Freight Trains - Great Britain: Books - History

Heavy Freight Locomotives

In the 1970s the introduction of the merry-go-round coal trains required a far more powerful loco, leading to the 3300 hp Class 56 being built. For general freight services, the Class 60 was developed. Both these types suffered from reliability problems in their early years.

Several large stone companies in Somerset became frustrated with the constant loco problems that BR were having and decided to order their own locos, choosing General Motors in the USA to supply them. This resulted in the Class 59, which started service in 1986 and proved to be so effective that other Railfreight operators followed suit and ordered what became Class 66. Eventually, more than 400 entered service.

This book of mostly unpublished colour photographs, taken by George Woods between 1966 until 2019, show the locos hauling a variety of trains all over the BR system.

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Containers by Rail in the UK

The importance of our railways in the movement of sea containers cannot be overstressed. Industry figures suggest that one in four of all containers arriving at UK ports move onwards via the UK rail network. This is particularly significant to the railfreight sector given the dramatic downturn in coal traffic in recent years.

Four of the country's major players in the freight sector - Freightliner, DB Cargo, GB Railfreight and Direct Rail Services - all move significant volumes of container traffic to almost all parts of the UK. This book takes a look at these movements, from the major ports of Felixstowe and Southampton to destinations as far afield as Bristol and the Scottish Highlands.

John Jackson takes an in-depth look at the diversity of locomotives and container wagons used on these services provided by these key players on our twenty-first-century railway.

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British Freight Trains

Against a backdrop of declining volumes, the competition between the various freight companies has never been so acute. The 'big five' freight haulage companies, DB Cargo, Freightliner, GB Railfreight, Direct Rail Services and Colas Rail, dominate the market.
It is no surprise that all five companies include the ubiquitous Class 66 within their fleets, with over 300 examples of the class operating across the country.

The observer could be forgiven for thinking that these are the only traction in use today. Of course they dominate the current UK freight scene but that is by no means the whole story.

Numerous other classes of both diesel and electric locomotives contribute to the mix of rail freight traction on display in the UK today. Class 37 diesels and a reducing number of AC electric locomotives have notched up half a century of freight haulage. They can be seen today working alongside newer examples such as the Class 68 and 70 locomotives.
With an array of rare and unpublished images, John Jackson offers a fascinating overview of the freight scene today.

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British Freight Trains

Britain's hard-working freight trains are captured in a variety of locations, from the dramatic backdrop of the Cumbrian Hills to the more industrial sites. Featuring a range of freight operators, Paul Manley's photographs have been taken in various parts of the country, in particular around Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire, as well as further south in the Midlands area including Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire - all of which are busy with freight traffic and container trains.

The Peak District in Derbyshire is dominated by the stone trains from Peak Forest and Tunstead, while Barnetby le Wold in North Lincolnshire is another freight hotspot with the port at Immingham and the Scunthorp steel works nearby.
At Teesside the main freight is imported coal from Redcar and the steel trains running into the Lackenby plant.

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