Birmingham and West Midlands Railway Atlas

New from Crecy, this latest volume in the rail atlas series focuses on Birmingham and the West Midlands, an area that is undergoing great change with the building of HS2, together with planned extensions to the West Midlands Metro system. The atlas opens with a glossary, series of abbreviations and a key to the map pages, which will help put the following pages in context, as there is a lot of detail contained within. A map of the area covered is also included, with an at-a-glance view of the relevant pages and is bounded by Stafford in the north, Nuneaton, Rugby and Tamworth to the east, Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon to the south and Bewdley, Bromsgrove and Cosford to the west. Maps are presented in a two-page-to-a-view format with differently colour coded lines, reflecting the area's rail heritage and historic tramway network through the years, with breakout views of complex areas. In addition, some pages include snapshots of the rail infrastructure at specific points in history, to amply demonstrate the changes that have occurred at certain locations - for example, the changes to the track and platform layout at Birmingham New Street in 1889 and 2021, as well as junction changes in Wolverhampton and Nuneaton through the years. Proposed layouts are also shown, including the route of HS2 on its journey to Birmingham and beyond. An impressive view of the West Midlands rail network through the years. -- Mark Chivers * Hornby Magazine * This author has produced two other atlases in the same format. The latest, Liverpool and Manchester, was reviewed in the Journal for November 2021, and all the same comments apply to this second edition of Birmingham and West Midlands, which additionally shows that the promise of potentially incorporating amendments proposed by readers has been fulfilled. It seems as if every whim is catered for - the guide to map pages gives a referenced list of major towns, and a bookmark is provided with coloured keys to map drawings and symbols. The author and publishers are clearly of the same mind as their readers, and produce an appropriate product. It is still the case that 'there are other railway atlases available', which have a format covering some different information, and photographs, but nowhere near as comprehensive detailing - and none so far covering this specific geographical area. For its intended scope I suggest this volume is as good as you could get. -- David Pedley * Railway and Canal Historical Society *