In the first book of what has turned out to be one of the most successful railway series of recent years, Robert Hendry explored the evolution of the goods wagon on the railways of the British isles up to roughly the end of the steam era. This second volume on goods wagons focuses on the vehicles built and used in the period from the 1970s up to the privatisation of Britain's railways in the mid 1990s. Just as that first wagon book's coverage of its subject did not end abruptly in 1968, but continued into the early part of the diesel era, so this book goes outside its period to look at the origins of the modern wagon fleet. The process which led to the complete and radical modernisation of the way freight was handled on Britain's railways began with the introduction of the block Freightliner container trains and the use of 100 ton petroleum tank wagons by Esso in the 1960s. These developments were shortly followed by 'merry-go-round' coal trains The book looks in detail at the many and varied types of wagons which were built, largely by private maunfacturers, from the 1970s onwards.It also portrays survivors from the earlier period which were still at work in a changing era and also examines some of the distinctive wagons used on the 5ft 3in gauge tracks across the Irish Sea. For railway modellers of the modern era and for those interested in the handling of freight traffic on our railways, this book, which is packed with colour photographs accompanied by this distinguished author's meaty and informative captions, will be an essential purchase.