DIESELS ON THE EASTERN Author:Michael Welch It is now more than 50 years since the Modernisation Plan foresaw the demise of steam traction on Britain's main-line railroads and more than 40 years since the Eastern Region was effectively dieselised. The locomotives built for this phase of Britain's railroad development are now as much a part of history as the locomotives they were designed ... more »to replace. The Eastern Region, as it existed prior to the merger with the North Eastern Region in the late 1960s, was one of the first parts of the BR network that was quick to exploit the development of diesel traction from the late 1950s onwards. By the early 1960s, steam had effectively been withdrawn from East Anglia and from the southern section of the East Coast main line, with the arrival of the 'Deltics'. Suburban services out of King's Cross were also quickly transferred, with the 'Baby Deltics' initially representing the direct replacement for steam locomotives, before DMUs were brought in to replace this unsuccessful class of locomotive.As the final first-generation stock succumbs so interest in the types built grows - a fascination that this new addition to Ian Allan Publishing's successful all-color albums will help foster.« less