The second of three volumes looking at what happened to the North Staffordshire Railway after it became a part of the LM&SR in the Railway Grouping of 1923. This was a period of great social, political and economic change and turmoil, which climaxed with the Second World War. Shortly afterwards, the railways of the United Kingdom were Nationalised, which changed their appearance and the way they were run forever..
This second volume begins with a short introduction, which includes essays on the decline in milk traffic and the promotion of Workmen’s tickets in North Staffordshire. We then take a brief look at ex-NSR locomotives in Crewe Works, before journeying from there to Harecastle, followed by trips along the Sandbach Branch and the little known Macclesfield, Marple & Bollington Railway. This is followed by a lengthy sojourn along the picturesque valley of the River Churnet, after which we return part way up the line to Rocester, to head off along the Ashbourne Branch and ultimately all the way to Buxton. Another long journey is then undertaken from Stoke to Derby, before returning a short way back to Tutbury to take the branch to Burton. Along all of these routes, brief stops are made to examine various industries and other aspects in more detail, such as the gypsum mines at Fauld, the Royal Ordnance Factory at Radway Green, minor branch lines such as that to Cheadle, or the various ex-NSR engine sheds encountered. This volume ends with a brief study of the operations of Railway Air Services Ltd, particularly in relation to Meir aerodrome at Stoke..
The volume is again profusely illustrated, with nearly 500 photographs, maps, tickets, posters, handbills, timetables and other material, much of it not previously published. Further original research has once more provided much new information for the text and captions. Basil Jeuda has written and lectured extensively on the NSR and the subsequent history of the area it covered for more than thirty years, and this seminal work is building into an important illustrated history of the North Staffordshire Section of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway.