Reprints of titles from the famous Ian Allan Publishing abc series that ran from the 1940s through to the 1960s are always welcomed both by that generation of enthusiasts who used them when they first came out, and also by those who were not around at the time. They offer wonderful nostalgic snapshots of a railway scene which has long since disappeared. This latest addition to the series is the first of the Combined Volumes to appear since the railways were brought into public ownership at the start of 1948. New locomotives were still being built to the designs of the ‘Big Four’ at this time even though they were no longer in existence, whilst many venerable pre—grouping classes (that perhaps survived longer than had been intended due to the huge increase in traffic which the railways had to cope with during the war) were still in service. This makes 1948 a particularly fascinating year and this volume a welcome addition to a successful series.