Eric Tonks

Eric Tonks (17 July 1914^[1] – 26 December 1994^[2]) was an English writer and historian of British industrial railways. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of the industrial archaeology of railways and quarrying.^[2] He was also a noted Jazz discographer.

In 1949, Tonks was one of the founders of the Birmingham Locomotive Club and he was the club's president for 25 years.^[2] He also set up the club's Industrial Locomotive Section, which later became the Industrial Railway Society.^[3] He compiled a well-regarded study of the development of British preserved railways.^[4]

Tonks was a prolific author on the related subjects of industrial history and industrial railways. He began his writing career with a book on the Edge Hill Light Railway, and he was an acknowledged expert in the history of that railway.^[5]

He is particularly known for his "magnum opus"^[2] 9-volume series of books on the ironstone industry of The Midlands, which is considered the standard work on the subject.^[6][7] Tonks began work on this series with the publication of a single volume in 1959.^[8] This was expanded into 9 volumes in the 1980s and 1990s. These books are acknowledged, as a "great work...on industrial infrastructure"^[9] and the 1959 edition was one of the first books to integrate the study of industrial railway history with the wider historical and social aspects of the industries they served.^[10]

Tonks was a founding member of the Motor Registration Circuit, a club based in the Midlands for car license plate spotting enthusiasts.^[1] He was considered an expert in this field.^[11] He was also a well-known Jazz aficionado,^[12] who wrote a regular column for Discography magazine^[13] and was considered an expert in the field of Jazz discographies.^[14]

Originally published as:

• Tonks, Eric (1959). The Ironstone Railways and Tramways of the Midlands.

Full series:

• Tonks, Eric (April 1988). The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands Part 1: Introduction. Cheltenham: Runpast Publishing. ISBN 1-870-754-018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
• Tonks, Eric (April 1988). The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands Part 2: The Oxfordshire Field. Cheltenham: Runpast Publishing. ISBN 1-870-754-026.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
• Tonks, Eric (April 1989). The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands Part 3: The Northampton Area. Cheltenham: Runpast Publishing. ISBN 1-870-754-034.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
• Tonks, Eric (May 1990). The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands Part 4: The Wellingborough Area. Cheltenham: Runpast Publishing. ISBN 1-870-754-042.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
• Tonks, Eric (1991). The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands Part 5: The Kettering Area. Cheltenham: Runpast Publishing. ISBN 1-870-754-050.
• Tonks, Eric (1992). The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands Part 6: The Corby Area. Cheltenham: Runpast Publishing. ISBN 1-870-754-069.
• Tonks, Eric (October 1989). The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands Part 7: Rutland. Cheltenham: Runpast Publishing. ISBN 1-870-754-077.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
• Tonks, Eric (1991). The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands Part 8: South Lincolnshire. Cheltenham: Runpast Publishing. ISBN 1-870-754-093.
• Tonks, Eric (1992). The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands Part 9: Leicestershire. Cheltenham: Runpast Publishing. ISBN 1-870-754-085.

• Tonks, Eric (1948). The Edge Hill Light Railway.
• Tonks, Eric (1950). The Southwold Railway. Birmingham Locomotive Club.
• Tonks, Eric (1972). The Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway. Industrial Railway Society.
• Tonks, Eric (1962). The Industrial Locomotive of the North Riding of Yorkshire. Birmingham Locomotive Club.
• Tonks, Eric (1962). Light & Miniature Locomotives of Great Britain. Birmingham Locomotive Club.
• Taylor, Alan; Tonks, Eric (1965). The Southwold Railway. Ian Allan Publishing.
• Tonks, Eric (1974). The Snailbeach District Railways. Industrial Railway Society.
• Tonks, Eric (1985). Railway Preservation in Britain: 1950–1984.