By far the most reliable of the many types of early British Railways diesel locomotives, the Class 20s (originally known as Type 1s) were introduced in 1957 and grew to a 228-strong fleet. Mostly used on freight trains, the locos could eventually be seen over almost all of the BR network and, even to this day, some are still in service almost 70 years later! Four Type 2 classes followed, built with local passenger and freight trains in mind. From 1958, 151 Class 24s came to the Southern Region but were better known further north. The more ubiquitous Class 25 was a development of the Class 24, with 327 produced between 1961 and 1967, while Classes 26 (47 members) and 27 (69 members) were further offshoots again, making their home in Scotland. Several examples of each have been preserved and can now be found across the scope of Britain's heritage railways. Over 200 colour images take each class from the latter part of their careers to their modern use in the present day, with picturesque scenery behind them bringing their varied colour schemes to the fore AUTHOR: Mark V. Pike has a lifelong interest in UK railways that started at the age of about six when his father used to take him to watch trains at Poole station in Dorset, just after steam had been abolished in the late 1960s. He later joined the railway at the age of 19 as a permanent way trackman at Bournemouth and was later an electric track maintenance worker at Dorchester for over 20 years. Now semi-retired, he is still an avid railway photographer, with various images appearing regularly in mainstream railway magazines and books.
