Platform 5 Railway Books

(Click on 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 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-

and 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" since 1980.

Ian Allan produced a huge volume of multi-modal transport titles. Platform 5 have stayed with railways and published very few non-spotters books in the early decades. However, over the last five years they have increased their output and the website now includes all their known published titles from 1978 to date.

In closing I should thank Platform 5 director Andrew Dyson for his help in providing a fully comprehensive list of their titles by ISBN.

My present plan is to publish a complete illustrated hard copy, “Platform 5 – The First 50 Years”, in 2027.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE at the top of the page to the right of this narrative and it will take you to our associated website which catalogues the many different series and individual volumes that Platform 5 have published over the years, both in 'ABC' and 'non-ABC' format.

With the obvious exception of Platform 5's own website -https://www.platform5.com this is currently and likely to remain the most informative Platform 5 resource on the web, particularly with regard to their back catalogue. 

Like 'World of Transport Books,' it is constantly expanding as new titles are published. We therefore recommend you revisit regularly!