NOSTALGIC photographs of Oxfordshire during the age of steam are being featured in a new book about the Great Western Railway.

'Great Western Steam' features photographs taken by 99-year-old photographer Ron Buckley from the mid 1930s to the mid 1960s.

They cover a period of great change on the British railways, when classic steam trains were slowly phased out and replaced by newer diesel models.

Mr Buckley has been taking photographs of the railways since he was 15 and worked for London, Midland and Scottish Railway for 42 years, retiring in 1977.

This book, published by the History Press, is the first time his images of Oxfordshire have been published and is the final instalment in a series showing photographs of all four historical rail regions, the others being Scotland, Southern and the North East.

Frank Dumbleton, a volunteer who has been involved with the Didcot Railway Centre since it was set up in 1967, said that he saw many similar engines in the flesh whilst trainspotting in Didcot in the 1950s.

The 72-year-old said: "It was a wonderful period.

"The engines made for a great spectacle – watching the theatre of the express trains thundering too and fro was just fantastic.

"It all came to an end in the 1960s when they replaced them with diesel models.

"That is also when we first started to think about preserving steam locomotives as historical exhibits.

"We started the railway centre to do something about keeping the engines going.

"In a similar way this book is showing just how special these engines were and it's great that people are still able to see them in all their glory."

The evocative pictures show some of the classic examples of British engineering in its heyday.

Brian Dickson, a railway volunteer and author, has helped to caption all the photos with information on when and where each was taken along with details about the locomotive and its history.

Examples in Oxfordshire include the Class 4073 ‘Castle’ 4-6-0 No. 5063 Earl Baldwin seen departing Oxford station in 1954 on the way to run the 11am Hereford to London Paddington service.

The locomotive was constructed in 1937 and operated until she was withdrawn in 1965.

Also shown is the Class 455 ‘Metro Tank’ 2-4-0 No. 3583, pictured in Oxford's shed yard in 1936.

Replacing steam with diesel engines, known as 'dieselisation', was carried out because it saved train companies significant amounts in operating costs.

Steam locomotives required lots of people to clean, load, maintain and run and also needed to be serviced regularly.

Diesels required less time and labour to operate and maintain but they were eventually replaced themselves with electric models.