A pictorial history of the innovations made and challenges faced when Virgin Trains operated the West Coast Main Line routes of the British Railways. When British Railways (BR) was privatized in April 1994, a series of passenger franchises was created that included services on both the East Coast Main Line (ECML) and competing West Coast Main Line (WCML) routes. The WCML franchise was won by Virgin Trains and it quickly set about improving service by introducing a range of standard trainsets to replace the variety of traction fleets that it had inherited. It also became a constant critic of Government policy which promised much but offered little as the company found itself battling to establish the standards of service that it had promised within its franchise agreement but found other bodies within the industry reluctant to support. Author Fred Kerr illustrates the period of changes that Virgin Trains initiated from the immediate application of a startling livery to the introduction of new trainsets, as well as the challenges of establishing a new timetable to make the most of the new trainsets. Kerr's book seeks to explain the history of Virgin Trains involvement in train operations through a comprehensive collection of photographs showing the traction fleet that it inherited and the new fleets it introduced to service.
