Description

Soft cover, 96 pages, A4 size, 55 photographs, 12 maps and diagrams, references, and index

The author – Ian McNeil – started research on this book 30 years ago, interviewing many former employees and residents, and the book gives an insight into the social life of Simsville, as well as the working conditions. He also carried out extensive field research, and as a result the book contains detailed maps, showing the tramway routes, the bridges, earthworks, and zig-zags. The country was mountainous, and although the tramways were well engineered, they were steeply graded and sharply curved. To work them three steam locomotives, Slippery Sam, Soward, and Daddy Long Legs, were used. They were of the Climax geared type, designed to work on rough track at very low speed.