When BR ran its 15 guinea Special in August 1968 many believed that steam locomotives would quickly become a thing of the past and that future workings would be restricted to the heritage lines which had begun to appear. Initially that seemed to be the case with the only exception being the famed A3 Class Pacific 4-6-2 Flying Scotsman whose owner had signed a contract with BR that allowed the locomotive to operate beyond that date.Change came in 1971 when BR trialled the operation of King ...

Built at Doncaster works in 1923 the Nigel Gresley designed then-A1 class Pacific (4-6-2) first entered service as No 1472. The new locomotive did not receive a name until it was sent for display at a Wembley exhibition in 1924, and then the name Fying Scotsman was chosen. The Legend was born. In 1928 the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) express steam locomotive hauled the first nonstop service from London to Edinburgh and in 1934 went on to break through the 100mph barrier.In addition ...

The Southern Region of British Railways had long sought to design a locomotive capable of working on electrified lines and non-electrified station yards and sidings. In 1959 British Railways approved a design, designated Class HA, later British Railways Class 73, which combined the electrical equipment of the latest EMU design with the standard English Electric diesel engine in one bodyshell. An initial order was placed for six locomotives but allocated to Eastleigh Carriage and Wagon Work...

A two-decade pictorial history of the British locomotive class and its "jack of all trades" design.When British Railways (BR) was privatised in April 1994 some of the freight companies were bought by English Welsh Scottish Railways (EWSR), which immediately reviewed the mixed locomotive fleet and led to the decision to purchase 250 locomotives from General Motors (USA), based on that company's earlier Class 59 design supplied to Foster Yeoman in 1985. Delivered to N...

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 encompassin...

The city of Edinburgh has always been innovative in its provision of transport ranging from the end of the 19th century when it leased land for the creation of a cable tramway network through operating the same when the lease ended in June 1919 to the current era when it trials a range of vehicles as it seeks to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2030. The company's maintenance standards are sufficiently high that after 15 years of daily service withdrawn vehicles are valued by the second ha...

A pictorial history of the innovations made and challenges faced when Virgin Trains operated the West Coast Main Line routes of the British Railways.When British Railways (BR) was privatized in April 1994, a series of passenger franchises was created that included services on both the East Coast Main Line (ECML) and competing West Coast Main Line (WCML) routes. The WCML franchise was won by Virgin Trains and it quickly set about improving service by introducing a r...

A stunning pictorial survey of the Class 37/4s, covering their operations in Scotland, England, and Wales.In the prelude to the privatisation of British Railways, the Provincial Sector (later Regional Railways) became responsible for local / secondary train services. It initiated the refurbishment of thirty-one 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 wo...

Mid-Cheshire based heritage transportation specialist photographer and feature writer Keith Langston traveled extensively with Fred Dibnah during the filming of his last TV series, 'Made in Britain.’ Following Fred's untimely death, Keith embarked upon the creation of a book, drawing not only on his experiences with the Bolton born steeplejack and TV presenter, but in addition talking to a representative cross section of those persons who numbered themselves amongst Fred's many friends.

When British Railways initiated its Modernisation Plan in 1955, its Western Region elected to trial locomotive designs with hydraulic transmission whilst BR encouraged designs with electric transmission. The Western Region felt that the lighter weight of 78 tons for a diesel hydraulic locomotive producing 2000 hp, compared to an equivalent weight of 132 tons for a diesel electric locomotive producing 2000 hp, would better meet BR's requirement for a modern locomotive. BR's failure to follo...

You didn't just meet with Fred Dinah you were instinctively drawn close to him, his larger than life personality was truly infectious and his communication skills second to none. Fred had the uncanny and somewhat unique knack of talking through a TV camera so that the viewer actually felt a personal contact with him. The Bolton born steeplejack became nationally known and loved following a series of TV programs. Although an admirer of all things, Victorian he was what the modern media peop...

In an earlier album titled BR Diesel Locomotives in Preservation Fred Kerr detailed the many classes of BR diesel locomotives that had been preserved and noted that some purchases had been made with the hope of operating them on the national network.The Railways Bill 1993 provided an opportunity for this to happen and this album shows such locomotives at work during the early part of the 21st century up to December 2016. During this period many new train operators entered the market and th...