The final volume in Ian Lothian’s illustrated portrait of the railways of central Scotland. This volume brings the story up to the beginning of the 2020s, looking at the years from 2016 to 2020, a period when older train types could still be seen alongside the latest modern rolling stock.
In this relatively short period, the pace of change has intensified with an extensive programme of electrification that has resulted in no fewer than five electrified routes between Edinburgh and Glasgow, and the introduction of a fleet of modern electric trains. Other new electric trains have been introduced on the East Coast route, whilst rebuilt HSTs have begun to transform services between Scotland’s major cities.
The book is divided into eight separate chapters, each covering a specific geographic area:
- Lines to Carstairs and on to Glasgow Central
- In and around Glasgow
- Lines around Edinburgh
- Edinburgh to the Forth Bridge and Fife
- Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk High
- The Electrification of the Shotts Line
- Polmont to Cumbernauld via Falkirk Grahamston and the Grangemouth Branch
- Larbert to Perth and the Stirling to Alloa Line
Each chapter begins with a description of the main occurrences over the five-year period and is followed by a collection of colour images from the featured area. All photographs are accompanied by detailed captions providing further information.
Railways of Central Scotland 2016–20 charts the development of passenger and freight traffic through the period, illustrating the changes to liveries, locomotives and rolling stock. Over 180 photographs are included, generally in two or three-per-page format. 96 pages.