Bringing together around 5,000 square miles of land, the West Midlands region boasted a diverse system of railways. These ranged from the main lines connecting the north and south of Britain to small branches, as well as cross-country routes and local lines. The Last Years of West Midlands Steam records this area in the 1948-1967 period - using nearly 250 superb colour and black-and-white images - when the days of steam reached their peak. The book covers the smaller West Midlands county, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Several cities in the area appear: Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester.
There are also a number of large towns included, such as: Burton-upon-Trent, Dudley, Kidderminster, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Stourbridge, Tamworth, Uttoxeter, etc. With lines formerly operated by the London Midland & Scottish Railway and Great Western Railway, many locomotives of these companies are present, alongside the Standard Classes of British Railways. With a rich industrial heritage in the region, a number of privately owned locomotives appear at work on several sites, such as breweries and collieries. The West Midlands was a bustling and vibrant place for steam enthusiasts to observe and record locomotives at work. In doing so, a lost era has been captured and this collection has been assembled to celebrate those bygone days.