Editing Great Western Railway (section)

===Locomotive books===
[[Railfan|Railway enthusiasts]] were kept informed of new locomotives and other topics through the ''Great Western Railway Magazine'' from 1904. In 1911 the GWR became the first company to publish a book about its locomotive stock. ''Names of Engines'' was a booklet containing an alphabetic list of the company's named engines, with their number and [[wheel arrangement]]. Alternate pages showed formal vignetted photographs of different types of engine, mostly in [[photographic grey]], annotated with their principal dimensions. No author was credited but the list was compiled by Arthur J.L White in the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer's Office.{{sfn|Wilson|1987|pages=87, 173–177 }}<ref name="GWRengines">{{cite book |title=G.W.R. engines: names, numbers, types & classes. |date=1971 |publisher=David and Charles |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=0-7153-5367-5 |at=1911 edn. |ref={{sfnref|GWR Engines|1971}} }}</ref>

New editions were printed in 1914 and 1917 as ''Great Western Railway Engines'' edited by {{Nobr|'A.J.L.W.'}} and then as ''Great Western Railway Engines: Names, Numbers, Types and Classes'' in 1919 with new editions at regular intervals up to 1929.{{sfn|Wilson|1987|pages=87, 173–177 }} These listed the named engines by class, each class having a formal photograph annotated with extensive dimensions and engineering details. Some classes of unnamed engines were also given a page with a photograph and similar annotations. No author was credited, but the introductory essay "Naming of Locomotives" was signed {{Nobr|'A.J.L.W.'}}{{sfn|GWR Engines|1971|loc=1928 edn., p. 15}} Arthur White died in 1929 and from 1932 new editions, now ''The G.W.R. Engine Book'' were published by the GWR's Publicity Department up to 1935.{{sfn|Wilson|1987|pages=87, 173–177 }}

From 1938 the editor was given as {{Nobr|'W.G.C.'}} who was W.G. Chapman. The title was now ''GWR Engines: Names, Numbers Types, Classes, etc. of Great Western Railway Locomotives''. There were reprints (also listed as editions) following in 1938 (again) and 1939.{{sfn|GWR Engines|1971|loc=1946 edn., reverse of title page, and foreword}} A final edition was published in 1946.{{sfn|Wilson|1987|pages=87, 173–177 }} In addition to the locomotive listings, photographs and dimensions, there are numerous essays on many aspects of GWR locomotive development.{{sfn|GWR Engines|1971|loc=1938 and 1946 edns.}}

On a related subject, the GWR also published in 1935 a 56-page booklet entitled ''Swindon Works and its place in Great Western Railway History''. Illustrated with photographs on almost every opening, it recounts the history of the GWR as a locomotive-using and building company, the construction and development of [[Swindon Works]], and the training of those employed there. It describes each section of the works, some of the latest locomotives to be built there, and finishes with various related organisations, from the Mechanics' Institution to the Annual Works Holiday.<ref>{{cite book |title=Swindon Works and its place in Great Western Railway History |date=1935 |publisher=Great Western Railway |location=Paddington Station, London}}</ref>