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 covered a huge part of England from London to the north and north west, from the Scottish borders into the south west. It served huge metropolitan cities and towns, supported heavy industry, and ran through areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the Peak District and Lake District. Modelling the Midland Region from 1948 is an essential guide to creating your own model based on the London Midland Region of the British Railways era. It covers the history of the London Midland Region; British Rail and LMS locomotives; passenger and goods rolling stock; structures and scenery unique to the region, and signalling and electrification. The authors of this book are trustees of the charity Famous Trains model railway and directors of its operating company Famous Trains Ltd. An essential guide to creating your own model based on the London Midland region, for all scales and levels of interest, and fully illustrated with 232 colour photographs and 15 diagrams.

The history of British Railways in the late 1950s/early 1960s is characterized by change; massive change, as its management attempted to meet statutory obligations against a background of social, economic and political influences. The Modernisation Plan of 1955 paved the way for the electrification of the route from Manchester to London Euston, with a consequential effect of the Midland route services via Derby needing to be enhanced and improved. That eventually resulted in the arrival of class 7 steam motive power and later also benefitted the cross country Midland route. This book details, year by year, the changes that took place and provides an insight into the reasons why decisions were taken, and how the railway management was faced with a vast range of technological, natural, socioeconomic challenges to be overcome, whilst also trying to meet the day-to-day needs of the operational railway.In addition to tracing the history of the routes, the book includes performance logs of typical journeys along difficult sections, recollections of railway men working in various departments and for enthusiasts a list of rare and unusual locomotive workings. The book is profusely illustrated with black and white, as well as color, photographs and also includes a comprehensive range of maps.