An album of high quality colour photographs illustrating the final fifteen years of Class 50 locomotives in British Rail service.
The period was one of immense change for the locomotives. It began with unrefurbished locomotives in standard rail blue livery, mainly confined to the Western Region of British Rail. Over time the locomotives underwent an extensive refurbishment programme and began to appear firstly in large-logo blue livery, and latterly in Network SouthEast livery.
At the same time, the sphere of operation for Class 50 locomotives had begun gradually to expand, following their replacement on express services from Paddington, following the introduction of the HST. Examples are seen at locations both familiar and unusual, on regular workings, specials, double-headed, on stabling points, depots and works, ex-works, clean, being cut up, specially prepared and downright filthy.
Many of the images come from the camera of acclaimed railway photographer, Barrie Renwick, who spent over 40 years following diesel traction and amassed a huge photographic archive in the process. Barrie’s photos are complemented by other high quality images from the period, to create a lasting record of the heyday of the Class 50.
Most of the photographs in The Last Years of the Class 50s: 1980-1994 are presented in one-per-page format and all are accompanied by captions providing further detail about the subject. 96 pages. Hardback.