This book is a compilation of photographs illustrating electric multiple units (EMUs) throughout northern England, but not specifically those operated by train operator Northern as inferred in the book’s title.

In his introduction, the author defines the book’s area of coverage as extending from Staffordshire to the Scottish borders, even though Staffordshire is part of the English Midlands rather than the north of England, and the first ten photographs were taken at locations in that county.

To the casual reader, the term electric multiple unit refers to electric trains without dedicated power cars, as in the Pendolinos of the West Coast Main Line and Azuma of the East Coast Main Line, but this distinction is not observed in the book.

The book does not have separate chapters but is arranged geographically, starting in Staffordshire and then moving clockwise through Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria, before returning via Tyneside and Yorkshire.

Published in August 2024 by Amberley Publishing and written by Martyn Hilbert, this soft-cover book measures around 165 mm x 234 mm and has 96 pages and 180 colour photographs.

Its published price is £15.99, but at the time of writing, it can be purchased for £14.39 from Amberley Publishing and for £ 14.39 from Amazon.

The pages below are typical of many in the book, and their inclusion is really outside the scope of the book, although they depict EMUs in the north of England.

The photo at the bottom left shows a Southern Region unit en route for scrapping, and at the top right is a carriage destined for Hong Kong on a low-loader.

As in the previous example, most readers would not expect to see the photos shown below. At the top-left is the Advanced Passenger Train Prototype, which was diesel rather than electric-powered. Including the London Underground train at the bottom left and the Connex South Eastern driving trailer at the top right can only be justified by their being seen at Crewe, which is in the north of England.

Despite previous adverse comments, many pages, such as the ones below, show typical views of what a book devoted to electric multiple units in the north of England is expected to include.

The pages below illustrate some other failings of this book. The top two photographs show Azumas, which should lie outside the book’s remit, yet the bottom left photo is the only example of a unit on the Tyne and Wear Metro, when it would be expected there would be several pages covering that network.

The only justification for including the photograph at the bottom right can be that it was taken in County Durham, as the units are destined for ScotRail.

A glimpse at the book’s title would suggest this is a book illustrating EMUs operated by train operator Northern. Instead, the book looks at EMUs from a geographical perspective rather than the more obvious connotation.

Including many examples of Azumas and Pendolinos highlights a grey area when considering what should and should not be in a book about electric multiple units, the author’s justification being they are electrically powered and not hauled by a separate locomotive

Many photos show units that are not working, but have been included because they just happen to be at locations in the north of England.

Other photos show trains headed by Class 47 diesel locomotives, and again the only reason for their inclusion is that they were taken in the north of England. Even more out of place is a photograph of a carriage from one of London’s Waterloo & City trains, again included because it just happens to be at the National Railway Museum in York.

On a positive note, a large selection of photographs shows units in many different liveries, some of them long-forgotten.

The captions are well-written and extensive, with much information about the particular services and locations.

Overall, the book was a disappointment because of the comments highlighted above. It can only be recommended as an addition to the library of the most-ardent enthusiasts of electric multiple units, and it has been awarded a rating of 3.5/5.

The book is available to purchase from Amazon and Amberley Publishing.

We would like to thank Amberley Publishing for providing RailAdvent with a copy of the book for review.