Although experiments with diesel multiple-units began in the 1930s, it was not until the early 1950s that they came into their own. At a time when costs were rising and traffic was in decline, the DMU offered a more attractive and cleaner form of rail travel for the passenger and a more cost-effective means of providing services for the railway industry when compared with steam traction. From the 1955 Modernisation Plan to the early 1960s, several thousand first-generation DMUs emerged. Whilst many of the services that they were designed to operate over proved transitory, the DMUs proved hugely reliable and many had operational careers of several decades. A handful of first-generation units remained in service into the 21st century and countless others survive in preservation.
DMU expert and preservationist Stuart Mackay, in his first book, portrays the great variety of types produced as part of the early DMU programme as well as the many liveries they have carried during the more than 50 years since they were first introduced. Drawing upon the work of many of the well known photographers, the author has produced a comprehensive and colourful survey of these much loved units.
Author: Stuart Mackay
Title: BRITISH RAILWAYS FIRST-GENERATION DMUs IN COLOUR For The Modeller and Historian
Format: PB 96 pages
Publisher: Ian Allan Ltd
Pub date: Nov 2006
ISBN 10: 0711031568
ISBN 13: 9780711031562
List Price: £14.99
