November 1951 and an accident south of Midhurst station.

Written by Vic and by Keith Smith, it's the companion volume to their 1981 title Branch Lines To Midhurst and follows on from the 1987 publication Branch Lines Around Midhurst.

The final book (ISBN: 978 1 906008 78 9) comes from Vic's Middleton Press and offers yet another treasure trove of fascinating images for the train aficionados.

The first book was considered too parochial and rejected by several possible publishers - which prompted Vic to set up his own publishing company. And he hasn't looked back since.

Vic's own train is still rumbling along strongly with around 250 titles to his credit - yes, 250 - around half the number brought out by Middleton Press overall.

It all adds up to what has been dubbed as "evolving the ultimate rail encyclopaedia", with all of the south of England now covered and most of Wales.

"We are creeping up!" Vic stays. "We are about halfway across Britain."

And there's power to add.

But the Midhurst area lines will always be particular favourites. After all, Vic well remembers the day in 1951 when the train ended up in the pond just south of Midhurst.

The line was closed and Vic walked safely all the way to Chichester.

A small stream, which feeds South Pond, passed under the line in a culvert about half a mile south of Midhurst station, at the end of the present Holmbush Industrial Estate. On November 19 1951, the culvert became blocked and the embankment was washed away by the impounded water.

The crew of the morning up goods train had to jump for their lives. Dramatic pictures, featured in the book, record the event. Breakdown cranes from Brighton and Portsmouth were called to the scene but could salvage only the wagons for no support could be found to take the weight of the tender.

By then, of course, the line's glory days were pretty much over. The advent of buses in the 1920s had been damaging, which was also the case with the Pulborough to Petersfield line through Midhurst, another Vic recalls fondly.

"It had short trains and superb scenery for the whole journey", he says.

The three routes to Midhurst were widely admired for their rural charm and classic push-pull trains. Vic looked at them all in his first volume.

The sequel included other rare views, and now his and Keith's new volume offers a fresh selection revealing much new evidence and several recent changes.