A pictorial review of the railway variety that can be encountered within the area of validity of an East Midlands Rover ticket. The author has taken many journeys using such tickets and has compiled a collection of some of his best photographs, mainly taken over the past 20 years.
The book is presented as a journey around the rover area, beginning in the south-west corner around Bletchley and Milton Keynes, before venturing clockwise around the area. The journey takes in sections of three of the country’s main north to south lines (West Coast, Midland and East Coast) and a wide variety of other railway lines in-between. From Milton Keynes and Stafford, we venture north to Sheffield, Doncaster, South Humberside, Lincolnshire and Peterborough.
Many different passenger operators can be found in the area and many of these are illustrated with liveries old and new. Similarly, a diversity of train types can be seen, from Pendolinos and Azumas to suburban multiple units and humble pacers.
The area is also one of the busiest for observing the country’s freight trains, with many different locomotives and traffic flows in evidence.
Most of the pictures are taken in the five years immediately before publication but Rail Rover: East Midlands Rover also includes images from the early 2000s and a handful from the 1990s. All are accompanied by informative captions. Over 170 photographs. 96 pages.