Platform 5 Railway Books

(Click on the image to the right for direct access to the Platform 5 publications resource webpage - but be sure not to miss out on the informative introduction below!)

As we look back to those treasured post-war years when we spent many hours “copping” the locomotives which served the lines near our homes and beyond, our first thoughts turn to Ian Allan and the ABCs we used to record our sightings. We made life-long friends through the hobby of train spotting and have Ian Allan to thank for that.

The Ian Allan publications were to serve us well until the 1980s but arguably they started to lose their charm for many of us in the mid-60s, a period of experimentation with different publishing formats during a time of rapid change in the field of motive power as we transitioned away from steam. ISBNs were also introduced in 1968.

In 1978, Platform 5 Publishing, based in Sheffield, arrived on the scene. Their very early titles were functional rather than beautiful, but they quickly introduced new standards of presentation, including shelf presentation and a consistency of quality and format, which were to take them to the lead position in the spotter’s market within ten years. By the end of the 1980s, we had said goodbye to Ian Allan as a spotting resource and looked to Peter Fox and his Platform 5 editorial team to meet our needs.

By 1989, it was time to split Multiple Units between Diesels and Electrics, and the format, which continues to this day, settled down to annual publications of four pocketbooks:

Pocket Book No 1, Locomotives 1978 -

Pocket Book No 2, Coaching Stock: 1979-

Pocket Book No 3, DMUs: 1989-

Pocket Book No 4, EMUs: 1989-

In 1985, a fifth title was added when Platform 5 published their first Combined Edition.

Peter Fox was now the new Ian Allan. Such was his impact that Grand Central’s HST power car 43484 was named “Peter Fox 1942-2011 Platform 5”. The naming ceremony was performed by Peter’s widow Doreen, assisted by director Andrew Dyson.

Over the years, Platform 5 have added to their series portfolio, most notably with their European publications since 1984 and “Preserved Locomotives & Coaching Stock