From the archive

Gary Boyd-Hope went to meet the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s new general manager to find out how he has settled in and find out more about his vision for this ‘top flight’ preserved line.

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As Ireland marks the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, Gary Boyd-Hope takes a look at Ireland’s railway history.

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An unnamed lad watches as a Southern Railway machine helps clear the wreckage of several coaches destroyed in a Nazi bombing raid on Brighton on August 26, 1943. This picture had to be passed by the wartime official censor before it could be released to the press. Explore The Railway Magazine archive for more articles…

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The first sod for the Amerton Railway was cut in 1990 in a field alongside a farm east of Stafford. The land it ran on was bought in 2012 by the Staffordshire Narrow Gauge Railway Society, whose members embarked on a number of improvements, as Mark Smithers discovers. FORMED in 1987, the objectives of the…

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The railway system in West Wales is a curious mix of single and double track with freight lines. Stuart Warr looks at this pocket of the network that is off the beaten track. THE three surviving railway lines west of Whitland are largely within the county of Pembrokeshire, a county with a population of 122,400,…

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For more than 80 years, ExxonMobil and its predecessors used rail to move oil products from the Fawley refinery, but all traffic ceased in September. Nick Lera charts the history of this Hampshire industrial site. BORN of the oil industry and now discarded by it, the 9½-mile Hampshire branch from Totton to Fawley has stopped…

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On November 8 this year the Class 313 EMUs will have been in service for 40 years. Originally designed for one short line, with unusual requirements, their versatility and durability has meant that they have all survived and have seen redeployment elsewhere, as Quentin Williamson explains. ALTHOUGH British Railways had greatly extended electric traction since…

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John Hannavy takes a trip on one of France’s few preserved steam railways – and discovered it has a very interesting history. WHEN the Metropolitan Railway carried its first passengers underground in London in 1863, they travelled in open carriages – more like cattle trucks – and were hauled through the tunnels by steam locomotives.…

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The East Coast has proved something of a ‘poisoned chalice’ to franchisees in the past, but Stagecoach/Virgin are determined to make a success of it despite open access threats and jitters caused by the recent ‘Brexit’ vote. Nick Pigott meets managing director David Horne to find out how the operator intends to meet the challenges.…

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Cliff Thomas tells the story of the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway. An unusual Lazarus Line… it has been rebuilt in a completely new location! THE Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway (LCLR) is a small line with a big history. It is probably unique in being a full-size (as opposed to miniature) heritage line, which has operated…

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