This book illustrates the sub-class of Class 37 locomotives British Railways assigned to the Provincial Sector (later Regional Railways) that became responsible for local and secondary train services.

Fitted with train heating equipment and designated Class 37/4, most were initially based at Inverness for services on the Far North lines and from Glasgow on the West Highland Line, with a few based in South Wales for Cambrian and Marches Line services. At privatisation in April 1994, the fleet was owned by freight companies, and throughout their working life, they hauled a variety of services and were well suited to the duties allocated to them.

Published in July 2022 by Pen & Sword Books and written by Fred Kerr, this hardback book measures around 229 mm x 292 mm, has 128 pages and 250 colour photographs, and a published price of £25, but at the time of writing, it is available from Amazon for £18.98.

After a brief introduction describing the class’s evolution, eight sections cover their use in Scotland, England, and Wales, on charter and rail tour services, their use by Direct Rail Services and Colas, and in preservation.

Although used widely throughout England, the England section has just two sub-sections devoted to Southport and Blackpool Club Trains and Yorkshire & Settle & Carlisle. Wales has three sub-sections covering the Cambrian lines, the North Wales coast, and the Rhymney Valley.

The photos on the left and at the top right highlight a recurring theme throughout the book, where many of the captions are extremely repetitive, other than the identity of the locomotive and the date, and conclude with the bland statement “awaiting its next turn of duty”, which is fairly obvious.

Another recurring feature is the large number of virtually identical photographs, such as the two on the right below.

It is also surprising that, given their overwhelming yellow cast, they were considered suitable for inclusion, especially as they were taken at Southport, where there are an overwhelming number of other examples in the book.

With the wide geographical spread over which the Class 37/4s operated, it is surprising that so many photographs are too similar and taken from the same viewpoint, as is obvious from the examples below.

Repetition happens again in the scenes on the left showing identical photos of trains emerging from the wall of Conwy Castle, where the similarity extends to the identical positioning of the locomotives.

With their attractive colour schemes, the ’37/4’ subclass become a firm favourite with enthusiasts with numerous examples still in mainline use today. Given the photogenic nature of the lines, there are few images of the class at work in the Scottish Highlands.

Similarly, there is sparse coverage of the class at work on the Cambrian lines, although there are many images of the class at work on South Wales Valleys services.

However, devoting 24 pages to the class at work in the Southport area is, to say the least, excessive, especially when many of them are taken from the same viewpoint and produce virtually identical images.

Overall, the author has included a poor selection of images. The class worked over some of Britain’s most scenic lines, but they are mostly absent, with none from the Far North line, the Highland Mainline, between Inverness and Aberdeen, or the lines to Mallaig and Kyle of Lochalsh. Instead, there are repetitive images taken from the same viewpoint of trains in Southport.

Although it is difficult to control the weather when taking photographs, many images, particularly on the Settle and Carlisle line, are sub-standard, and poor weather cannot be used as a mitigating factor for the decision to include them in this book.

The author’s book Virgin Trains – A Pictorial Tribute was published by the same published in June 2022, one month before this one. The difference in the quality of photographs in the two books is startling, both in the range of locations, services, and the quality of reproduction.,

Other than explaining that the Class 37/4 locomotives evolved when BR assigned them to the Provincial Sector and were fitted with train heating equipment, the book has very little technical detail. At the very least, it would be reasonable to expect a list of the names of each locomotive, their allocation details, and which of the class are now preserved.

Two of the author’s other books that have been reviewed, Class 66 and Virgin Trains – A Pictorial Tribute, were highly recommended.

However, considering the above comments, the many repetitive images, and inadequate captions, this book can only be recommended for dedicated Class 37 enthusiasts, and has been awarded a rating of 3/5.

The book is available to purchase from Amazon and Pen & Sword Books.

We would like to thank Pen & Sword Books for providing RailAdvent with a copy of the book for review.