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.

The London Midland Region (LMR), which served central England, played a leading role in British railway history. This famous network linked many of the key cities and towns that were essential for British manufacturing and commerce - London, Rugby, Crewe, Chester, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol. The LMR was always at the heart of the railway industry.

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.

Drawn from Eric Sawford's extensive archive, this volume takes a look back at the London Midland region from the 1950s right through to the end of steam. This book is for anyone who remembers the golden age of transporting, or any modeller attempting to capture the essence of this period.

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