Adam Head illustrates some of the many changes that Greater Anglia introduced when it took over the franchise to operate trains throughout East Anglia in 2012.

Inheriting rolling stock of different ages and liveries from previous operators, Greater Anglia embarked on a major programme of new trains that would transform railway travel in the region.

Published in December 2022 by Amberley Publishing and written by Adam Head, this soft-cover book measures around 23.4 cm x 16.5 cm, has 96 pages and 180 illustrations.

It has a published price of £15.99, but at the time of writing, it can be purchased for £14.39 from Amberley Publishing and for £12.39 from Amazon.

A brief introduction, accompanied by photos of trains in the liveries of previous operators, describes how Greater Anglia evolved from the National Express franchise in 2012.

This is followed by three sections describing the early years of the franchise, from 2012 to 2016, the later years from 2016, and Pastures New for Old Trains, which describes what happened to trains that became redundant once new trains were introduced.

A notable omission is a map of the region, as Greater Anglia operate services on several different main lines and on many branch lines.

The photographs below are typical of illustrations throughout the book, with no mention of dates or even the year.

Also, the captions often omit pertinent information, such as where the service originated or its destination.

Other captions are not relevant to the photos, such as the top right, which mentions units receiving a plain white livery, but the units shown have not yet been reliveried.

Although the book is about Greater Anglia, the presence of photographs showing trains hauled by DRS locomotives seems strange, with no explanations of why they were included.

The photo at the bottom right shows a service at Lowestoft, but the caption goes on to mention the set being seen at Lowestoft later with a returning service, which is fairly obvious, and there is no accompanying photo.

A continuing theme throughout the book is a lack of structure, as in the photos below, where there is no logical grouping of subjects.

At the top left is a train on the branch from Manningtree to Harwich, and at the bottom right is a train on the branch to Southend Victoria, whilst the other photos are on the West Anglia Main Line. The book would have benefited from having photos from individual branch lines grouped together.

Taken from the “Pastures New for Old Trains” section, the photos on the right highlight how some older trains went on to find use with other operators, but illustrations such as those at the bottom right do not merit inclusion, as it shows a Class 360 at Luton on a Thameslink service.

My impression is that the author has collated a selection of photographs from the area and assembled them into a book, without any attempt to rationalise the selection.

The book seems very unstructured as page spreads mix photographs taken on the region’s main lines with those on some of the many branch lines.

There is also no explanation of the colourful names introduced by Greater Anglia for its branch lines, although some, such as the Wherry Lines from Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, do get a mention.

To most people, the vast station at Liverpool Street is the hub for Greater Anglia operations. However, the book gives the impression that Norwich is the focus of Greater Anglia’s operations, with many of the photographs in and around Norfolk’s county town.

Conversely, Liverpool Street is greatly under-represented, with just three photographs, and there is a similar lack of coverage of the line from Liverpool Street to Shenfield, and a complete omission of Greater Anglia’s main traction maintenance depot at Ilford.

The photography can best be described as mundane. Most photographs show trains in stations, taken from the usual front three-quarter viewpoint, with too much of the image dedicated to the trains and very little of the surrounding infrastructure. The book may appeal to anyone with an interest in Greater Anglia operations, and overall, it warrants a rating of 3/5.

The book is available to purchase from Amazon and from Amberley Publishing.

We would like to thank Amberley Publishing for providing us with a copy of the book for review.