This pictorial review shows the changing railway scene in the counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland, together with the North Lonsdale district of Lancashire, from Nationalisation until the end of main-line steam in 1968. It contains well-captioned photographs laid out in date order to show the progression from almost exclusive steam working to its total decline during this brief period of just over 20 years.

Two major trunk routes passed through the area - the Settle and Carlisle line built by the Midland Railway and the London & North Western Railway’s route over Shap. In addition, there were many picturesque Lake District and coastal routes such as the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway, the line between Carlisle, Maryport, Workington and Whitehaven and the electrified Morecambe and Heysham line.

Containing a large number of excellent photographs from Britain’s foremost railway photographers, and showing both the locomotives and the stunning landscape through which they operated, this book charts the transition of motive power from Nationalisation to the Fifteen Guinea Special in August 1968.