JIC Boyd? Famous in Talyllyn circles for lovely photos and ‘unreliable’ words! Had a tendency to, er, make stuff up… ‘Boydisms’ are a known thing where he’d just invent facts.
[citation needed]
I was always given to understand that, if it was in Boyd, it was correct. What 'facts' is he supposed to have invented?
JIC Boyd? Famous in Talyllyn circles for lovely photos and ‘unreliable’ words! Had a tendency to, er, make stuff up… ‘Boydisms’ are a known thing where he’d just invent facts.
[citation needed]
I was always given to understand that, if it was in Boyd, it was correct. What 'facts' is he supposed to have invented?
Which of his books would you like filleted? Seriously, I’ll send you via PM, because it’s lengthy, a post from a recent author who has revisited the subject of just one of them.
A recent historian of the Talyllyn has said (from memory) something like ‘the problem with Boyd is not that he’s always wrong, it’s knowing when he’s right’
JIC Boyd? Famous in Talyllyn circles for lovely photos and ‘unreliable’ words! Had a tendency to, er, make stuff up… ‘Boydisms’ are a known thing where he’d just invent facts.
[citation needed]
I was always given to understand that, if it was in Boyd, it was correct. What 'facts' is he supposed to have invented?
Which of his books would you like filleted? Seriously, I’ll send you via PM, because it’s lengthy, a post from a recent author who has revisited the subject of just one of them.
A recent historian of the Talyllyn has said (from memory) something like ‘the problem with Boyd is not that he’s always wrong, it’s knowing when he’s right’
I have replied to your PM, and will not pursue this matter further on this or any other board.
Ok. You did ask for evidence and have been given it, privately.
I am frankly astonished at the tone, both here and in your PM to me, with which you are closing down a response you actually asked for. Which was given respectfully and conversationally to you.
You may now again seek the last word, but I must be allowed the right to respond where I feel that I have been treated shabbily in public.
Well, that's up to you. I will say, however, that I replied courteously (if briefly) to your PM, as I felt that the discussion might well end up becoming inappropriately Hellish.
Oh... Hang on there! There aren't enough of us here to lose any of our brethren and not have them be badly missed. We (speaking for myself) all get grumpy over some issues, and the usual cure is to leave them alone for a while and let other things arise and take over. I do hope a peace treaty - spoken or unspoken - can be floated among us.
Ok. You did ask for evidence and have been given it, privately.
I am frankly astonished at the tone, both here and in your PM to me, with which you are closing down a response you actually asked for. Which was given respectfully and conversationally to you.
You may now again seek the last word, but I must be allowed the right to respond where I feel that I have been treated shabbily in public.
And with that, goodbye Ship of Fools.
Hey! I'm really sorry (genuine, now) that I brought the guy up. I'd be interested in errata (by PM) too, as I am interested in the N.Wales stuff. But OK - I went off in a bit of a huff a while back when someone had something of a go at me; I do hope you'll come back. all the best, Mark, Manchester
I too have Boyd's Talyllyn Railway on the shelf here, and would be interested in learning what's wrong with it, but at this distance it's not something worth getting heated about.
I too have Boyd's Talyllyn Railway on the shelf here, and would be interested in learning what's wrong with it, but at this distance it's not something worth getting heated about.
Indeed it isn't. I've sent you a PM, for clarification from my POV.
Boyd did not have all the information that is now at our disposal. I am tempted to say that this is a common issue for all historians. New stuff is found all the time - despite some people thinking history is a thing that is fixed and immutable.
As an aside, the J.M. Lloyd who produced many of the drawings in Boyd's works, was my woodwork teacher at school. I knew him, Horatio. Though he was not a fellow of infinite jest, he was a fine draughtsman. He knew his local history, too.
On the other hand, the age of really great railway historians seems to have passed. Most railway books now are just albums of pictures.
The exceptions are those published by Black Dwarf/Lightmoor. And formerly, those by RCL. The latter now command astonishing prices on the second-hand market, especially the book on the Leek and Manifold, which I recently saw offered at north of £500! (It's a lovely book,mind, but...)
Those Lightmoor books should have a government health warning on the cover. Lead us not into (more) temptation.
The element necessarily missing from new histories is the "I was there" author, though perhaps a new generation of them is even now being generated - I don't know. I'll grab anything I can find that was written by anyone who was inhaling smoke and steam and hot oil a century ago. But if we are looking for detailed company histories, that takes meticulous researchers with time on their hands, access to records that may not always have been available, and that rarest of all beasts, a publisher who believes in editing, fact checking and proof reading.
Comments
[citation needed]
I was always given to understand that, if it was in Boyd, it was correct. What 'facts' is he supposed to have invented?
Which of his books would you like filleted? Seriously, I’ll send you via PM, because it’s lengthy, a post from a recent author who has revisited the subject of just one of them.
A recent historian of the Talyllyn has said (from memory) something like ‘the problem with Boyd is not that he’s always wrong, it’s knowing when he’s right’
I have replied to your PM, and will not pursue this matter further on this or any other board.
I am frankly astonished at the tone, both here and in your PM to me, with which you are closing down a response you actually asked for. Which was given respectfully and conversationally to you.
You may now again seek the last word, but I must be allowed the right to respond where I feel that I have been treated shabbily in public.
And with that, goodbye Ship of Fools.
Hey! I'm really sorry (genuine, now) that I brought the guy up. I'd be interested in errata (by PM) too, as I am interested in the N.Wales stuff. But OK - I went off in a bit of a huff a while back when someone had something of a go at me; I do hope you'll come back. all the best, Mark, Manchester
Indeed it isn't. I've sent you a PM, for clarification from my POV.
As an aside, the J.M. Lloyd who produced many of the drawings in Boyd's works, was my woodwork teacher at school. I knew him, Horatio. Though he was not a fellow of infinite jest, he was a fine draughtsman. He knew his local history, too.
The exceptions are those published by Black Dwarf/Lightmoor. And formerly, those by RCL. The latter now command astonishing prices on the second-hand market, especially the book on the Leek and Manifold, which I recently saw offered at north of £500! (It's a lovely book,mind, but...)
The element necessarily missing from new histories is the "I was there" author, though perhaps a new generation of them is even now being generated - I don't know. I'll grab anything I can find that was written by anyone who was inhaling smoke and steam and hot oil a century ago. But if we are looking for detailed company histories, that takes meticulous researchers with time on their hands, access to records that may not always have been available, and that rarest of all beasts, a publisher who believes in editing, fact checking and proof reading.
I love it!
As do I! My choice of tour of Kensal Green Cemetery was strongly influenced by the opportunity to see this: https://flic.kr/p/82kujP