Colin J. Howat offers a stunning collection of diesel locos and their trains working on Scottish railways.

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 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 Once withdrawn from service some class members were purchased for preservation and—such was their adaptability—that preserved examples were hired by train operators to cover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.

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'.

Kenny Barclay documents the diesel locomotives and DMUs in the closing decades of the British Rail era.

Scottish Highland Railways describes eight great journeys by rail through northern Scotland, detailing the history of the lines while travelling along their modern-day routes. In addition, the landscapes, regional history, stations and services available are all described. With over 100 present-day and archive photographs and maps, this book provides the histories of the railways of the east coast, the Grampian region, the highland main line and the Far North, West Highland and Oban, Mallaig and Kyle of Lochalsh lines. A railway company 'family tree' is given and a timeline documenting the many mergers and changes over time. The recent history of these railways in the 20th and 21st centuries is given along with a list of operational stations in 2020 together with passenger usage statistics. There are also details of rail organizations and regulations in Scotland.

Set against a backdrop of the wonderful scenic beauty of Scotland’s Highlands, this book illustrates the area’s fascinating passenger and freight trains, railway infrastructure, stations and signalling over a 40-year period. Using photographs taken mainly by two railway enthusiasts who have made regular and frequent visits to the area, the reader is taken on a captivating photographic journey north from Perth to Inverness, Kyle of Lochalsh, Wick and Thurso. En route, many of the locations on the railway and the variety of locomotives and multiple units that have appeared in the area from 1979 to 2019 are shown. This volume includes over 180 historic photographs, most of which have never been published before, each accompanied by an extensive caption. Together they form a comprehensive historic record of the trains in Highland Scotland north of Perth, including some of the changes that have taken place in the railways of the area. They illustrate the growth and decline of passenger and freight services and how the infrastructure of the railways has evolved through a period of four decades to meet the needs of the modern railway era.

“A book full of nostalgia for those who thought railways after the end of steam would be an endless stream of lookalike boxes . . . a revelation.” —Rail Advent In the 1980s and early 1990s, Scotland was an excellent destination for the railway enthusiast. The many locomotive hauled trains running through splendid scenery, together with the surviving railway infrastructure and mechanical signaling, provided many fine photographic opportunities. Peter J. Green’s first railway visit to Scotland was on board the Fair Maid railtour to Perth, behind Flying Scotsman in 1983. The following year, he again traveled to Scotland, this time on the F & W Railtours’ The Skirl o’ the Pipes 4, to Kyle of Lochalsh and Mallaig, his first visit to the Scottish Highlands. Green had previously been traveling abroad for railways, but impressed by what he saw, he decided that he would quickly return to photograph the Scottish railway scene, before it changed too much. This was the start of a series of visits, each for one or two weeks, between 1984 and June 1991, covering the whole country. This book is a photographic record of the locomotives, trains and infrastructure of the railways of Scotland and the landscapes through which the trains ran, as recorded by Green’s various cameras during the period of his visits. “Lots to enjoy, not just the Scottish locomotives themselves, but their trains and the world beyond, which in some cases has changed beyond recognition in the years since these photographs were taken. Highly recommended.” —The Railway Magazine