Until the 1960s the geographical regions of British Railways maintained distinct identities which harked back to the individual companies which had been responsible for railway ownership until 1948. Broadly, each region operated its own fleet of locomotives over its own network of lines, and it designed, built and maintained them at its own workshops.
Importantly for spotters the running numbers of each region's engines ran in distinct series. For example, on the Eastern Region five-digit steam loco numbers usually began with a '6'. Travelling west, towards Nottingham and Derby, you would see more engines with numbers beginning with a '4' - the London Midland Region. So once you had 'copped' most of the engines which frequented your home area there was the rest of the railway network in Britain to explore in your quest for new sightings.
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