The last two decades have seen many changes to the railways of Central Scotland with different ownership of passenger franchises and new locomotives and rolling stock for both passenger and freight. These changes have intensified over the five years covered in this book with the main feature being an extensive program of electrification giving no fewer than five electrified routes between Edinburgh and Glasgow. This volume, illustrated with over 180 colour photographs and including a wide variety of trains and liveries, looks at the sweeping changes that have taken place on the ever-changing railways of Central Scotland in the last five years. 180 colour photographs

The Canadian Pacific Railway was built to unite all the Canadian Provinces with a transcontinental line running from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Many obstacles were encountered during construction including the Rocky Mountains, a formidable range of mountains in Western Alberta and Eastern British Columbia. Originally planned to run further north, the line eventually crossed the Continental Divide at Kicking Horse Pass, a challenge to railway operating that still exists today despite the use of high-horsepower diesel locomotives. Illustrated with unique photographs, taken over a number of years, this book covers the line from Exshaw, where it first encounters the Rockies, to Golden. The variety of traffic found on the line is shown against a backdrop of stunning scenery that is encountered along the line. Also detailed is the other Canadian Pacific line in the south of Alberta, which traverses Crowsnest Pass. 180 illustrations

The years between 2006 and 2015 saw many changes in Central Scotland's railways with projects such as the rebuilding and reopening of the lines from Maryhill to Anniesland and the Larkhall branch, as well as the opening of the Stirling to Alloa and Kincardine line in 2008, followed by the Airdrie to Bathgate route in December 2010. Illustrated with over 150 colour photographs, this volume looks at the transformation of the main route network in Central Scotland, over the ten-year period, detailing changing franchises, different liveries and new lines, locomotives and rolling stock. 150 illustrations

Illustrated with 180 photographs, this book looks at the much-loved West Highland line, which runs from Glasgow to Fort William, along with the Mallaig Extension from Fort William to Mallaig and the Oban line divergence at Crianlarich. The variety of transport covered includes scheduled services, railtours, seasonal steam and the recently introduced Highland Explorer Class 153s, which have been specially rebuilt at Kilmarnock to cater for cyclists and passengers with bulky luggage.

The West Coast Main Line and the line from Kilmarnock south to Gretna were both built to ensure that passenger services from Scotland would connect to towns and cities in England and, more importantly, that it would open up markets for both manufactured goods and mineral traffic, principally coal, which at that time was required in vast quantities for both industrial and domestic use. The line south from Glasgow to Stranraer was to provide a connection with the ferries for both goods and passengers to and from Ireland. Lines to multiple destinations on the Clyde Coast connected with ferries to various islands for an ever-increasing volume of commuter traffic. The various changes to motive power, liveries and services over the last 30 years are reflected in the illustrations, which also record the demise of the once huge volume of coal traffic. South of Edinburgh, there is a look at the Borders Railway, which, when it was opened in 2015, was the longest line to be reopened within the UK. With over 170 colour photographs, this book takes the reader on a journey throughout the south and west of Scotland.

The five years either side of the millennium was a period of great change on the railway network with the advent of privatisation and, on the passenger side, the introduction of franchised operations. On the freight side, the original British Railways network was initially split into three companies - Mainline, Loadhaul and Transrail - but they all ended up being purchased by EWS, the English, Welsh and Scottish Railway. The period saw new rolling stock, new locomotives and a staggering number of different liveries. Illustrated with over 150 colour photographs, this book records some of the many changes to the main route network in Central Scotland, capturing the last days of some of the older classes before they were phased out and, equally, documenting the new as they came in. By 2005, the railways of Central Scotland had evolved almost beyond recognition when compared with how things had been ten years earlier and in this volume Ian Lothian provides an interpretation as to how things were and how they have been transformed over a decade.