Western Region Rail Scene: 1970s–1980s

Garry Stroud documents hydraulic power and the changing scene on the Western Region during the 1970s and early to mid-1980s.

For many enthusiasts, the Western Region of BR was the home of the hydraulics, their following reaching almost cult status towards their later years. Even the Class 50s which replaced them created their own following and are now part of history. The images in this book represent not just hydraulic power but the changing scene on the Western Region during the 1970s and early to mid-1980s. In many locations the semaphore signals which were synonymous with the region are gone, with even Brunel’s main line completely transformed and electrified. Plenty of nostalgic rail-blue-era images of long-lost motive power, from front-line locomotives to first-generation DMUs, main- and branch-line scenes as well as depots are included, representing the whole of the Western Region from London to Cornwall, South Wales and north to Worcester. Garry Stroud presents a vibrant selection of nostalgic images from a time when hydraulic motive power was giving way to newer forms of traction and eventually HSTs.