Subtitled “On the footplate with the Diesel Department on the Spa Valley Railway”, this book is a hardback colour album of heritage diesel traction seen at the Spa Valley Railway, at Tunbridge Wells in Sussex. The author is an active volunteer in the Diesel Department at the railway, and many of the images are taken from "behind the scenes" areas.
Includes many different settings, including locomotives at work hauling passenger trains on the line, or captured in station environments. Also includes examples of locomotives receiving maintenance on shed and several images taken from the cab, giving a different perspective of the line’s operations. Most of the images are presented in one-per-page format and the following classes are illustrated: 09, 10, 12, 14, 17, 20, 25, 26, 27, 31, 33, 37, 42, 50, 55, 73, DEMU, EMU.
Operating Heritage Diesels also contains a brief introduction looking at the growth of diesel preservation and describing how it has been encompassed at the Spa Valley Railway. All the photographs are accompanied by informative captions providing further information about the locomotives illustrated and the railway. 80 pages. Hardback.