The Last Days of British Steam Railways by Colin Garratt

Last Updated on April 23, 2026

The Last Days of British Steam Railways by Colin Garratt.

This unique visual record – over 150 previously unpublished photographs by full-time railway photographer, Colin Garratt – will be welcomed by all railway enthusiasts. Here are steam locomotives in their service liveries and original condition, working out their last days on British railways in the late 1950s and ’60s. Many different locomotive types are represented in dozens of locations throughout the country, as they were seen by a young man with a camera and a passion for trains.

In the autumnal days of working steam in the British Isles, in the late 1950s and ’60s, professional photographer Colin Garratt laid the foundations for what has become his life’s work

– the photographic record of steam railways worldwide.

In this book, for the first time, Colin Garratt has collated some 150 of his previously unpublished pictures showing steam locomotives in Great Britain. These are not the few jealously tended and carefully maintained examples that have survived to the present day but working locomotives in their service liveries and original condition. Many different locomotive types are represented in dozens of locations throughout the country, as they were seen by a young man with a camera and a passion for trains.

Complemented by the author’s personal, detailed and informative commentary on each picture, this book is a unique visual record of an era and will be welcomed by all railway enthusiasts.

Colin Garratt’s roots remain in Leicestershire although his work now takes him to the remote corners of the world where steam traction continues to operate. He is well known for his many previous books on railways and photography, and through his frequent lecture tours of the British Isles.

This book was previously for sale at Margot’s Books. The shop is now closed — this post is kept as an archive record only.