An illustrated review of the changing face of rail freight operations in the South West of England from the 1980s to the 2020s.
In the early 1980s, china clay was still carried in elderly wooden-bodied wagons from about a dozen loading points, with much shunting and short-distance trip working. Gradually, the operation has been modernised and streamlined, although even the latest generation of rolling stock is now over 30 years old.
In contrast, the Mendip quarries have gone from strength to strength, with the railway moving ever-greater quantities of stone to terminals across southern England using a fleet of modern purpose-built wagons.
Many smaller freight flows have disappeared, but with over 160 carefully chosen photographs, Rail Freight: South West England revives memories of many such trains. The book illustrates and describes the changes in traction, rolling stock and railway infrastructure over four decades. 96 pages.