An album of colour photographs illustrating the diesel locomotive classes built by the English Electric Company for British Railways. English Electric was one of the companies chosen to build prototype diesel locomotives for the BR Modernisation Plan of 1955, and went on to build several hundred locomotives, some of which are still in service today.
The book begins with a brief history of English Electric’s association with diesel traction, from their first diesel loco built in 1936, to the closure of the company in 1968. Brief mention is made of overseas orders, with a couple of exported diesels illustrated, before the book moves on to examine classes built for the domestic market.
A couple of shunting locomotives are illustrated, followed by multiple photographs of all the main line classes in turn – 20, 37, 40, 50 and 55. The photographs are taken from the archive of George Wood and cover the period from 1966, right up to 2019.
English Electric Diesel Locomotives illustrates passenger and freight workings and features a great variety of liveries, both from the BR era and in later years whilst the locomotives were in private ownership or preservation. All photos are accompanied by informative captions. 96 pages.