Great Western Railway Stars, Castles and Kings examines the history and workings of these legendary classes of passenger steam locomotives, the first of which, the North Star, was built in 1906. Richly illustrated with over 200 photographs, the book includes: . Illustrated explanations of how Great Western Railway steam engines work . Details of the engines' work on named expresses and in ordinary service . Overview of the survivors, heritage organizations and their futures . Technical specifications and timelines of each class . GWR and British Rail Motive Power Depot codes and train head codes. AUTHOR: Allen Jackson joined the Royal Air Force as an apprentice. He subsequently worked on Cold War aircraft and later taught at an engineering apprentice training school. After leaving the RAF he worked for a manufacturer of bespoke computer systems before becoming involved with computerised systems for the fire and rescue services in the UK and Bahrain, before forming his own company in 2004. Allen has been fascinated by real and model railways since he was six. This is his fifth book for Crowood. 77 colour and 133 b/w photographs