James I. C. Boyd

James Ian Craig Boyd (31 July 1921 – 20 February 2009) was an English author and narrow gauge railway historian.

Boyd spent a lifetime researching and writing on narrow gauge railways. His books on narrow gauge railways in North and Mid Wales, the Isle of Man and Ireland are considered to be standard works on the subject. His books, published by The Oakwood Press since 1965, are rarely out of print, reflecting their importance to, and popularity with, railway historians and enthusiasts.

Biography

Boyd was born in 1921 into a family long connected with the Scottish textile machinery industry. His lifelong work was considerably helped by an inheritance from his family, without which much of his work could not have been done.

In his formative years he had W. H. Auden as an English teacher and was taught mathematics and science by Geoffrey Hoyland, a qualified railway engineer, at the Downs School in Colwall.[1]

Retiring from the textiles industry in the late 1960s, Boyd moved to Colwall and became a Master at the Downs School. At the same time, he was appointed to look after the Downs Light Railway and started a twenty-year restoration that would ultimately result in his efforts being recognised with a miniature steam locomotive bearing his name. Boyd later retired from the school, but continued to fight to preserve the railway amidst Headmasters who failed to see the historical and educational importance, and led the formation of the Downs Light Railway Trust in 1983. Boyd continued to oversee the railway up to the millennium, despite suffering a stroke in the 1990s.

Works

References

  1. ↑ Boyd, James I.C. (1975) [1959]. The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 1 - History and Route. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1167-X. OCLC 2074549.

External links