THE 1950s are often hailed as one of the golden eras for Britain's railways as steam trains huffed and puffed their way across the country.

Through the 1960s and 1970s Britain's railway network went into decline with many stations and lines closing down.

Many of those ripped-up lines are now visible only as dotted lines on an Ordnance Survey map.

Among them is the line that ran south from Redditch to Ashchurch, the southern half of what was once known as the Evesham Route between Ashchurch and Barnt Green in the West Midlands.

The history of that line, its trains and its stations has now been published in a new book by Bob Essery, one of the country's leading railway historians.

Mr Essery has some personal knowledge of the line as he once worked as a footplateman in the area.

His extensive research has now been brought together in An Illustrated History of the Ashchurch to Barnt Green Line, which also features numerous old photographs taken along the route, maps and diagrams.

Many of the illustrations have been supplied by another railway historian, Redditch-based Philip Jarvis, who said: "When the line was taken up I felt I wanted to record some history of it, which has brought all these pictures and drawings together."

The book tells the story of the line, which was actually built in three very separate sections, the stretch north of Redditch opening to passengers in September 1858 and goods two weeks later.

Authorisation to build the Ashchurch and Evesham Railway was given under the Midland Railway (New Lines) Act of 1861. It opened to goods traffic on July 1, 1864 and to passengers on October 1.

The gap between those two lines was filled by the Evesham and Redditch Railway. The stretch between Evesham and Alcester opened to goods traffic in June 1866 and to passengers on September 17.

Mr Essery's book describes each of the stations along the route in detail. Those in the Vale include Broom Junction, Salford Priors, Harvington, Evesham, Bengeworth, Hinton, Ashton-under-Hill and Beckford.

Some of these were little more than halts along the line, but Mr Essery devotes a special section of the book to the vital fruit traffic that ran from Evesham station in often vast quantities.

He states: "It was recorded that during a peak period in the season the Midland Railway could dispatch 1,000 tons of plums per week."

The line was finally closed in July 1964 and track lifting began soon afterwards.

An Illustrated History of the Ashchurch to Barnt Green Line: The Evesham Route by Bob Essery is priced at £30 in hardback and is available from Ian Allan Publishing, Mail Order Department, 4 Watling Drive, Hinckley, Leics LE10 3EY, telephone 01455 233747.