Tracking Back 3: Rail Scenes Of The Newcastle Area
Transportation History Australian History Local History Regional History Railway Transportation Railway Enthusiast Steam Locomotive History
Tracking Back 3: Rail Scenes Of The Newcastle Area is the 2021 first-edition hardcover that closes Ed Tonks’ celebrated trilogy on the Hunter region’s railways. Produced in small numbers by local press Newey Printing Company, this 224-page volume is already out-of-print and sought by collectors who missed the initial run. Packed with 300-plus crisp photographs—many never previously published—it documents the final decades of steam, the arrival of diesels, and the industrial sidings that once threaded through Newcastle’s steelworks and coal-staiths. Libraries hold only single copies, so a clean first printing like this is the surest way to own the complete set in matching hardcover format.
What makes this copy extra desirable is the careful, single-owner history: apart from a tiny dent at the spine crown and a neat name on the front end-paper, the book is unmarked, tight and square—no dog-eared plates or cracked hinges that plague most ex-library copies. The heavy matte pages remain bright, preserving the tonal quality of the illustrations that collectors prize for modelling and historical reference. As a textbook-style reference it also serves adult learners and rail enthusiasts who need accurate wheel-arrangements, builder’s numbers and depot allocations for the Newcastle network’s locomotives and rolling stock.
Beyond the data, Tonks gives voice to the crews, fitters and signalmen who kept the coal trains moving, making the book a living social history of Australia’s east-coast heavy haulage. Whether you are completing the trilogy, hunting a scarce Australian transport title, or searching for authoritative local history to enliven classroom or club presentations, Tracking Back 3 delivers both the nostalgia and the hard facts in one durable, giftable package.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
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