HST: The train that saved Britain’s Railways

FOLLOWING on from his insider’s book about Network Rail test trains, former NR engineer Andrew Royle has turned his attention to celebrating the five decades of HST operation since they were introduced in the mid-1970s.

Despite being a dedicated intercity train type, the fleet has enjoyed a remarkable variety of use that still continues today – from front line work on British Rail’s Western and Eastern Region, to today’s operations with CrossCountry, GWR, ScotRail and NR.

Most of these many phases are covered in this book, which is effectively a pictorial documentary but backed up with detailed and informative captions. Picture selection and quality is excellent with a range of locations at stations, line sides, depots and museums – and they are all well reproduced on good quality paper.

This is recommended reading for fans of the class, and good value for a hardback book at this price. PB

Published by Crécy Publishing www.crecy.co.uk

192 pages, hardback. £20