For many long-distance rail travellers, the county of Bedfordshire is a part of the UK passed at speed on an express heading north to south on either the Midland Main Line or East Coast Main Line. Less well known is that the county also boasts a short stretch of West Coast Main Line running in the area around Leighton Buzzard. In this book John Jackson takes a more detailed look at these services that speed through the county, as well as the more localised services provided at the seventeen stations remaining on today’s rail map of Bedfordshire. Our journey takes us from popular commuter towns such as Bedford and Sandy to the ‘step back in time’ of the 16-mile rural branch line running westwards from Bedford towards Bletchley and Milton Keynes. There is a variety of freight traffic on offer, too, with most of the major rail freight players operating services on these three major rail arteries.