Amberdale and the Railway Which Runs Through It

Description

This book illustrates a journey through Amberdale, as it might have been in the 1890s. Encompassing a wide variety of scene, Amberdale is nevertheless the smallest of the dales-by far, for Amberdale is a model, dreamt up in the mind of its creator and built over a period of some 60 years. Following the river and the railway through the dale, the pictures bring to life the half forgotten age of the horse and the steam engine, the unspoiled countryside, the quiet charm of the villages, the bustle of a market town and the industrial urgency of late Victorian England. The book describes an extensive and impressive model, yet emphasises that it is not dependant on particular modelling skills or extensive academic research, but on imagination and enthusiasm. It suggests an adventure of any extent open to anyone, and it is hoped that the pictures will entertain and inspire those who build models and. those who do not. The trains wind through the valley, the trams rattle along the streets, the mill wheel turns under the elms.... Welcome to Amberdale.

Philip Harvey grew up in Devon, read engineering at Cambridge, and has lived in North Yorkshire ever since. Elected a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1975, as Project Manager, he had executive and technical responsibility for many major projects in the UK, including the modernization of Tower Bridge and as the Chief Engineer for the manufacture and installation of the Thames Barrier flood gates and machinery. He lectured worldwide on contract management and contract law and served as an accredited adjudicator. Throughout his professional life, he continued to work on Amberdale, the subject of this book.