British Railways Steam 1948-1970

Railway sleuth Les Summers unravels the politics and policies that led to the abandonment of steam traction under British Railways. In this fascinating account, he examines the twilight of steam in the era that shaped the future of our railways.

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Over the forty-five years since the last BR steam locomotive was taken out of service, there have been many books and articles devoted to re-threshing the facts in the matter of the Standard classes of steam locomotive, some praising the development of the ‘last best chance’ for British steam and others suggesting that they were appalling anachronisms, the investment in which would have been better spent on diesels. Few of those publications actually examine the circumstances in which they were built, not just the engineering considerations but political difficulties and the international and domestic economic situation, not least locomotive development abroad.

In this new book, L. A. Summers attempts to do just that, for the first time bringing together as many of the prevailing factors as possible, in the process delivering a stinging criticism of BR management, some of the BR engineers and politicians looking for a quick fix, as well as Whitehall officials determined to impose their views on professional railwaymen.