This is a single, comprehensive reference work covering all departmental locomotives operated by British Rail between 1948 and 1968.

Eric Sawford is a well-known author and expert on steam railways and steam power. His previous publications include The Last Days of Industrial Steam, The Last Days of Steam on the Eastern Region, The End of the Line and Eastern Steam in Retrospect.

An exhaustive and monumental listing of every steam locomotive operated by British Railways from Nationalisation until the end of steam in 1968, now brought completely up to date in a second edition.

Originally published in 1986, this is a business history of the first twenty-five years of nationalised railways in Britain. Commissioned by the British Railways Board and based on the Board's extensive archives, it fully analyses the dynamics of nationalised industry management and the complexities of the vital relationship with government. After exploring the origins of nationalisation, the book deals with the organisation, financial performance, investment and commercial policies of the British Transport Commission (1948-2), Railway Executive (1948-53) and British Railways Board (1963-73). Calculations of profit and loss, investment, and productivity are provided on a consistent basis for 1948-73. This business history thus represents a major contribution not only to the debate about the role of the railways in a modern economy but also to that concerning the nationalised industries, which have proved to be one of the most enduring problems of the British economy since the war.