The book is excellently illustrated throughout, in both black and white and colour photographs, covering all periods of the locomotive's existence.
Highly recommended to Southern supporters and others.

Historic Model Railway Society

The work comes with an impressive visual section, 69 colour photographs, 299 black and white and an appendix with 9 diagrams of different types of machines. Without a doubt, another great piece of work from the "Locomotive Portfolios" series.

Read the full review here.

José Manuél Rico Cortés (Mister JM) - Miniaturas JM

David Maidment was both an enthusiast and a career railwayman. His interest shows in Urie and Maunsell 2 cylinder 4-6-0s of the Southern Railway.
All royalties go to that worthy charity The Railway Children. Buy it if you loved Southern steam.

Society of Model & Experimental Engineers

An enthusiastic first impression was wholly justified, as it is a book to be studied repeatedly, especially by those who remember these locomotives. With so much in it, it is good value, and fully recommended as something to treasure for all time.

The Railway Observer Feb 2017

The long career of these engines is set out in a well researched text and photographs, as well as the authors personal reminisces which brings the story to life.

The Great Western Society

David Maidment's book not only gives us a great grounding in the working lives of Robert Urie's and Richard Maunsell's 2-cylinder H15, N15 and S14 4-6-0s - plus Maunsell's rebuilds of the London, Brighton & South Coast Baltic tanks that became the N15Xs - he also puts the whole story into perspective about what went before and what came afterwards.

In addition to a thorough examination of the locomotive's development, with experiments to keep drifting smoke out of the crews' eyes in the cab so they could see the signals and the road ahead, there are personal recollections from a fireman about working with the engines, plus the author's own view as an enthusiast.

An excellent ingredient of this 264-page hardback is the superb selection of photographs showing the different locomotives on shed and at work. Many of the images are from well-known collections including those of the late Dick Riley, whose colour slides always seem so evocative of the period revealing lots of detail beyond that of the locomotives themselves.

Best of British, February 2017

I know there are people who will lap up every page of this fantastic pictorial history of the 4-6-0s - they are awe-inspiring pieces of machinery, built to last and to work. An amazing tribute to the manufacturing processes and the people who created these amazing machines.

Books Monthly, December 2017 – reviewed by Paul Norman