With British Rail Shunters: From Corporate Blue to Sectorisation the author, Simon Bendall, has concentrated on the late 1970s, and 1980s, to create a pictorial record focusing of the British Rail diesel shunter fleet, in particular the Class 08s.
The role of British Rail’s (BR) diesel shunters was coming under increasing threat by the late 1970s, as traffic losses and modernised methods of operation both contributed to a reduction in fleet size. The decade had begun with 13 different types in traffic, but almost half of these would be gone from BR service ten years later, with others down to mere handfuls. However, those that remained continued to serve across the country in a wide range of situations from main stations to goods yards and industrial locations. As the 1980s progressed, the locos became increasingly colourful as new liveries were introduced and assorted special repaints emerged along with depot emblems and new modifications.
Volume 46 in Key Publishing’s Britain’s Railways Series, this book takes a pictorial look at the shunter fleet during this period of change, ranging from Dover to Penzance and north to Inverness. While Class 08s are the focus as the dominant fleet, other classes are included on their home regions or in industrial use.
Illustrated with hitherto unpublished, predominantly colour photographs. The images are generally displayed in two-per-page format, accompanied by detailed captions.
160 colour and 15 black & white photographs. 96 pages.