STEAM TWILIGHT This book covers the same period
as the photographer's critically
acclaimed Diesel Morning. It was
observed by one reviewer of that
volume that the pictures captured
the 'gritty realism' of the railway
scene in the 1960s. The mood is
even more evident in Steam Twilight,
in which David Percival focuses on
aspects of steam traction leading up
to its finale in the summer of 1968.
It was in 1962 that the author
acquired the quality of camera which
enabled him to produce images
expressing his personal interpretation
of the railway scene. Thus, nearly all
of the pictures in this volume were
taken in the last six years of BR main
line steam.
During that period, many long-
established cameramen recorded
steam's demise and the author's early
published work tended to show the
then new forms of motive power. But
his photographs of steam subjects
were occasions seen in vacions
Doghe sale and
in recent years they have been used
more frequently in magazine articles
and books covering the last years of
steam. A few of the 200 images in this
book may be familiar but around 150
have never appeared in print before.
Putting together this selection of his
photographs, David Percival presents
his individual view of the twilight of
the steam age.
