Locomotive Publishing Company

The Locomotive Publishing Company was an English publishing house, specialising in railway topics. It was noted for publishing Locomotive Magazine, amongst many other highly regarded titles. It was also notable as one of the first stock photo libraries, in this case specialising in railway images.

The company was preceded in the final years of the 19th century by 'F. Moore', a railway artist and photographer who published Moore's Monthly Magazine, the first widely popular railway magazine. In actuality, 'F. Moore' was the pseudonymous pen-name for two brothers, A.R. Bell and A. Morton Bell, both apprentices at the Stratford Works of the Great Eastern Railway.

They began as a photo library, trading between the increasing number of amateur photographers of railways and the growing interest of enthusiasts. A third brother, Walter John Bell, and another apprentice, A.C.W. Lowe, became involved from 1896 with the launch of Moore's Monthly Magazine. From the 13th issue in January 1897, this was renamed as The Locomotive Magazine.

The Locomotive Publishing Company Limited was established in 1899. It began at 9 South Place, Finsbury, moving within the year to 102 Charing Cross Road and in 1903 to their better known long-term address of 3 Amen Corner, London. Amen Corner is at the west end of Paternoster Row where it joins Ave Maria Lane, near St Paul's Cathedral. Paternoster Row was long associated with the publishing trade in London. This building had been built as a residence in the 17th century, during the great rebuilding of the area after the 1666 Great Fire. After being bombed out during the London Blitz of 1940, they moved to Horseferry Road.

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