The Peaks- Classes 44/45/46

The BR diesel locomotive types, that under the TOPs renumbering scheme became Classes 44s, 45s, and 46s, are best known by their nickname of 'Peaks'. This is derived from the first ten locomotives being given the names of British mountains. These machines originated under the Modernisation Plan of 1955 as BR's Type 4 design. The Class 45s and Class 46s had slightly more powerful engines compared to the Class 44s, with the Class 46s having Brush rather than Crompton Parkinson Ltd electrical equipment. This new study covers the three types from their design and inception through to withdrawal and preservation. It draws extensively on original source material from a number of archives, and is lavishly illustrated with over 200 black and white and colour photographs almost all of which are being published for the very first time.