Wagons of the Final British Rail Era: A Pictorial Study of the 1983-1995 Period

Southampton: Kestrel Railway Books, 2010. In this book, David Larkin continues his comprehensive survey of freight wagons by turning to the later British Rail era. 1995 has been chosen as an end point as it was in this year that the BR wagon fleet was transferred to the three freight operating companies, Loadhaul, Mainline Freight and Transrail (later to become EWS). As a result, a variety of changes took place including the introduction of several new types of wagon in 1983, all in the air-braked fleet, plus many other conversions, all of which are dealt with within this volume. A major livery change was also implemented in 1983, followed by another in 1987, but by then, Railfrieght's image was very poor. Other subjects covered include details of the modifications to the TOPS system during this time, along with full coverage of the many-braked wagons that were given air through pipes - the last fling of the tradtional fleet. Profusely illustrated, and including details of the disposal of each class to their new owners, this book includes plenty of detailed diagrams, wagon number ranges, builders and livery details, and will be essential reading for all serious railway modellers and historians.. 1st Edition. Paperback. New. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall.