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Product Description
Introduced in 1966, Rail blue was the livery applied to all forms of BR diesel and electric traction and carriage stock until sectorisation in the mid-1980s and as such was to dominate Britain's main-line railways for almost two decades. By the end of steam in August 1968 increasing numbers of locomotives, multiple-units and coaches were appearing in the new livery, so much so that the final steam specials operated in August 1968 included blue-and-grey coaching stock. For the modeller, the Rail-blue era has its attractions in that it straddles the period of the late 1960s when steam and green diesels predominated through to the era of sectorisation in the mid-1980s. Moreover, although not all classes of first-generation of diesel and electric locomotives and rolling stock survived to be repainted in blue, there were odd examples of most classes repainted. This new book is a companion to Paul Shannon's "Blue Diesel Days", which was published in the autumn of 2007. It includes over 200 colour images portraying the operation of blue-liveried locomotives and rolling stock throughout the BR network along with detailed captions and informative linking narrative.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Paul Shannon is an old hand and has been on the railway photographic scene for many years. Expectations were therefore high. There are many 'plus' points to Rail Blue and a couple of minor 'minus' points. However overall the book is recommended without hesitation.
On the plus side the geographical spread of photographs is excellent and where necessary the author has not hesitated to use the work of other photographers to fill any gaps. The infrastructure illustrated in many of the photographs is sufficient to produce plenty of nostalgia of what is already a bygone era. The captions are well written and are neither too short or too long and contain plenty of data. The book is divided into train type, which restricts it to five chapters. Several of the photographs are master shots, although see next paragraph.
On the minus side, although there are some excellent shots overall there are perhaps just a few too many full frame conventional 'front three quarters' views. Although taken many years ago, possibly on a range of different film emulsions, my copy of the book was, overall and with some exceptions, a bit on the 'dark' side. Finally (and this is the publishers fault not the authors) I thought only 96 pages in a casebound book somewhat on the stingy side, especially when the same publishing house produces 160 page products for £3 more. So value for money-wise there is a question mark - although at Amazon prices it is a real bargain!
Would I buy it - yes. Also great to see a book dedicated to the Author's Mum - there's nobody more important!
On the plus side the geographical spread of photographs is excellent and where necessary the author has not hesitated to use the work of other photographers to fill any gaps. The infrastructure illustrated in many of the photographs is sufficient to produce plenty of nostalgia of what is already a bygone era. The captions are well written and are neither too short or too long and contain plenty of data. The book is divided into train type, which restricts it to five chapters. Several of the photographs are master shots, although see next paragraph.
On the minus side, although there are some excellent shots overall there are perhaps just a few too many full frame conventional 'front three quarters' views. Although taken many years ago, possibly on a range of different film emulsions, my copy of the book was, overall and with some exceptions, a bit on the 'dark' side. Finally (and this is the publishers fault not the authors) I thought only 96 pages in a casebound book somewhat on the stingy side, especially when the same publishing house produces 160 page products for £3 more. So value for money-wise there is a question mark - although at Amazon prices it is a real bargain!
Would I buy it - yes. Also great to see a book dedicated to the Author's Mum - there's nobody more important!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Paul's work continues to improve in quality and substance . For me, his books are a pleasant reminder of the days when our railways had character and .....charm ? ( possibly ) . A period that is often dismissed as dull, due to the wall to wall blue / grey scenery, it was actually a time of wide variety in motive power and operations, a period that I followed as a " Spotter " when I was a kid ( a long time ago ) . In the last 15 - 20 years I have lost touch with the railway scene but this book, as with others that Paul has produced, brings back a great many memories of a time that I found fascinating . Compared with today's world of over-crowded Multiple Units and " one size fits all " freight locomotives, the Blue era had a lot more character than it is given credit for . This book is an excellent example of the type and contains some high quality photographs, all with informative captions and it's layout of subject matter ( sectors as apposed to regions ) gives it more structure than others in the field . Well recommended .
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A fantastic photographic book, absolutely stuffed full of colour pictures depicting the locomotives of British Rail's diesels, electrics and various multiple units in the famous Rail Blue liveries of yesteryear. Paul Shannon has done many enthusiasts proud with this edition, ably assisted with loaned historical contributions by several other veteran railway photographers such as Derek Cross, Geoff Plumb, Bernard Mills, David Rapson and Hugh Ballantyne, to name a few. A magnificent array of the really old locomotive classes long since gone from the railway network, including Classes 17, 21, 22, 23 and 29, along with various electric multiple units Classes 304, 504 and 506. An absolute goldmine of pictorial history starting in the late 60's right up to the mid 80's when Railfreight liveries were adopted. I'm very surprised to see so many 4 stars for this issue as seeing again so many photos of Warships, Westerns, Hymeks, baby Deltics, etc, in the same book surely merits a 5 star award from any railway fan. I like the angle of various shots, including many regional semaphore signals which give the pictures such a powerful resenance, and the book covers the whole of the BR regions with sections split over passenger, freight and parcel workings from right around the UK. Well worth the full asking price, but, to get it at Amazon's discount is a huge bonus, and an absolute must get for anyone who remembers the older days of BR Corporate Blue main line locomotives and shunters.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
GENERAL
WE RECEIVED THE PRODUCT IN GOOD TIME AND IN GOOD ORDER, THE PARTS ARE SUITABLE FOR OUR PURPOSE MANY THANKS BEST REGARDS
Published 3 months ago by EVE
Excellent.
Being someone of a certain age this book is a trip down memory lane.
A superb collection of photographs.
Well worth the money and highly recommended!
A superb collection of photographs.
Well worth the money and highly recommended!
Published 23 months ago by Kevin G. Sidney
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