In this book John Whiteley provides a photographic survey of the last years of steam on British Railways in the North of England. The photographs cover the period from c. 1959/60 to the end of steam in the area in 1968. By the early 1960s British Rail was rapidly replacing steam with modern traction, but before the last steam locomotives were withdrawn the decade witnessed a glorious swansong for steam in the North of England. The area covered ranges from northern Derbyshire and northern Cheshire to include the last days of steam in the Peak District, Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria up to the Scottish border. The use of GWR locomotives around Chester in the early 1960s is also included as well as steam in and around Manchester.

This photographic survey of the last years of steam on BR in the North of England will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of the railways of this region.