Nuneaton, the largest town in Warwickshire, sits on an important railway crossroads in the Midlands. At its Trent Valley station, the busy West Coast Main Line heads broadly north to south with the important link between Birmingham and Leicester crossing east to west. An equally important line heads south-east from the town, through Coventry and Leamington Spa, carrying local passengers as well as an important freight link with the docks at Southampton. This line to Coventry and beyond has had a chequered past and was one of many victims of the Beeching Axe before, fortunately, reopening to passengers in the late 1980s. The author has spent many thousands of hours watching and photographing rail movements through Nuneaton station. This publication takes a look at the considerable variety of both passenger and freight traffic on offer to the enthusiast, ranging from the everyday to the unexpected.

John Jackson, a lifelong transport enthusiast, opted for early retirement at the turn of the Millennium – and swapped the rat race for the rail tracks. Since then, he has travelled extensively on the British rail network with his camera as a constant companion. He continues to compile a photographic collection reflecting the UK rail industry that already extends to tens of thousands of images. He also has an interest in the history of his local county of Bedfordshire and John and his wife Jenny, together with their trusty cameras, have spent hundreds of hours meandering around their home county visiting each one of the parishes in the county, recording the churches.