British Rail Shunters

By the beginning of the 1980s, British Rail's fleet of diesel shunters was in decline, this being caused by a rapid loss of freight traffic across the country as well as the modernisation of passenger train operations, both resulting in a reduced need for shunting. Many of the smaller lower-powered classes had already been withdrawn or were teetering on the brink of extinction while even the ubiquitous Class 08s were increasingly feeling the pinch. While the number of shunters may have been reducing, this was in part balanced by the emergence of new looks as depots became increasingly interested in personalising their charges with names or colourful adornments. As the decade progressed and the hold of the corporate blue era gave way to Sectorisation, many colourful new liveries appeared on numerous shunters. This book examines this contrast in fortunes with photos of shunters at work and rest from across the UK during the 1980s, mostly in British Rail ownership but also including examples sold into industrial use.