From the announcement of the Modernisation Plan to the end of steam services, just 13 years elapsed. A transitional period existed where steam engines operated alongside new diesel and electric forms of motive power.
West Midlands Railways From Steam to Modern Traction uses around 200 excellent colour and black-and-white images to look at the changing scene in the 1950s and 1960s.
The area's lines were formerly operated by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway and the Great Western Railway. Many of these companies' locomotives could be seen, as well as British Railways' Standard Classes. A number of new diesel classes and DMUs appeared and worked alongside these during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The West Midlands consists of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the ceremonial West Midlands county. The primary cities are Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester. Large towns located in the area are Burton-on-Trent, Dudley, Kidderminster, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Stourbridge, Tamworth, Uttoxeter, etc.
The pictures have been captured from the lineside, engine sheds, stations, marshalling yards and industrial locations.
The West Midlands was a vibrant and exciting place for railway enthusiasts to record locomotives at work. This collection is presented to celebrate those days.