Speedlink Volume 3

Speedlink was launched in 1977 as an attempt to arrest the decline in British Rail’s wagonload freight business. One of the things that distinguished Speedlink workings from most of the freight services that had preceded them was that all the wagons used were air braked. At its peak in the mid 1980s, it carried over 8 million tonnes annually. Despite this, Speedlink was never profitable, and in the run up to railway privatisation the service was abandoned in 1991. This is the third and final book in this short series, each one complete in itself, which provides a comprehensive survey of the whole Speedlink wagon fleet.

This volume examines the important role played by the internationally registered wagons that operated on Speedlink services. Such rolling stock had been seen on the railways of Britain since the 1920s and, due to the fact that all the types entering the country were air braked, they were ideal for Speedlink. By the 1980s, many new designs had appeared, especially bogie vans, and formed an important part of the stock to be seen on Speedlink services across the country.

Before the opening of the Channel Tunnel, international vehicles came into the UK via the train ferries to Dover and Harwich, and a wide variety of these European wagons from countries as far afield as Yugoslavia could be seen on Speedlink services. The wagons employed included vans, flats and tankers; the latter for commodities ranging from chemicals to china clay. The sight of these overseas vehicles on Speedlink services added a hint of the exotic these workings.

Written by wagon expert David Larkin and heavily illustrated throughout, this series is an invaluable source of reference for all those interested in the post steam era on Britain’s railways. Those modelling the railway scene from the 1970s to the 1990s will also find these books essential reading.

Author Biography

David Larkin is a retired railwayman of over 60 years’ service, chiefly as a signalman. He commenced photographing wagons in 1968 and ceased in 1992, having amassed a collection of over 17,500 black & white negatives. He has backed up this collection with research into official records, both within B.R. and the N.R.M. at York, and has supplemented his own collection with black & white prints from other sources.