British Rail in the Eighties by Patrick Whitehouse
Few decades have seen greater or more dramatic changes in the railways than the 1980s. Closures, openings, changes in motive power and signalling, the return of the Pullmans, not to mention the Channel Tunnel, all served to make it a decade to remember, and all are covered in this volume. Written by the authors of the 150 and Great Days series, it is both a nostalgic look back and a definitive record of this eventful period. Helped by a team of distinguished contributors and photographers, Patrick Whitehouse and David St John Thomas have produced a wide-ranging study. There is a detailed investigation of BR's various sectors, a survey of the various closures and openings, a look at the changing world of special and charter trains and a profile of steam's tenuous hold on BR during the decade. The colour and black and white photographs complement the text, providing technical reference as well as an evocation of a decade which proved to be considerably more interesting and rewarding for railway enthusiasts than seemed possible when it began.