From the archive

John Cameron is that rarest of men… one who has risen to the top not only in the world of preservation but in the professional rail industry, too. Not only does he own two of Britain’s best-known steam locomotives – Union of South Africa and The Great Marquess – but he has been chairman of…

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In the latest of our Lazarus Lines series, Cliff Thomas outlines plans to significantly expand this icon of narrow gauge history. Today’s Lynton & Barnstaple Railway operates over a mile-long section of the original route from Woody Bay station to Killington Lane. For trains to be running again over this iconic 2ft-gauge route is a…

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The Nick Pigott Interview: For almost 40 years, artist Philip Hawkins has thrilled us with magnificent images of trains in all their glory. Now The Railway Magazine sketches the life story of one of the world’s greatest railway painters. WHEN it comes to art, one man’s meat is another’s poison… and that’s especially true in…

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Cliff Thomas reports from the Apedale Valley ‘front line’, where a second Tracks to the Trenches gala was a great success. The event marked the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme. MOSELEY Railway Trust’s (MRT) inaugural Tracks to the Trenches event in 2014 was totally ground-breaking. Ambitious in scale and expensive…

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For three days in September, steam locomotives were given responsibility for heavy goods trains in Germany, including a 550-ton steel train bound for the French capital. Plandampf is alive again, but for how much longer? WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY: NICK BRODRICK “Here I stand, I can do no other.” Those were the immortal, defiant words of…

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Chris Milner visits the Bahamas Locomotive Society base at Ingrow West to find out about a new visitor attraction – ‘Rail Story’ – which is set to transform the railway importance of the Keighley suburb. TO SUCCESSFULLY obtain money from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a railway-related project, the proposal has to offer more…

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Opposition to converting the semi-rural Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey line into a guided busway is mounting. Peter Brown takes a look at the proposals. THE name of ‘The Abbey Flyer’ sounds rather like a title for a comedy film on the lines of something similar to The Titfield Thunderbolt. However, in reality, this…

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  By Keith Fender THIS year’s Fête de la Vapeur festival – the 10th to be held – was the biggest ever with steam locos visiting from England, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, along with others from museum railways elsewhere in France. In total 15 different steam locos were at the event, which ran from Friday-Sunday,…

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Marking the 50th anniversary of the closure of the Somerset & Dorset Railway (S&DJR), this special Lazarus Lines feature by Cliff Thomas describes progress by the Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust at Midsomer Norton on the route of a fondly remembered railway. The Somerset & Dorset is a lost railway which stirs emotions in…

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In an extraordinary incident a guard fired two bullets aboard the Royal Train on June 15, 2000. The shots damaged one of the Mk2 support vehicles, with the bullets striking the coach’s floor and table. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were asleep in the train at the time. The mishap occurred at 05.30 while…

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