Books by David Larkin

Whilst much has been published on BR locomotives and passenger stock, accurate and detailed coverage of the large inventory of vehicles used to convey the huge volumes of goods traffic carried by the railways at that time.

The first five Kestrel Railway Books volumes by David Larkin looked at the revenue-earning wagon fleet operated by British Railways and its successor, British Rail. These were followed by a series of three books looking at the specially designed wagons that were used for track maintenance, and then three volumes covering the parcels and passenger-rated stock. This is the second of two covering the ex-private owner fleet.When BR was created, it was intended that it should own all railway rolling stock, but legal action by some of the larger wagon-owning companies delayed things until 1951. Non-pool wagons were defined as privately-owned wagons allowed to run over railways owned or operated by the British Transport Commission. This series sets out the types of wagon eligible to be classified as Non-Pool and lists them individually with details of numbers carried, capacity and registration details where known. Volume 1 covered owners with initials A to H, and Volume 2 deals with the remaining owners alphabetically.

The first five Kestrel Railway Books volumes by David Larkin looked at the revenue-earning wagon fleet operated by British Railways and its successor, British Rail. These were followed by a series of three books looking at the specially-designed wagons that were used for track maintenance, and then three volumes covering the parcels and passenger-rated stock. This is the first of a series covering the ex-private owner fleet.When BR was created, it was intended that it should own all railway rolling stock, but legal action by some of the larger wagon-owning companies delayed things until 1951. Non-Pool wagons were defined as privately-owned wagons allowed to run over railways owned or operated by the British Transport Commission. This series sets out the types of wagon eligible to be classified as Non-Pool and lists them individually with details of numbers carried, capacity and registration details where known. Volume 1 covers owners with initials A to H, and Volume 2 (expected to be published in October 2016) deals with the remaining owners alphabetically.

David Larkin continues his comprehensive survey of British Railways goods wagons by looking at the final flowering of vacuum-braked stock, and the development of air-braked stock in the final years of British Railways, such as"merry-go-round" coal hoppers and Freightliner flat wagons. The batch of vacuum-fitted prototypes that eventually led to the general fleet of air-braked opens and vans is also covered.In addition, David also considers the effect of the change of corporate image for British Rail on wagon liveries, as a prelude to his continuation of the series into the British Rail era.Profusely illustrated, as are the other books in the series, this book includes lot and diagram details, wagon number ranges, builder''s and livery details of a diverse set of vehicles.