Authors Paul Lawton and David Southern continue this series of pocket books exploring Wales's railway heritage, each revealing one of the nation's 'lost lines'. Though the Conwy Valley line is not 'lost' in the traditional sense and continues operations, this title recalls a by-gone era when steam locomotives were at their peak. Opened in 1863, the Conwy Valley line began with the primary purpose of transporting slate from the Ffestiniog quarries for export by sea. It also served many isolated communities in Snowdonia and contributed to Wales's developing tourist industry. The history and social background of the railway and its passengers during this period is explored station by station and brought vividly to life through extensive research and archive photography, some of which has never been published before. AUTHOR: It was almost inevitable that Paul Lawton would grow up with an interest in railways given the railway background in his family tree. His grandfather, great grandfather and great great grandfather all worked on the railway and between them they gave precisely 100 years service to the London & North Western Railway, the London Midland & Scottish Railway and British Railways. Growing up in Somerset next to the Cheddar Valley line, the subject of his next book for Graffeg, he later moved to Wales and has written extensively on the history and the railway history of Denbighshire.
