In The Tracks of the Ace: The Destruction of the Southern Network West of Salisbury by Jeffrey Grayer:
More than forty years ago the last 'Atlantic Coast Express' departed from Waterloo bound for Exeter and beyond. Following the boundary changes the WR took control of the lines west of Wilton from January 1963 - they would now have control of both the former main line and branches from Salisbury to Exeter as well as the numerous SR routes west of Exeter.
Like the famous train the destinations it once served were also now threatened. Changing transport needs allied to the oft quoted phrase for the time, 'profit before service' meant the rural communities once served by the railway would soon witness their rail links severed.
Whole areas were left with no alternative but to use road transport, although little more than a generation later the wisdom of these earlier decisions is at last now being questioned.
In the Tracks of the "ACE" revisits many of the destinations once served by the famous train and its connecting services west of Salisbury.
Drawing on material most of which has never been seen before, Jeffery Grayer - author of the highly successful 'Sabotaged & Defeated' volume, has put together a remarkable album, certain to invoke memories.
Author: Jeffery Grayer
Title: IN THE TRACKS OF THE "ACE": The Destruction of the Southern Network West of Salisbury
Format: PB 88 pages
Publisher: Noodle Books
Pub date: March 2008
ISBN: 9781906419011
List Price: £10.95
