By Adrian Curtis

When British Railways ended overhauls of Western Class 52 diesel hydraulic locomotives in the early 1970s, it was left to Plymouth’s Laira depot to spruce up the external condition of the remaining members of the fleet. The repaints, which began in 1972, went on until 1976 when more than 50 of the class benefited from an external repaint. However, the practice brought with it its own myriad of idiosyncrasies in terms of the different embellishments used on various embers of the class from silver painted footrests and front window frames to depot allocation stickers and the ‘D’ painted out on their number plates. The repaints were briefly covered in Adrian Curtis’s Western Liveries book but now this fascinating period in the history of the fleet gets its own book to take into account updates and new research. Each engine is given is own section for its repaint with new colour and black and while illustrations of embellishments in what will become the definitive repaint guide for Western hydraulic enthusiasts. Like Western Rundown, this book is a one-off addition to the Western Chronicles series and retails at £16.99 post and packing free. It has more than 158 pages, colour and black and white pics, including from the lens of Trevor Casey. It is A5 size with dust jacket. It will prove to be an invaluable reference guide for enthusiasts. The author acknowledges the help and assistance in this project from Tom Sawyer.