The year of 1968 was a pivotal year in a period of great change and, with the march of so-called "progress" that included man being a matter of months away from walking on the moon, the time was up for steam. The first week of August was to see the closure of the final three depots - effectively drawing to a conclusion the century and a half of loyal service provided by a form of transport to which the wealth of our nation owed so much. The steam era ended so poignantly on 4th August, a day on which innumerable steam railwayman, most of whom had dedicated their entire lives to the railways, were declared redundant.

The fascinating book chronicling the last months of steam on the British Railways main line is a tribute to those final men and machines. Years of painstaking research by Alan Castle, who viewed the proceedings at first hand 40 years ago, and interviews with drivers, firemen and engine shed staff, have resulted in this authoritative and definitive account of the year in which the final whistle sounded on a steam era dating back more than 150 years.