Until road transport began to make inroads into the goods and freight monopoly enjoyed by the railways, there were thousands of goods yards throughout the UK and every conceivable commodity was transported in railway wagons. This lavishly illustrated book tells the story of the evolution of freight services and the 'Rise and Fall' of the local goods train, from the early days to the modern privatised railway and from the steam age to today's modern traction era, with particular emphasis on the British Railways years from 1948 to 1997.