This album of 160 color photographs was taken in the Southern Region of B.R., which was formerly the lines constituting the Southern Railway. Bill Reed took the pictures between 1958 and 1967 during a number of visits to stations, sheds and areas offering attractive vantage points of locomotives. From Greater London in the north, at sheds and stations including Bricklayers Arms, Feltham and Victoria, to Brighton, Southampton and Bournemouth on the south coast. Dover and Folkestone in the south east were visited as well as Exeter, Yeovil and Wadebridge on the south west. The Isle of Wight is also included as the area was incorporated into the S.R. upon Grouping and later the Southern Region of B.R. This book contains a selection of photographs taken on numerous branch lines around the region and these are particularly evocative of the final years of steam under B.R. operation. From a modern perspective they also give an indication why there was such an eagerness on the part of B.R. for their closure. Many of the lines utilized locomotives that had been in service for a number of years and were perhaps coming to the end of their life span.

In 1955, the Modernisation Plan had just been issued which showed that steam traction's future was doomed. In the Southern Region many old classes had kept working due to the Second World War and the subsequent austerity period. No the SR 4-4-0 classes gradually disappeared, hastened by the 1961 electrification of the Kent lines. The Western Region had a more balanced engine set of 4-6-0s and tank engines, but was to see steam finish earlier. In this book, Tony Butcher's black and white images portray the poetry and the power of these living machines.

"A region-by-region look at remarkable 1950s black-and-white photography of steam railroading take by Robert A. Buck, George C. Corey, Gordon S. Crowell, John Gruber, Fred Matthews, Bob Meiborg, John E. Pickett, Gordon R. Roth, Jim Shaughnessy, Richard Steinheimer, J. William Vigrass, Philip A. Weibler, Ron Wright, and Richard H. Young"--Provided by publisher.

In the 1950s a magnificent array of steam locomotives still operated on the lines that criss-crossed the North and East of Britain. However, in 1955 the Modernisation Plan was issued that showed that steam traction was doomed. By 1960/61 the Beeching Report was starting to have a major effect on the steam fleet and some major and well-liked classes disappeared entirely. All the Princess Royals were withdrawn by the end of 1962 and the Duchesses were eliminated south of Crewe by 1963. All of the 440s were gone by the end of 1962 and many well before that date.

Nostalgic portrayal of steam locomotives in Devon during their last sixteen years of operation.

In the days of steam each of the six British Railways regions had its dedicated enthusiasts, none more so than the Southern, a region of contrasts headed by the magnificent Bullied Pacifics. These comprised the 'Merchant Navy' class, all of which were eventually seen in rebuilt form, to the lighter 'West Country' and 'Battle of Britain' 4-6-2s. ......