O. S. Nock
Oswald Stevens Nock | |
---|---|
Born | Sutton Coldfield, England | 21 January 1905
Died | 21 September 1994 Bath, England | (aged 89)
Education | Giggleswick School |
Occupation | Signalling engineer |
Known for | Railway author |
Spouse | Olivia Ravenall |
Oswald Stevens Nock,
He authored articles on railway signalling and locomotive performance for The Engineer researched during World War II, and from 1958 to 1980 he succeeded Cecil J. Allen as the author of the "British locomotive practice and performance" series published in The Railway Magazine.
Biography
Oswald Stevens Nock was born 21 January 1905 in
Recession during the 1930s (see
In his early writing career Nock also had published photographic articles on landscapes and regions, published by non-railway publications.
Nock married Olivia Hattie née Ravenall (1913–1987) in 1937.
After World War II Nock rose through the Westinghouse organisation to become chief brake draughtsman (1945), four years later chief draughtsman; during the
In 1967 he was a passenger on a train involved in a derailment near Didcot in which one person was killed. The carriage where he was sitting overturned, but he escaped without injury, and later wrote of his experience in his book Historic Railway Disasters. He had previously seen the aftermath of another fatal railway accident at Reading in 1914 as a schoolboy.[12]
In 1969 Nock became president of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE).[13] After retiring in 1970 his output rose to five books per year, including a three volume work on 20th century British locomotives, and eight volumes on the railways of regions of the world.[6]
In addition to his interests in all things railway, Nock's interests included photography,
His wife Olivia died in 1987.[17] He died 21 September 1994.
Legacy
Nock authored more than 140 books and 1000 magazine articles, although some of the work represented duplication from his own oeuvre,[18] as well as containing repetition or padding within the text.[19] Much of his work showed a bias towards locomotive performance issues;[20] his most authoritative work was on that subject and on signalling.[18] As a writer his output is considered accessible, uncontroversial, and empathic to the subject he wrote upon,[20] and rich in personal anecdotes,[21][22] though some feel his historical work and research was weak.[21]
His better writing has been highly praised:
... it becomes clear how a good a writer he was – clear, straightforward sentences coupled with the ability to explain technical matters in simple terms.
— Michael Rutherford, Backtrack.[23]
Partial bibliography
Books
- Signalling
- Nock, O.S. (1962), 50 Years of Railway Signalling, IRSE
- Nock, O.S. (1969), British Railway Signalling, Unwin
- Nock, O.S., ed. (1980), Railway Signalling – A treatise on the recent practice of British Railways, A & C Black / IRSE
- Locomotives and performance
- Nock, O.S. (1945), The Locomotives of Sir Nigel Gresley
- Nock, O.S. (1957), Steam Locomotive
- Nock, O.S. (1966), The British Steam Railway Locomotive (Volume 2 From 1925 to 1965), Ian Allan London
- Nock, O.S. (1972), Speed Records on Britain's Railways, David & Charles, ISBN 0-330-23365-3
- Nock, O.S. (1974), Electric Euston to Glasgow (1st ed.), London: Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-0530-3
- Nock, O.S. (1980), The GWR Stars, Castles and Kings: Part 1 1906-1930, Newton Abbot: David & Charles
- Nock, O.S. (1982), British Locomotives of the 20th Century, vol. 1, 2, & 3
- Railways
- Nock, O.S.; Cross, Derek (1960), Main Lines Across the Border (1st ed.), London: Nelson, OCLC 11622324
- Nock, O.S. (1960), The London & North Western Railway, London: Ian Allan
- Nock, O.S. (1961), The South Eastern & Chatham Railway
- Nock, O.S. (1962), British Steam Railways
- Nock, O.S. (1963), Continental Main Lines, George Allan & Unwin, London (German translation: Europas grosse Bahnlinien, Orell Fuessli Zurich 1964)
- Nock, O.S. (1964), The Great Western Railway in the Twentieth Century, Ian Allan
- Nock, O.S., The Caledonian Railway (1st ed.), London: Ian Allan, OCLC 16232981
- Nock, O.S. (1966), Britain's New Railway, London: Ian Allan
- Nock, O.S. (1966), Steam Railways in Retrospect, London: A & C Black
- Nock, O.S. (1968), North Western A history of the L.N.W.R.
- Nock, O.S. (1968), The Railway Enthusiasts Encyclopedia, Hutchinson, ISBN 0-09-903310-0
- Nock, O.S. (1975), The Pre-grouping Scene, No.1: The Great Western, Surrey: Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-0586-9
- Nock, O.S. (1978), World Atlas of Railways, New York: Mayflower Books, ISBN 0-8317-9500-Xoriginal publisher: Artists House, London
- Nock, O.S. (1979), The Limited, George Allen & Unwin, ISBN 0-04-385073-1
- Nock, O.S. (1982), A History of the LMS, vol. 1. The First Years, 1923–1930, George Allen & Unwin
- Nock, O.S. (1982), A History of the LMS, vol. 2. The Record-Breaking 'Thirties, 1931–1939', George Allen & Unwin
- Nock, O.S. (1983), A History of the LMS, vol. 3. The War Years and Nationalisation, 1939–1948', George Allen & Unwin
- Nock, O.S. (1985), Great British Trains
- Nock, O.S. (1966), Historic Railway Disasters (1st ed.)
- Nock, O.S.; Cooper, B.K. (1987) [1966], Historic Railway Disasters (4th ed.), Shepperton: Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-1752-2
- Nock, O.S.; Cooper, B.K. (1987) [1966], Historic Railway Disasters (4th ed.), Shepperton: Ian Allan,
- Nock, O.S. (1964), Sir William Stanier: An Engineering Biography, London: Ian Allan
Autobiography
- Nock, O.S. (1976), Out the line, London: Paul Elek, ISBN 0236400703
- Nock, O.S. (1982a), Line clear ahead: 75 years of ups and downs
- Nock, O.S. (1993a), Another Facet of an Autobiography, Pentland Press, ISBN 1858210887
Articles and monographs
- Signalling
- Nock, O.S. (1943), "Modern Railway Signalling Practice in America", The Engineer, 176, in four parts: No.I, 27 August, pp. 162–165; No.II, 3 September, pp. 190–193; No.III, 10 September, pp. 202–205; No.IV, 17 September, pp. 228–231 [note 1]
- Nock, O.S. (14 November 1947), "Continuously Controlled Cab Signalling" (PDF), The Engineer, 184: 454–456
- Nock, O.S., "Railway Signalling Developments: 1923–48", The Engineer, 187, in four parts: No.I, 13 May 1949, pp. 518–521, No.II, 20 May 1949, pp. 546–548, No. III, 27 May 1949, pp. 574–578, No. IV, 3 June 1949, pp. 602–605
- Locomotives and performance
- Nock, O.S. (1942), "French Locomotive Performances", The Engineer, 173, in two parts: No.I, 6 February, pp. 110–113; No.II, 13 February, pp. 132–134
- Nock, O.S., "British Locomotive Working in Wartime", The Engineer
- The G.W.R. "Castle Class", Part I (PDF), vol. 180, 17 August 1945, pp. 122–125, archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2014
- The G.W.R. "Castle Class", Part II (PDF), vol. 180, 24 August 1945, pp. 144–146, archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2014
- The L.M.S.R "Jubilee" Class, 4-6-0, vol. 181: Part I, 26 April 1946, pp. 374–375, Part II, 3 May 1946, pp. 398–399
- The L.M.S.R. "Converted Royal Scot" Class, 4-6-0, vol. 181–2: Part I, 24 May 1946, pp. 466–467, Part II, 31 May 1946, pp. 490–491, Part III, 19 July 1946, pp. 60–62
- Nock, O.S., "Present Day Locomotive Working in Great Britain", The Engineer
- The L.N.E.R 2-6-2 "Green Arrow" Class (PDF), vol. 182, 11 October 1946, pp. 314–316
- The L.M.S.R. "Coronation" Class Pacifics, vol. 182: Part I, 13 December 1946, pp. 532–534, Part II, 20 December 1946, pp. 558–559
- The G.W.R. Oil-fired 4-6-0's, vol. 185: Part I, 6 February 1948, pp. 128–130, Part II, 13 February 1948, pp. 152–154
- The Mixed Traffic 4-6-0s, vol. 188
- The Western Region "Castle" Class, vol. 188:Part I, 20 April 1951, pp. 501–503, Part II, 27 April 1951, pp. 535–539
- First Results from the "Britannias" (PDF), vol. 193, 4 April 1952, pp. 458–560
- The Gresley "Pacifics" on the East Coast Route, vol. 194: Part I, 18 July 1952, pp. 77–80, Part II, 25 July 1952, pp. 115–117
- The Thompson and Peppercorn "Pacifics" of the former L.N.E.R, vol. 195: Part I, 29 May 1953, pp. 754–756, Part II, 5 June 1953, pp. 786-
- The "King" Class 4-6-0s of the former G.W.R, vol. 196: Part I, 10 July 1953, pp. 34–36, Part II, 17 July 1953, pp. 66–68
- King's Cross-Edinburgh non-stop expresses, vol. 198: Part 1, 2 July 1954, pp. 2–4, Part II, 9 July 1954, pp. 38–41
- The "Britannia's" in East Anglia, vol. 198: Part 1, 20 August 1954, pp. 268–270, part II, 27 August 1954, pp. 284–286
- Nock, O.S., "Performance of 2000 H.P. Main-Line Diesel-Electric Locomotive", The Engineer, 201 No.I, 25 May 1956, pp. 550–553, No.II, 1 June 1956, pp. 588–591
- Nock, O.S. (20 October 1950), "The L.M.S. Mobile Test Plant in Action" (PDF), The Engineer, 190: 377–379:
- Nock, O.S. (25 May 1951), "The "Britannia" Class Locomotives on Test" (PDF), The Engineer, 191: 691–693
- Nock, O.S. (13 July 1951), "Western Region Gas Turbine Locomotive in Service" (PDF), The Engineer, 192: 40–41
- Nock, O.S., "British Locomotive Performance and Efficiency Tests", The Engineer, 193–4: No.I, 13 June 1952, pp. 788–790, No.II, 20 June 1952, pp. 817–820, No.III, 4 July 1952, pp. 29–31, No.IV, 11 July 1952, pp. 62–64
- Nock, O.S., "Performance and Efficiency Tests on the "Britannia" Locomotives", The Engineer, 196 No.I, 24 July 1953, pp. 103–104, No.II, 31 July 1953, pp. 136–138
- Nock, O.S., "Performance and Efficiency Tests on S.R. Diesel Electric Locomotive", The Engineer, 196 No.I, 2 October 1953, pp. 424–427, No.II, 9 October 1953, pp. 451–453
- Nock, O.S., "Improving Modern Locomotive Performance", The Engineer, 197 No.I, 5 February 1953, pp. 202–205, No.II, 12 February 1954, pp. 236–239
- Nock, O.S. (4 February 1955), "Improving Locomotive Performance – Recent trials with the E. and N.E. Region "V2" class" (PDF), The Engineer, 199: 150–153
- Nock, O.S., "Factors in the Working of a High-Speed Train Service", The Engineer, 200 No.I, 15 July 1955, pp. 66–68, No.II, 22 July 1955, pp. 102–104
- Nock, O.S., "'Merchant Navy' Class Locomotives – Performance and Efficiency Tests", The Engineer, 200 No.I, 4 November 1955, pp. 644–646, No.II, 11 November 1955, pp. 680–682
- Nock, O.S., "Heavy Express Locomotive Trials on the Western Region", The Engineer, 203 No.I, 12 April 1957, pp. 560–562, No.II, 19 April 1957, pp. 594–597
- Nock, O.S., "Performance and Efficiency Tests on B.R. Class "8" Locomotive", The Engineer, 204 No.I, 23 August 1957, pp. 258–261, No.II, 30 August 1957, pp. 292–294
- Nock, O.S. (11 July 1958), "Performance and Efficiency Tests on the 3300 h.p. "Deltic" Locomotive" (PDF), The Engineer, 206: 60–63
- Nock, O.S. (9 October 1959), "2-10-0 Standard Freight Locomotive Performance and Efficiency Tests" (PDF), The Engineer, 208: 383–386
- Nock, O.S. (10 June 1960), ""Merchant Navy" Locomotives Performance and Efficiency Tests on Southern Region" (PDF), The Engineer, 209: 975–979, archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2014
References
- ^ Nock 1966a, p. 6.
- ^ Vanns 2004, para. 1–3.
- ^ Russell 1994, para. 5.
- ^ a b c d Nock 1976, p. 7-.
- ^ a b c d Jones 2012, extract from "Out the line".
- ^ a b c Russell 1994, para.2.
- ^ a b c Vanns 2004, para.4.
- ^ a b Vanns 2004, para.5.
- ^ Russell, Daniel. "Obituary: O.S. Nock". Independent.
- ^ Vanns 2004, para.5–6.
- ^ Vanns 2004, para.6.
- ^ Nock & Cooper 1987.
- ^ Vanns 2004, para.7.
- ^ Vanns 2004, para.2.
- ^ Russell 1994, para.3.
- ^ Russell 1994, para.4.
- ^ Russell 1994, para.6.
- ^ a b Jones 2012, introduction.
- ^ Jones 2012, introduction, and section: "repetition".
- ^ a b Vanns 2004, para.8.
- ^ a b Jones 2012, quote "He rarely noted sources, and tended to work on thin foundations, making maximum use of personal anecdotes [...] The few works which were compiled by him as continuations of earlier works are seldom as thorough as their predecessors"
- ^ Vanns 2004, para.8 quote: "If [his books] had faults—repetition and a bias towards locomotive performance [..] arose because the author was an enthusiast who infused all his texts with his own experience. His work was always accessible and engaging."
- ^ Jones 2012, quoting Michael Rutherford in Backtrack 12,222
Sources
- Vanns, M.A. (2004). "Nock, Oswald Stevens (1905–1994)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/55169. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Russell, Daniel (7 October 1994), "Obituary: O. S. Nock", The Independent (obituary)
- O. S. Nock." Times [London, England] 8 Oct. 1994: 23. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 18 Nov. 2016
- Jones, Kevin P. (14 June 2012), "Ossie Nock: the Annie S. Swan of railway literature?", steamindex.com library
- Nock, O. S. (1966a). The LNWR Precursor Family. Newton Abbott: David & Charles.
Notes
- ^ See also "Modern Railway Signalling Practice", The Engineer, 168, 1939, in four parts: Pt.I, 8 December, pp. 564–566; Pt.II, 15 December, pp. 582–583; Pt.III, 22 December, pp. 608–610; Pt.IV, 29 December, pp. 632–634 (unattributed)