The Southern Region of British Rail was not all third rail EMUs, although it often seems like it. There was a huge variety of freight and inter-regional workings that brought ‘foreign’ locomotives in to the area. During the 1970s, once the author had a camera, school holidays meant cheap Runabout tickets to get to more exotic locations like Southampton or Ashford. Later the Young Persons Railcard, and later still the British Rail free passes and priv. tickets, meant that his travels expanded.

In this volume Andy Gibbs showcases the long-gone BR Blue era and the variety of trains that went with it in a fascinating collection of previously unpublished photographs, allowing the reader to enjoy this interesting period in British railway history in all its grubbiness.