This enthralling new title provides a historical look at the EWS from its origins right up until its sale to DB in 2007. Prior to Privatisation, British Rail had created a number of subsidiaries to handle its freight business, these included Transrail, Load Haul, Main Line, Rail Express Systems and Freightliner. Early in the Privatisation process the US company Wisconsin Central acquired RES, renaming it North & South Railways. The new company announced its intention to try and acquire the three trainload freight companies, Transrail, Load Haul and Main Line - although the government's original hope had been to sell all three separately. In the event, in early 1996 it was announced that Wisconsin had acquired all three. Under the management of the charismatic Ed Burkhardt, the new company quickly christened English, Welsh & Scottish Railways was to undergo a radical transformation with new locomotives, the 250 Class 66s and 30 Class 67s resulting in the rapid withdrawal of many older types. Subsequently EWS was to expand further with the acquisition of Railfreight Distribution and the freight operations of National Power.Wisconsin Central was itself acquired by Canadian National in 2001 and, in 2007, it was announced that its EWS subsidiary was to be sold to DB, the German state railways. Now rebranded as DB Schenker, the company remains the single biggest operator of rail-borne freight in the UK, although its market dominance has declined over the years as new players have emerged. With the transfer of EWS to DBS, Paul Shannon tells the whole story of the EWS era from its origins to its disposal. The title includes descriptive text allied to a number of fascinating colour illustrations.