Throughout its length from London to Glasgow via Crewe and Carlisle,
with a loop through the West Midlands and spurs to Holyhead, Liverpool
and Manchester, the West Coast Main Line has consistently provided
interest for those many with more than a passing interest in trains and
travel.
This book outlines the history of the route, its physical
characteristics and sets the scene for the various passenger and goods
traffic flows that sustained it; it then details the arrangements for
motive power and train working through the era of change that was 1957
to 1963.
The level of interest - as evidenced daily by the presence at the
lineside of hordes of young spotters and other observers - was
particularly high at that time as processions of trains hauled by fine
express passenger locomotives and those more suited to other traffic
passed by. The book also goes 'behind the scenes' to provide insights
into the daily and seasonal challenges of managing that section of a
wider railway network, as directed by the varying terms of relevant
legislation, and a government increasingly concerned to shape the
railways for the changing needs of the public, industry and the
economy.
The book will be of particular interest to those who simply recall those
days by the lineside, those with an interest in detailed arrangements to
provide and maintain suitable motive power, those with an interest in
how the railway served the needs of the nation and modelers who seek
information.
The book is illustrated with color and monochrome images and supported
by maps.
