British Rail’s Scottish Region was somewhat set apart from the rest of the system and not just in a geographical sense. During the 1980s, it still had two classes of diesel locomotive that couldn’t be found anywhere else in Britain (the so-called ‘MacRats’, class 26s and 27s) plus the added attraction of loco-hauled passenger trains that ran through spectacular scenery. The weather might not always have been so attractive (nor the summer season midges!) but these elements helped to make the country a place of pilgrimage for many railway enthusiasts from the south.

Using mostly images from the Arthur Turner collection, Scottish Diesels in the 1980s is a reminder of a time when the loss of steam traction from the network had largely been forgotten, and when a new form of interest in the succeeding (though ageing) types of diesel locos was now very evident.