British Diesel Locomotives of the 1950s and ‘60s

After the Second World War, the drive for the modernization of Britain''s railways ushered in a new breed of locomotive: the Diesel. Diesel-powered trains had been around for some time, but faced with a coal crisis and the Clean Air Act in the 1950s, it was seen as a part of the solution for British Rail. This beautifully illustrated book, written by an expert on rail history, charts the rise and decline of Britain''s diesel-powered locomotives. It covers a period of great change and experimentation, where the iconic steam engines that had dominated for a century were replaced by a series of modern diesels including the ill-fated ''Westerns'' and the more successful ''Deltics''--iconic trains of the era.