Treacy'S British Rail

This collection of 250 photographs from Bishop Eric Treacy gives a chronological pictorial record of the progress and changes in our railways from steam to diesel to electrification ending in 1978.

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This is the third book about the photographs of Bishop Eric Treacy to be published by David & Charles. The previous titles were "Eric Treacy: Railway Photographer" and "Treacy's Routes North". This latest volume contains a selection of 250 black and white illustrations taken from a collection of over 14,000 uncaptioned negatives. The change to today is lead in by the use of time capsules linked to locomotive development, each with an authoritative text alongside Treacy's pictures right up to 1978 via the locomotive exchanges. All this is blended together with tables from official sources and background information. Two chapters, "The Transition Years" and "Standard Locomotives", chart the demise of steam. The entry of the diesel age is shown by experimental types within the Grouping Companies, which in turn led Treacy to photograph the rise of the Class 40's, Deltics, Class 25's and DMU's. Electrification is depicted by a section of BR's named trains and hardware in the form of shed allocations, shed layouts and diesel lists. The reader learns about the man himself, his regrets that his beloved steam was about to vanish.
It tells of his many rides on the footplate and shows his concern with the people who were such an integral part of the trains, such as the driver oiling up the ill-fated Princess Anne which perished in the Harrow disaster, the top-hatted stationmaster at Euston and many more.