Ian Allan, who has died the day before his 93rd birthday, triggered the post-war explosion of trainspotting as a ... a large-scale publisher of railway books and launched numerous other magazines ...

The late Ian Allan founded the business in 1942 when he published the 'groundbreaking book' ABC of Southern Locomotives. He also coined the word 'trainspotting' - but preferred the term ...

They too sold like hot cakes. By 1951 he had established a Locospotters Club with 150,000 members. My first Ian Allan book was the London Midland Region ABC, first published in 1956. The copy I bought ...

And the publisher Ian Allan, whose books of locomotive numbers led to the hobby of trainspotting. Producer: Paula McGinley.

The late Ian Allan founded the business in 1942 when he published the 'groundbreaking book' ABC of Southern Locomotives. He also coined the word 'trainspotting' - but preferred the term ...