The 1970s was a unique period for Britain's railways. Steam had not
long been replaced by diesel traction, the West Coast Main Line
electrification was well underway with new and more powerful
locomotives, and the colourful 'rail blue' livery projected an
image of a new and altogether cleaner railway - there was plenty to
be optimistic about. It was also a good time for the railway
photographer - much of the railway infrastructure and complex track
layouts of the steam era remained intact, freight traffic was
plentiful and invariably passed through marshalling yards for
sorting, and there were plenty of locomotive classes of various
shapes and sizes, often regionally based, to pique the interest. As
well as this, though, the seeds were being sown for an altogether
different railway - one where locomotive standardisation was being
pursued as a means of lowering fleet maintenance costs, where the
freight focus was a migration to block trains travelling from
supplier directly to customer, avoiding the inevitable delay and
expense of the marshalling yards, and one where track layouts were
being simplified and streamlined to increase speed and reduce
permanent way maintenance. The photographs in this book capture a
flavour of the railways during this fascinating transition period.
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