Railwaymen of the Western Valleys of Monmouthshire

This posthumously published book is an abridged version of a much larger manuscript prepared by the late Ralph M. Caple and is a railway social history of the Western Valley lines of Monmouthshire, drawn from newspaper accounts, magazine articles and oral history collected by the author. To tell its story as fully as possible Ralph Caple found everyone he could to interview and recorded their experiences of being part of the railway community. Written sources form the basis of the background history Ralph has provided, enhanced by the verbal accounts which he carefully cross-checked for consistency. Unlike many railway histories, this book puts the men who did the work to the forefront, really bringing the story to life, and in a structured informative way. Chapters are included on The Permanent Way, Motive Power, Accidents and Transgressions, the World Wars and more.