Author : Ross Taylor
Publisher : Amberley Publishing Limited
Page : 156 pages
File Size : 10,56 MB
Release : 2015-12-15
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 1445652803
Explores the preserved diesel locomotives of the UK.
Author : Fred Kerr
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 611 pages
File Size : 11,53 MB
Release : 2017-10-30
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 1526713101
When British Railways (BR) initiated its Modernization Plan in 1954 it had little experience of diesel locomotives thus initiated a Pilot Scheme to trial combinations of the three elements comprised within a locomotive the engine, transmission and body.The initial orders for 174 locomotives were placed in November 1955, but even before the first locomotive had been delivered, changes in Government policy led to bulk orders for most designs being trailed. It was only in 1968, once steam traction had been removed from the network, that BR was able to review the success, or otherwise, of its diesel fleet and decide which designs to withdraw from service.The nascent preservation movement of the time was concerned to preserve steam locomotives whilst only buying diesel shunting locomotives for support roles on heritage lines and it wasnt until 1977 that any effort was made to preserve main line diesels. Once it was confirmed that diesel locomotives had an appeal to enthusiasts, further purchases were made that resulted in examples of most of the BR diesel classes being represented within the preservation movement.Fred Kerrs book details those classes which are represented on heritage lines, identifies where possible their location as of December 2016, shows many of them at work and shows what is involved in the restoration, maintenance and operation of diesel locomotives by the volunteers whose efforts are vital but rarely acknowledged.Some of the preserved locomotives were bought for possible use on the national network and this was facilitated by the Railways Bill 1993. A complementary album of preserved and heritage locomotives titled Heritage Traction on the Main Line details the locomotive classes whose representatives are still in regular use on the national network as at December 2016 and follows a similar format to this album.
Author : Greg Morse
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 88 pages
File Size : 34,46 MB
Release : 2016-07-28
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 1784421790
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'.
Author : Peter Green
Publisher : Pen and Sword Transport
Page : 178 pages
File Size : 34,13 MB
Release : 2022-05-05
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 1399017853
A gallery of spectacular photos celebrating the history of these popular locomotives of the late twentieth century. Peter J. Green first photographed Class 50 diesels in action in 1975, while they were still being transferred from the London Midland to the Western Region of British Rail. But it was in the early 1980s, when they were named and painted in Large Logo livery, that his interest in the class really took off. For Peter, they stood out from most other locomotives that were painted in the rather drab Rail Blue livery. The sound of the locomotives, particularly when running at speed, was also very impressive, producing shouts of “50!” from waiting photographers, even before the train was in sight. The class became a particular target for his railway photography and many of his trips were made with them in mind. They regularly worked trains around his hometown of Worcester, so if he did not want to go too far, it was easy to find a satisfactory subject at which to point his camera. Before their withdrawal in the late 1980s and early 1990s, they were used on many rail tours, which always provided good photographic opportunities. Today, with many of the class working on heritage railways, and a number of privately owned locomotives registered for main line use, there is still plenty to keep his cameras occupied. A selection of Peter’s best photos of the Class 50 diesels, taken over a period of forty-five years, appear in these pages.
Author : Fred Kerr
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 440 pages
File Size : 48,22 MB
Release : 2017-06-30
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 1473896592
The author, Fred Kerr, was introduced to the world of industrial railways in 1956 when his parents moved from Edinburgh to Corby in Northamptonshire, where the local steelworks offered a mix of locomotives from several manufacturers. When steam traction finished on BR in August 1968, Fred's interest in railways continued with diesel and electric traction, whilst retaining a passing interest in industrial locomotives through his visits to the heritage lines which were initiated in the post-Beeching era.When the author converted to digital photography in 2001, he visited many heritage lines as he sought to gain experience in the digital world. When he looked back after a decade of digital photography, he noted that industrial locomotives were still at work on many heritage lines throughout the UK. He also noted that during the 1960s the effort to preserve mainline steam traction had overlooked the availability of industrial locomotives, leading to the scrapping of many locomotives with both a story to tell and an incomplete working life.The result is a book that pays tribute to industrial locomotives which are still at work by detailing the manufacturers of these workhorses and the locomotives which they built; identifying their working lives where possible; showing their entry into preservation and paying tribute to those heritage lines which appreciated the value of these unsung heroes of the Industrial Revolution by buying the 'scrap' locomotives then restoring them to working order.
Author : Fred Kerr
Publisher : Pen and Sword Transport
Page : 130 pages
File Size : 31,40 MB
Release : 2022-09-15
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 1399096168
In the prelude to the privatisation of BR the Provincial Sector (later Regional Railways) became responsible for local / secondary train services and initiated the refurbishment of 31 Class 37 locomotives, fitted with train heating equipment – hence designated Class 37/4 - to support the shortfall of DMU trainsets. Their initial task was to work services on Scottish lines radiating from Inverness to points north and Glasgow to service the West Highland Line with a small batch based in South Wales to service Cambrian Line services and services from Cardiff traversing the Marches Line to serve Liverpool. These services were soon replaced by Sprinter trainsets thus releasing the fleet to other duties including freight operators hence, at privatisation in April 1994, the fleet became owned by freight companies who subsequently hired locomotives to both other freight companies and passenger operators. Throughout their working life the fleet members have proved invaluable and capable of powering a variety of services whose history confirms both the locomotives’ adaptability and prowess in handling the duties allocated to them. Fred Kerr’s book seeks to show this adaptability by detailing the reason for their initial creation and the tasks successfully undertaken once released from their initial roles as support for the shortage of DMU trainsets. The advent of privatisation saw an increased demand for their ‘go-anywhere do anything’ ability which is also displayed by the range of photographs that illustrate the wide range of duties performed by class members. Once withdrawn from service some class members were purchased for preservation and – such was their adaptability – that preserved examples were hired by train operators to cover duties that no other class of diesel locomotive was capable of achieving.
Author : Anthony P. Sayer
Publisher : Pen and Sword Transport
Page : 765 pages
File Size : 44,26 MB
Release : 2021-12-30
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 1526761971
The British Railways ‘Pilot Scheme’ orders of 1955 included ten BTH and ten NBL Type 1 locomotives, these being introduced during 1957-61 for use in East London, and on the Great Eastern and London, Tilbury & Southend lines. The BTH fleet subsequently expanded to forty-four, as a consequence of their light axle-loading and the availability of spare manufacturing capacity which BR chose to exploit in their quest to eliminate steam traction. Further construction of these two classes ceased after the fifty-four units, with preference being given to the highly reliable English Electric product which by mid-1962 had proliferated to 128 examples. The NBL fleet survived until 1968, being withdrawn after ten years of indifferent performance. The BTH locomotives followed by 1971, although four lingered on as carriage pre-heating units. Dramatic reductions in goods traffic during the 1960s/70s particularly impacted local trip and transfer freight duties, the ‘bread and butter’ work for the Type 1s, and it was inevitable that the less successful classes were retired from traffic first. This book looks at the short history of these two classes, making extensive use of archive sources, combined with the primary observations of numerous enthusiasts. Previously unpublished information, covering the introduction, appearance design and performance issues of the locomotives, form a central focus, and, allocations, works histories, storage and disposals, liveries and detail differences are covered in the same level of detail as previous volumes in the ‘Locomotive Portfolio” series.
Author : Robert Pritchard
Publisher :
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 37,2 MB
Release : 2016-07-07
Category :
ISBN : 9781909431294
Author : Brian Solomon
Publisher : Motorbooks International
Page : 168 pages
File Size : 10,47 MB
Release : 2000
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 9780760306666
Introduced in the 1930s, efficient and adaptable diesel locomotives had all but displaced steam locomotives by 1960. This colorful photographic history examines the development, implementation, and operation of diesel locomotives from the gleaming pioneer Zephyrs of the '30s through today's 8000-horsepower beasts. In the course of examining the dawn and preeminence of diesel power, the author offers a glimpse of America's major railways -- both freight and passenger -- in stunning modern and period color photography. Manufacturers like EMD, Alco and GE are included. The final chapter describes the operation and maintenance of modern diesel locomotives, and an appendix lists where rail fans can see restored examples of early diesels today.
Author : Mick Hymans
Publisher : History Press
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 23,46 MB
Release : 2016-04-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9780750966016
'I remember how excited I was when I saw my first diesel. I was waiting for the usual West Country Class to come through Hampden Park when a Class 33 arrived instead. It was the talk of all the trainspotters at the junior school.'Author Mick Hymans' excitement soon turned to resentment as diesels replaced his beloved steam engines. They became rarer and rarer until in 1968 they disappeared altogether. Today the diesel engine enjoys a vast following in its own right. Preserved railways now run 'diesel days', steam-free days, which prove to be some of the most popular events in their calendars. Covering the whole railway system from the north of Scotland and Wales right down to Cornwall, British Rail Diesels presents a wide collection of photographs illustrating a lost world on the nation's railways.
