YORKSHIRE shares with County Durham the distinction of being 'a participant in the birth of public railways in Great Britain', writes local historian Paul Chrystal in his latest book, Yorkshire's Days of Steam.

The justification for that claim is that it was in the George and Dragon Inn at Yarm, on February 20, 1820, that the decision was taken to press for a third attempt to secure a Bill permitting the Stockton & Darlington Railway to go ahead.

The Bill was passed, and the 25-mile railway was duly built, connecting collieries around Shildon to the River Tees at Stockton.

Just over 15 years later, on October 13, 1835, the York & North Midland Railway was formed, connecting York to London.

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Cover of Yorkshire's Days of Steam by Paul Chrystal

George Hudson, the 'railway king', went on to ensure that York became the railway hub of northern England, Paul writes. By 1839, a temporary railway station had been built in Queen Street: and on May 29 that year an inaugural train of eighteen coaches pulled by two engines stood waiting at the station.

After a 'breakfast of the most sumptuous description' at the Guildhall, the great and the good of York proceeded to the station, followed by large crowds. The train pulled out of York at 1.06pm, arriving at South Milford almost 15 miles away 36 minutes later. After a short stop, it set off in return, arriving back at York at 3.04pm. The city's railway age had truly begun.

That's all just by way of introduction to Paul's new book. Essentially, Yorkshire's Days of Steam is a collection of old photographs (more than 60 of them in all) showing steam trains in action around Yorkshire. Accompany captions give what detail Paul has about each of the photographs.

There are some great pictures in the book. We have a selection here...

1. York Railway Strike, August 1911: strikers mingling with railway company owners and shareholders on Queen Street Bridge

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The general secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants declared the first national railway strike on August 18, 1911, with the words: 'War is declared; the men are being called out.' The strike was called in support of the Liverpool transport strike in which troops were deployed, Paul writes. By August 19, 1911, 5,000 railway workers across the country had walked out, trains were being stoned and soldiers of the York & Lancaster regiment were patrolling in York. Terry's eventually had to close because of the lack of raw materials, as York strikers stayed out two days after the official end of the strike.

2. York's first railway museum, 1951

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York's first-ever railway museum opened in 1951 at the Queen Street station, the site of the first of York's three stations. The museum opened as part of the Festival of Britain, with locomotive No 70000 Britannia (pictured here) taking pride of place.

3. York carriageworks in 1987

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The carriageworks began production in 1884, and finally closed 110 years later, in 1994, Paul writes - just seven years after this photograph was taken

4. Locomotive no 0-6-0T 68309 at the York North shed in October 1959

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The locomotive was built in Darlington in 1900 and withdrawn from service in 1960.

5. The Albrighton arrives at York from Scarborough in the late 1940s

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6. Easingwold Station, before 1960

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The station was on the Easingwold Light Railway, which opened in 1891 as a single-track branch line from Alne, which was on the East Coast Main Line. The line carried passengers (nine trains in each direction on weekdays and a Saturday night special to and from York) as well as goods. The track was taken up in 1960, and all that remains now is the Station Hotel, now a private residence, writes Paul.

7. A railway inspection on the Knaresborough viaduct in 1960

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The inspection is being carried out by the 'Gozunda', a hydraulically-operated rail-mounted viaduct inspection unit

8. York station back in business just three days after the Baedeker raid of April 1942

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  • Yorkshire's Days of Steam by Paul Chrystal is published by Stenlake priced £10.