A popular feature of our publishing programme for a number of years has been our facsimile reprints of selected titles from the famous Ian Allan Publishing abc series that first appeared in the 1940s. These modestly priced volumes are welcomed by both the enthusiasts who may have used them when they first came out and also by those not around at the time they were first published. They provide wonderful, nostalgic snapshots of a railway scene that has long since disappeared.
The latest volume we have selected for reissue is abc British Railways Locomotives Combined Volume 1966. The Combined Volumes were in effect two books in one, abc British Railways Locomotives and the Locoshed Book. The abc lists all the locomotives and multiple units which were in service at that time, and the Locoshed book shows where they were allocated at the time the listings were compiled.
By the time this abc appeared, steam was in full retreat across the country and had already officially ended on the Western Region on 31st December of the previous year. However, many steam locomotives were still on BR’s the books in the other five regions and hundreds of new diesel and electric locos and multiple units were being delivered to ensure the final elimination of steam traction would occur in 1968.
This mix of traction makes the year covered in this volume a particularly interesting one. As with all of these facsimile reprints, this volume provides a wonderful, nostalgic window on a railway scene which has long since disappeared and will be enjoyed by enthusiasts of both steam and modern traction.
