The Final Years Of London Midland Region Steam

The book investigates the vast number of locomotives that came to the London Midland Region in 1948 at Nationalisation. This is a class by class survey with over 200 illustrations, covering all the top link and freight classes, also looking at the smaller types of locomotive, operating on branch lines and doing more humble tasks. The author explores what happened to them and also looks at those that eventually made their way into preservation.

ferroequinologist (noun) Someone who studies the 'Iron Horse' (i.e. trains and locomotives). From the Latin ferrus 'iron' and equine 'horse' + -logist As the British steam era drew to a close, a young Keith Widdowson set out to travel on as many steam-hauled trains as possible – documenting each journey in his notebooks. In Confessions of a Steam Age Ferroequinologist, he cracks these books open and blows off the dust. His self-imposed mission, that of riding behind as many Iron Horses as possible prior to their premature annihilation, led to hours of nocturnal travels, extended periods of inactivity in station waiting rooms, missed connections and fatigue. However, any downsides of his quest were compensated by the camaraderie found amongst a group of like-minded colleagues who congregated on such trains. This is a book that no self-respecting ferroequinologist should be without.

Kevin Derrick looks back at locomotive-spotting days in the London Midland Region in the 1960s.

This book follows on from the author’s book on the Princess Coronation pacific locomotives from their construction in 1937 to their operation in 1956. It picks up from the story in 1957 with their operation and performance on the ‘Caledonian’, ‘Royal Scot’ and ‘Midday Scot’ accelerated services of the late 1950s, their continuing heavy work as dieselization of the West Coast mainline is implemented and the sudden withdrawal of the remaining examples at the end of the 1964 summer timetable. Included are the author’s personal experiences and photographs and the descriptions by three Crewe men who fired these engines on the heavy overnight Crewe – Perth sleeper services in the late 1950s, two of whom, Les Jackson and Bill Andrew, drove 6229 and 6233 in the preservation era. As well as their stories of their experiences in BR days, they describe runs with the preserved locomotives and have included photographs from their personal collections. Crewe Works fitter, Keith Collier includes his experiences of their maintenance and the author in conclusion compares them with the finest steam locomotives of France, Germany and the USA.

The author’s second volume about the Great Western’s classic express locomotives covers their final six years in British Railways service. In 1960 the Castles, many now modernized with double chimneys and 4-row superheaters, were still in charge of most of the Western Region’s expresses, but by the summer of 1963 their regular express work was limited to the London – Worcester route. Their declining numbers in the last couple of years covered special summer and relief trains, parcels and freight work, deputizing for failed or unavailable diesels and a flurry of excursions and railtours where their prowess could still be demonstrated. The author worked and lived alongside them in these years and the book includes much of his own personal experience on the footplate, on their trains and on shed. The book recaps briefly their first 25 years and covers their history, operation and performance in their final years and is copiously illustrated including over 100 color photographs.

A “profusely illustrated” and “impressively informative” look at the end of the steam locomotive era on one of UK’s Big Four railway lines (Midwest Book Review). After the Second War, Britain’s railways were rundown and worn out, requiring massive investment and modernization. The Big Four railway companies were nationalized from 1948, and the newly formed British Railways embarked on a program of building new Standard steam locomotives to replace older types. These started to come on stream from 1951. This program was superseded by the 1955 scheme to dieselize and electrify many lines and so the last loco of the Standard types was built in 1960 and the steam locomotives had been swept entirely from the BR network by 1968. This series of books, The Geoff Plumb Collection, is a photographic account of those last few years of the steam locomotives, their decline and replacement during the transition years. Each book covers one of the former Big Four, the Southern Railway, London Midland & Scottish Railway, Great Western Railway and London & North Eastern Railway, including some pictures of the Scottish lines of the LMS and LNER. Though not a complete history of the railways, the books bring a sense of occasion to the last run of a locomotive type or a stretch of line about to be closed down. Pictures are of the highest quality that could be produced with the equipment then available, but they do reflect real life and real times. In simple terms, a look at a period not so long ago but now gone forever. “An evocative collection of views of the twilight of BR steam.” —Railway Modeller

Keith Widdowson visited the North Eastern Region of British Railways on over forty occasions during the final eighteen months of steam powered passenger services. With the odd exceptions (usually for railtours) most of the locomotives were neglected, run down, filthy, prone to failure and often only kept their wheels turning courtesy of the skills of the crew coaxing them along with loving care. Far from the scenic delights so often justifiably portrayed of the Yorkshire countryside, the ever-dwindling numbers became corralled within the industrialized heartland of Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield and Normanton. Here, Widdowson recalls that bygone era, leading an almost nomadic nocturnal existence on his self-imposed “mission” of stalking the endangered “Iron Horses” in one of their final habitats. He was often far from alone in his quest. The “Haulage-bashing” fraternity comprised of like-minded enthusiasts from throughout Britain, often congregated, lemming like, on the one-coach early morning mail trains, the Summer Saturday holidaymaker trains or the Bradford portions; indeed any passenger service with a steam locomotive at its front From the many disappointments of thwarted possibilities to the euphoric joy of unexpected catches, together with over 130 contemporary images, Riding Yorkshire's Final Steam Trains is a compelling snapshot of the race against time at the end of the golden age of steam.