded very well his superbly written book Railway Adventure (1953).
In 1957-60 he published excellent  biographies of I. K. Brunel and the two Stephensons. He did much for the railway preservation movement, giving experienced advice to a number of the societies formed for this purpose. He also afforded valuable assistance to the Science Museum in connection with the establishment of the National Railway Museum at York. JS: Missing Persons; personal knowledge. Rolt's own three volumes:, Landscape with Machines (1971); Landscape with Canals :1977), and Landscape with figures (1992), form a vivid autobiography and have been joined together as The Landscape Trilogy.

R. Angus Buchanan has contributed a biography on Rolt to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Adrian Jarvis Samuel Smiles justifies Rolt's adherence to Smiles' biographies of the Stephensons..

Tom Rolt was one of the very best writers about railways and he is significant as one of the key players in the preservation of the Talyllyn Railway. He deliberately set out to be a writer, although he had been trained as an engineer at the Kerr Stuart works in Stoke. All of this personal biographical information is available in an extended compilation of his autobiographical works. He made several key contributions to the biography of engineers (most notably Brunel² – this demands specific examination at some time), a major work on railway accidents (Red for Danger), and much about canals, some of which is highly pertinent to the historical study of railways. He was also a vintage car enthusiast, and a lover of the British countryside. There is a hint of sadness in many of his works, possibly because of his failure to be a successful philosopher and through marital problems. His Landscape Trilogy is a major autobiographical work. Obviously, it is necessary to begin with a single work, and this is one of joint effort with the late P.B. Whitehouse, namely Lines of Character, although Whitehouse's contribution was restricted to the superb photographs. Rolt's autobiography makes it clear that he was disappointed at the sales figures for this book.

Like Hamilton Ellis, Rolt was able to look back to a bygone age: "Of all the Midland branch lines, the one which holds the highest place in my affections is the Hereford, Hay and Brecon over which I made the first railway journeys that I can recall. How long looked forward to and exciting those journeys were! They began in the cold half-light of winter mornings when the wheels of the old horse cab crunched on the gravel of the drive and we set off, clip-clop, for Hay Station with luggage piled on the roof and ourselves crammed into the dim interior which smelt of hay and musty Bedford cord. Then there was the expectant wait on the open platform beside the Wye until the smart little train in its immaculate livery of Midland lake bustled into the station and a porter worked his way from carriage to carriage with his laden barrow sliding fresh carpet-covered foot-warmers into each compartment. And here it may be remarked in parenthesis that the Midland lake of those far off days was a very different and much purer colour than the drab maroon which the London Midland and Scottish later affected. Even at that early age I sometimes wondered what the Midland was doing on the borders of Wales so far from its main lines..." It may be noted that his comments on "Midland lake" would now be hotly disputed, notably by David Jenkinson. It is probable, however, that the Midland trains of Rolt's youth were kept far cleaner than those of later years, and were never permitted to degrade to the hideous shades of purply-pink now to be found on many "preserved" railways.

Some aspects of the old order remained into the immediate post Second World War period as is demonstrated by a journey in quest of the last Highland locomotives: "Like the men of an older race hard pressed by an alien invader, the only two surviving Highland express engines have retreated to the farthest north to work between Wick and Thurso. So we [presumably both of the named authors] set off in search of them by the early train from Inverness, rumbling slowly over the Caledonian Canal swing bridge just as dawn was breaking. As the sun rose over the Black Isle and woke to sparkling life the cold steel-grey waters of Beauly Firth we breakfasted in an old Pullman diner which had first seen service on the Caledonian and which represented the acme of luxury on wheels in the old pre-grouping days. Oval and bevelled plate-glass lights in the vestibule ends, movable chairs, the rich decoration scheme of inlaid veneer and the strong smell of gas emanating from the kitchen all stirred nostalgic memories of railway journeys of long ago."

As late as 1954 it was still possible to see the extraordinary double-headed morning train for the Far North cross the steel viaduct below Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel. This still had a Pullman at the rear, or possibly at the front, which was shunted onto the southbound train at The Mound. Youth hostellers could obtain a permit to cross the viaduct as it saved many miles of walking or cycling. This I did in quest of seeing the last Highland 0-4-4Ts at Dornoch. Later I was to cross the Dornoch Firth in an open ferry where there is now a great road bridge, which should have accommodated railway tracks, but that is another (and very sad) story.

My personal favourite photograph has always been that of a LNWR 2-4-2T at Coalport in Shropshire. By the time of acquiring the book I knew that the Coalport branch was steeply graded and the motive power looked so very insufficient for such a line. I had always assumed that the line would have completely disappeared by now, but to my great joy much remains as the Silkin Way cycle track in Telford. This even includes the traversal of a rather dark tunnel where the sense of darkness is accentuated as the track is above what appears to be a key sewer using the line as a useful route from the new town to the Severn. It was exhilarating to freewheel down much of the way, and the return was hard going even on a mountain bike. How on earth did those asthmatic old North Western locomotives cope with such terrain?

Rolt's main Irish and Welsh railway adventures are thoroughly covered in the recently reissued autobiography; therefore it is more appropriate to conclude with a wander across rural England by one of those quaintly named lines, most of which have ceased to exist (the author is indeed fortunate that his local station is West Runton on the runt of the Midland & Great Northern).

"Naturally the smaller railways, which maintained their independence until the grouping of 1923, preserved their individual character longer than the majority which were absorbed by one or other of the bigger companies at an earlier date. Usually these survivors were cross-country lines which the bigger fish did not deem of sufficient strategic importance to their territorial ambitions to be worth swallowing, although they might sometimes conclude through a running agreement to forestall some rival service. Two such lines for which I have always had a particular affection are the Stratford-on-Avon and Midland Junction and the Midland and South Western Junction Railways."

Having outlined its history and its structure Rolt noted that "Despite its switch-back single line, the S.M.J. was potentially a very useful passenger route..." Later he describes a journey made during the line's hay day.

"My first trip on the S.M.J. was made during the first World War in the course of a long cross-country journey from Hay to Blisworth. Unfortunately I was too young to remember it clearly and it had been absorbed by the L.M.S. before I passed that way again, making several journeys from Beckford on the Midland to Blisworth. The section between Broom and Stratford has been closed to passenger traffic for some years, but at the time I am speaking of it was possible to make a through journey from Ashchurch although it seemed to occupy most of the day. At Evesham the train retired to a siding where it slumbered for a considerable time for no very obvious reason, but passengers could remain on board until it eventually awoke and trundled off to Broom Junction where it performed an unhurried reversing operation in order to pass on to the tracks of the S.M.J. the "Slow, Mouldy and Jolting" as I had now learnt to call it with affectionate disparagement. Travel on the S.M.J., east of Stratford, consisted of an alternation of slow, panting climbs and swift, swaying descents. From the willow-bordered levels of the Avon it was either heavy pulling or collar work all the way to Byfield on that limestone spine of England whence Cherwell and Nene and Leam go their separate ways to the sea. Then the grade favoured, but there were two more summits to cross before the train finally drew in to Blisworth in the late afternoon. It was by no means a smart service, yet I loved this leisurely progress across the Midland shires from station to quiet station. At Burton Dassett under Edge Hill there was the moribund Edge Hill Light Railway to be seen, relic of an unsuccessful ironstone mining speculation, where Brighton "Terriers" used to slumber on the grass-grown tracks. At Fenny Compton, where the line ran beside Great Western metals, a Birmingham two-hour express might thunder past on its lordly way, or there would be a glimpse of a slow-moving boat on the Oxford Canal. At Woodford there was the "G.C." to be looked for, and at Blakesley the little miniature railway which used to run from the station to the hall. And finally, as the train descended the steep bank into Blisworth and rounded the last sharp curve, there appeared the four gleaming tracks of the North Western main line, a contrast indeed to the sleepy S.M.J."

"Alas for the old S.M.J., those journeys can never be repeated!... Slow, Mouldy and Jolting," "Fig and Orange", "Drum and Monkey" and other names more impolite the S.M.J. was one of those railways which, like certain people, seem fated from birth to be a butt for the humour of others."

Now the Ministry of Transport (alias Roads) is gradually constructing a road of motorway proportions to ease the passage of trucks from the East Midlands towards the South Coast. The extract combines Rolt's love of railways, rural Britain and canals. Unlike most authors on railway topics, he was prepared to wear his heart on his sleeve, and was willing to express his disappointments as well as to describe his successes in his very real autobiography1. Thus the failure of his first marriage, the bankruptcy of Kerr Stuart, the sinking of his canal barge, and the inevitable human clashes which affect anyone who attempts to save canals and railway, and even the death of his parents, are mentioned. Most importantly, in the third part of the Trilogy (Chapters 5 and 6) he states his approach to writing and the key relationship which he had with his publishers. In consequence Tom Rolt has achieved a degree of immortality through his writing, and for anyone interested in the craft, this is clearly one of the dominant factors in this activity, even if many cases this is illusory – only a librarian who has had the difficult task of attempting to accommodate the ever-rising flood of new literature is aware that the bulk of the material in his or her care remains unread. It could be argued that one of the key functions of the Bay Platform is analogous to that of the cemetery attendant who ensures that the gravestones do not become obscured by weeds.

The final section of this wonderful book is given over to a description of running the cattle specials from Dingle to Tralee on the monthly market day over the extremely steeply-graded, tortuous line in the far West of Ireland.

1. Rolt, L.T.C. The landscape trilogy. Stroud: Sutton, 2001.
2. Rolt, L.T.C. Isambard Kingdom Brunel: a biography. London: Longmans, 1957.
3. Rolt, L.T.C. Red for danger. London: Bodley Head, 1955.
4. Rolt, L.T.C. Lines of character. London: Constable, 1952.

Kevin P. Jones

Books

The Cornish giant: the story of Richard Trevithick, father of the steam locomotive. London: Lutterworth Press, 1960. 160pp + plates.
Short extracts in the section on Trevithick.
George and Robert Stephenson: the railway revolution, with drawings and maps by Kenneth Lindley. London: Longmans. 1960. xviii, 356pp.
Great engineers. London: Bell, 1962.
Includes: Abraham Darby, Thomas Newcomen, William Jessop, Matthew Murray, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Locke, John Fowler, Benjamin Baker, R.E. Crompton and F.W. Lanchester.
A Hunslet hundred: one hundred years of locomotive building by the Hunslet Engine Company. Dawlish: David and Charles, 1964.177pp. + plates and folding plans.
The Inland Waterways of England, London: Allen & Unwin, 1950. 221pp. + 48 plates. col. front.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel: a biography. London: Longmans, 1957. 345pp. + plates (30 illus.)
See extracts in biographical section on Brunel
The landscape trilogy. Stroud: Sutton, 2001.
Landscape with machines was first published in 1971 (and includes his uncompleted apprenticeship with Kerr Stuart and his encounter with Kyrle Willans, including an account of how a Manning Wardle tank engine was converted into the first Sentinel locomotive and his involvement with a Sentinel tractor at Pitchill.
Lines of character. London, Constable, 1952. [iv], 188 p. + front. + 32 plates. 65 illus. Bibliog.
Written with P.B. Whitehouse, includes the wonderful account of working the monthly cattle trains to Dingle on the Tralee & Dingle Railway in Western Ireland (by far and away the best piece of writing about railways ever written, although breakfast in the old Pullman car on the Far North line is almost as evocative. He also covered the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway. Sadly he failed to reach the Bishops Castle Railway whilst it was still functioning ("gently breathing" was the term used by Rolt), but his prose is still highly evocative of a sort of rural byway (with rails).  .
The Mechanicals: progress of a profession. London: Heinemann on behalf of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1967. 163pp. + plates (76 illus.)
Patrick Stirling's locomotives. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1964. 64pp.
Surprisingly little text.
Railway Adventure. London: Constable, 1953.
Classic story of the saving of the Talyllyn Railway by a small group of enthusiasts. A 1961 edition published by David & Charles has a Preface by John Betjeman (Ottley 7415).
Red for danger. London: Bodley Head, 1955. 
Railway accidents
Victorian engineering. London: Allen Lane/The Penguin Press, 1970. 300pp. + plates (76 illus.)
"The most significant characteristic of all the engineer's machine tools is that they are self-propagating. Once the necessary accuracy has been build into them, they are capable of reproducing themselves or other, novel machines with great facility and like accuracy. Progress in mechanical engineering, the successful translation of new ideas into three-dimensional form, is ultimately governed by this cumulative process." The book begins with the scene at Slough station on 13 June 1842 when Queen Victoria made her first train journey to London in a train driven by Daniel Gooch. The middle of the book has a chapter entitled High noon in Hyde Park and describes the Great Exhibition of 1851. Rolt is harder on the exhibits than later generations might be: "The Victorians allowed their admiration for painstaking work and ingenuity to override their aesthetic judgement. ... Furniture, china, glass, plate and textiles were generally grossly overburdened with elaborate ornament in a bewildering variety of styles, often incongruously blended." Chapter 1 The railway engineers: "Whereas the long list of canal and road works for which Thomas Telford was responsible had been completed without a single serious accident, the railways were built at a terrible cost in human life.." Commercial pressure forced everyone to take risks.

2008-08-21