British Railways Diesel Electric Classes 44 to 46
British Railways Diesel Electric Classes 44 to 46

Author: Fred Kerr

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2023-02-16

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1399089951

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Derby Works introduced the first mainline Diesel to UK service with the production of LMS 10000 in 1947, although mainline diesels had previously been tested on post-Grouping main lines prior to being exported. When British Railways' Modernization Plan of 1955 was initiated by a Pilot Scheme to identify the best features for a future standard diesel fleet, Derby Works upgraded the design to produce its Type 4 - later Class 44 - locomotive that ultimately spawned 193 locomotives encompassing 3 variants which powered trains throughout the UK network. Fred Kerr lived close to the Midland Main Line in Northamptonshire and observed the class from their introduction in May 1959 to their final withdrawal in the 1980s and has amassed a collection of images showing them working both freight and passenger duties throughout the UK but particularly on the Midland Main Line where the Class 45 variant held sway for nearly 25 years. This album contains images from his extensive collection and, supported by a brief text, reflects the history of the 3 variants by showing the variety of services which they powered and the wide range of locations where class members were to be found.

British Diesel Locomotives of the 1950s and ‘60s
British Diesel Locomotives of the 1950s and ‘60s

Author: Greg Morse

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2016-07-28

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 1784421804

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After the Second World War, the drive for the modernisation of Britain's railways ushered in a new breed of locomotive: the Diesel. Diesel-powered trains had been around for some time, but faced with a coal crisis and the Clean Air Act in the 1950s, it was seen as a part of the solution for British Rail. This beautifully illustrated book, written by an expert on rail history, charts the rise and decline of Britain's diesel-powered locomotives. It covers a period of great change and experimentation, where the iconic steam engines that had dominated for a century were replaced by a series of modern diesels including the ill-fated 'Westerns' and the more successful 'Deltics'.

Modelling the Midland Region from 1948
Modelling the Midland Region from 1948

Author: Colin Boocock

Publisher: The Crowood Press

Published: 2019-05-31

Total Pages: 419

ISBN-13: 1785005200

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The London Midland Region covered a huge part of England from London to the north and north west, from the Scottish borders into the south west. It served huge metropolitan cities and towns, supported heavy industry, and ran through areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the Peak District and Lake District. Modelling the Midland Region from 1948 is an essential guide to creating your own model based on the London Midland Region of the British Railways era. It covers the history of the London Midland Region; British Rail and LMS locomotives; passenger and goods rolling stock; structures and scenery unique to the region, and signalling and electrification. The authors of this book are trustees of the charity Famous Trains model railway and directors of its operating company Famous Trains Ltd. An essential guide to creating your own model based on the London Midland region, for all scales and levels of interest, and fully illustrated with 232 colour photographs and 15 diagrams.

British Railways in the 1950s and ’60s
British Railways in the 1950s and ’60s

Author: Greg Morse

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-09-20

Total Pages: 57

ISBN-13: 0747812691

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As Britain moved from austerity to prosperity in the 1950s and 1960s, it became clear that British Railways needed to modernise its equipment and rationalise its network if it was to hold its own in the face of growing competition from road and air transport. After attempting to maintain pre-war networks and technology in the 1950s, a reversal of policy in the 1960s brought line closures, new liveries and the last breath of steam, as Dr Beeching and his successors strove to break even and build a new business from the old. From Britannia to the 'Blue Pullman', Evening Star to Inter-City, Greg Morse takes us through this turbulent twenty-year period, which started with drab prospects and ended with BR poised to launch the fastest diesel-powered train in the world.

Type 4 Locomotives of British Rail
Type 4 Locomotives of British Rail

Author: Andrew Walker

Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited

Published: 2018-08-15

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1445680106

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A terrific pictorial tribute to the type 4 locomotives that hauled trains and served the British railways.

British Railways in the 1970s and ’80s
British Railways in the 1970s and ’80s

Author: Greg Morse

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-08-10

Total Pages: 65

ISBN-13: 0747814104

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For British Rail, the 1970s was a time of contrasts, when bad jokes about sandwiches and pork pies often belied real achievements, like increasing computerisation and the arrival of the high-speed Inter-City 125s. But while television advertisements told of an 'Age of the Train', Monday morning misery continued for many, the commuter experience steadily worsening as rolling stock aged and grew ever more uncomfortable. Even when BR launched new electrification schemes and new suburban trains in the 1980s, focus still fell on the problems that beset the Advanced Passenger Train, whose ignominious end came under full media glare. In British Railways in the 1970s and '80s, Greg Morse guides us through a world of Traveller's Fare, concrete concourses and peak-capped porters, a difficult period that began with the aftershock of Beeching but ended with BR becoming the first nationalised passenger network in the world to make a profit.

More Amazing & Extraordinary Railway Facts
More Amazing & Extraordinary Railway Facts

Author: Julian Holland

Publisher: F+W Media, Inc.

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1446356833

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Another fascinating miscellany that will delight railway buffs everywhere. The branch lines of transport history are fully explored and all who love trains will delight in stories of the old railway companies, famous engines, discontinued lines, and all sorts of other railway trivia.

A Century of Railway Travel
A Century of Railway Travel

Author: Paul Atterbury

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2014-04-10

Total Pages: 111

ISBN-13: 0747814929

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From the Edwardian golden age of steam to the present, the railway has captured the hearts and imaginations of the British people like no other mode of travel. In wartime and peace, along major routes and minor, steam, diesel and electric trains have carried commuters to work, families to holiday destinations and provided the means to myriad other adventures – the train a constant presence in an ever-changing way of life. A Century of Railway Travel presents one hundred years of the British passenger's story, using striking full-page imagery with commentary from bestselling author Paul Atterbury. From the open platforms of provincial stations before the First World War to the modern throngs at Waterloo on Derby Day, and from compartments that separated rich from poor and male from female, to the rise to dominance of modern standard class, this book depicts the rich tapestry of progress and heritage that has been the last century of British train travel. The coloured card ticket in your hand, the rough feel of the upholstered seats, and the call of the whistle, the scenery begins to move across the carriage windows of one of Britain's great steam-trains: with full-page illustrations and text alive with insight and nostalgia, this is a passenger's history of train travel in the last century.