Air War Classics: Sturmstaffel 1

More about the book

R. C. ('Dick') Riley (1921-2006) was a prominent railway photographer who began with monochrome images before transitioning to color in the early 1950s, during a time when color film was both costly and slow. His career in banking allowed him to travel extensively, and with a trackside pass and industry contacts, he gained access to exclusive locations. From his early work until the end of main line steam in 1968, he captured countless transparencies, many of which remain unpublished. This large landscape format book features over 200 color images taken by Riley between the early 1950s and 1968, primarily focusing on the Southern and Western regions, while also including notable illustrations from the Eastern and London Midland regions. Additionally, Riley was an avid photographer of industrial railways, and the book presents a selection of these sites, along with details often overlooked by others. Vignettes accompany the photographs, and the text is compiled by his close friend and executor Rodney Lissenden, who drew from Riley's personal diaries to share anecdotal tales related to the images.