I remember this transition era with great affection. Up to the closure of Birkenhed Woodside in 1966 a favourite jaunt for a friend and I was:
Southport to Liverpool Exchange - 3rd rail LMS electric
Ferry to Woodside
Birkenhead Woodside to Chester - usually a LMS 2-6-4T on Paddington train
Chester to Crewe - BR DMU, a 108 probably.
Crewe to Liverpool Lime Street - BR AL1-AL6 on train ex-London
Liverpool Exchange to Southport - 3rd rail LMS electric
The contrast beween these four forms of traction was quite remarkable especially, for the period, the quite astonishing turn of speed of the LMW electrics. The liveries of the period were also in transition as discussions elsewhere on RM Web have demonstrated. All in all, an excellent period to model.
Growing up with all forms of motive power I have never been particularly interested in the sterile arguements about steam v diesel v electric and these raged in magazine letters columns of the period. However, I think it would be true to say that many who had only really known steam in their lives were deeply resentful of the changes that were taking place on the railway. Many put their cameras away and stopped photographing what they regarded as a railway that had lost its soul when steam departed. Some, such as John Spencer Gilks, just went on recording as before and have left us with an unbroken record of the railway from the late 1950s to the years of privatisation. We should be very grateful.
David