Amberley Railway Archive

The seventy-four Class 52 diesel-hydraulics were built between 1961 and 1964 for British Railways' Western Region as high-powered locomotives to haul inter-city services. Given two-word names that began with 'Western', they inevitably became known as the Westerns. Although the Westerns could be seen on most routes in the Western Region, they were mostly seen on London to South Wales, London to Birmingham and London to Paignton, Plymouth and Penzance services. The charismatic and stylish-looking Westerns were among the first diesel locomotives to enjoy a cult following among railway enthusiasts and as the Westerns were withdrawn from service between 1973 and 1977 enthusiasts would congregate to photograph and travel on services hauled by one. Platform ends throughout the Western Region were thronged and few weekends passed without the running of an organised enthusiasts' special. The final, region-wide tour ran on 26 February 1977. This collection of photographs by Class 52 enthusiast Stephen Dowle was taken during the Westerns' last years in service and shows something of their appeal through the eyes of one enthusiast.

Britain's hard-working freight trains are captured in a variety of locations, from the dramatic backdrop of the Cumbrian Hills to the more industrial sites. Featuring a range of freight operators, Paul Manley's photographs have been taken in various parts of the country, in particular around Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire, as well as further south in the Midlands area including Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire - all of which are busy with freight traffic and container trains. The Peak District in Derbyshire is dominated by the stone trains from Peak Forest and Tunstead, while Barnetby le Wold in North Lincolnshire is another freight hotspot with the port at Immingham and the Scunthorp steel works nearby. At Teesside the main freight is imported coal from Redcar and the steel trains running into the Lackenby plant. 'Some of my favourite locations are Ribblehead on the Settle to Carlisle line in North Yorkshire, looking north towards Whernside, Kings Sutton, or Twyford Bridge in South Northamptonshire.'

English Electric produced a wide variety of products ranging from the Lightning interceptor jet to everyday consumer electronics, but in the railway world the company is best known for its classic British Rail diesels built in the late 1950s and the 1960s. The most powerful examples of these were the English Electric Type 4 (BR Class 40), the English Electric Type 4 Co-Co (BR Class 50) and most famously the English Electric Type 5 (BR Class 55 'Deltic'). In the post-steam age these large diesels have won a place in the hearts of a new generation of railway enthusiasts and today there is a thriving diesel preservation movement with many examples operating across the UK. Martin Hart began photographing diesels in the late-1970s and since then has built up an exceptional portfolio of stunning railway images. A collection of the surviving examples of all three types of these photogenic English Electrics are shown in this publication both in fully working order as well as those still under long-term restoration.

The sleek lines of the HST 125 High Speed Train represent a massive stride in British locomotive design in the latter part of the twentieth century. With two power cars the HST – otherwise known as the British Rail Class 43 – has a top speed of 125 mph, making it the fastest diesel-powered train in the world at the time of its introduction. Although nearing the end of its service life, recent refurbishments will give the HST another ten years in mainline service. The story of the HST is a rare example of British design success. Developed in the 1970s at a time when the railways were in desperate need of modernization, it filled the gap left by the failure of the infamous APT tilting train to become the mainstay of highspeed rail travel for several decades.

The Austerity saddle tank, a 1942 design born out of necessity during wartime Britain and intended for just two years of rigorous service as a general purpose shunting locomotive, far exceeded the original expectations of the Hunslet Engine Company design. In fact construction was to continue until 1964, with a total of 485 locomotives ultimately being turned out by seven different manufacturers. They became a familiar sight in a broad range of industrial settings, including military depots, collieries, quarries and steelworks, as well as on a number of main lines in Britain and overseas. This is a photographic tribute, almost three-quarters of a century on from their initial concept, portraying them in glorious grubby detail in their true working environment. Dirty, rusty and sometimes abandoned, these are not images of the 'squeaky-clean' examples to be found on heritage railways, although a handful of appropriate contemporary images are included as a tribute to those who help to keep the magic of the Austerity saddle tank alive today, some thirty years after their demise from British industry.