Features

On the Iron Road to the Isles By John Hunt and James Shuttleworth NOW firmly ensconced as one of the Great Railway Journeys of the World – doubtless enhanced by the popularity of Harry Potter – the operation of scheduled steam trains over the West Highland Line from Glasgow to Fort William and on to…

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There’s been a lot of emphasis on the days leading up to the end of steam on BR. But what did enthusiasts discover on the first day of a new era? David Percival provides a personal account in words and pictures. IT WAS Monday, August 12, 1968. On the previous day, the ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’…

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For 79 days between July and October, East Midlands Trains used Barrow Hill as a temporary depot, servicing HSTs and ‘Meridians’ during the Derby blockade. Ben Jones spent a night with the team. It’s midnight and an early autumn chill has descended on this corner of Derbyshire. For the first time since the 1980s, there’s…

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In the second part of his history of the ‘Pacers’, Gary Boyd-Hope looks at the coming of the first of the production types – the Class 141s and 142s – along with the later railbus demonstrators that were heavily influenced by the Class 141s. BY THE start of 1982 British Rail (BR) was in desperate…

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Rail services in the Thames Valley in the past 60 years have undergone radical transformation from steam, to diesel, electric and also bi-mode. In the first of a two-part feature, Keith Farr reviews steam performances leading up to the introduction of DMUs. Mention ‘Thames Valley’ to Great Western enthusiasts and their thoughts focus on Brunel’s…

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With many new train operators providing services, The RM is reviving a feature it ran many years ago, where one of the team reports on the good and bad aspects of a recent rail journey. Hopefully, this will give a snapshot of how franchisees are performing. THE combination of an early morning flight from Stansted…

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