Steam Inclined: Memories of ex-Coaster Bryon Marinan

By Stephen Wright

This book is out of stock and is unlikely to be reprinted.

Steam Inclined features the story of a former West Coast engine driver, Bryon Marinan. Born in Blackball in 1932, Bryon grew up in the Greymouth area and joined the Railways Department in 1949. He was based mostly in Greymouth until 1970.

Covering the 1930s-60s period, this book is not only a lively and richly informative read, but is also a visual feast of the Coast's steam days of the 1950s and 60s.

Sample pages Additional information Corrections

A4 portrait format, soft-cover
246 pages
First published in March 2014

page 111: The bridge at centre-right, in the background, is not the Brunner bridge, but rather the old suspension bridge at Wallsend with Taylorville in the background.

page 137: The grade started at 1 in 88 and eased off to 1 in 132, not increased to 1 in 32.

page 144: The crossing is Tarapuhi Street, not Herbert Street. The building on Tarapuhi Street is West Coast Motor Bodies, not Schaef's Garage.

page 146: Regarding signal balls, the correct order is one: dredge working, two: wait for tide, three: bar dangerous, and four: enter port.

page 163: The Roa Incline was about 1¾ miles long.

page 186: The grade of the Rewanui Incline was mainly between 1 in 30 and 1 in 26 over most of its length.

pages 222 & 226: The crew picked up the Runganga Greymouth tablet before going into the cutting. They did not need the Dunollie section tablet.