Features

The October 1950 issue of The Railway Magazine detailed the reconstruction work carried out following severe flooding on the East Coast main line between Berwick and Dunbar in August 1948. The report describes the replacement of seven bridges, repairs to a damaged culvert near Ayton and reconstruction work near Burnmouth. The floods of August 1948…

A Class 142 was derailed on August 7 after its own diesel engine fell onto the track while working a Sprinter service. The October 1995 issue of The Railway Magazine reported the incident involving vehicle No. 55703 and the subsequent recovery operation. The incident THE rear coach of a Class 142 was derailed on August…

In March 1967, The Railway Magazine reported on British Railways’ tests of a Servosafe hot-box detector system on the East Coast main line between York and Pilmoor. The article describes how the equipment worked, the results of its first six weeks of operation and a subsequent order for equipment for the Western Region. Successful outcome…

In October 1937, The Railway Magazine reported how Cliddesden station on the abandoned Basingstoke and Alton line had been used in Will Hay’s film Oh, Mr. Porter!. The contemporary account introduces the fictional Buggleskelly station and the elderly locomotive Gladstone, before recounting the film’s story. “Oh, Mr. Porter” Cliddesden becomes Buggleskelly CLIDDESDEN station on the…

Merseyrail services were thrown into chaos during July and August 1995 when Railtrack imposed restrictions on train operation through the Liverpool tunnels. In this special report from the October 1995 issue of The Railway Magazine, Colin J. Marsden and Fred Kerr describe the signalling problems, water ingress and disruption to passengers. Merseyrail services disrupted MERSEYRAIL…

In this archive article, C. Hamilton-Ellis recalls the Midland & South Western Junction Railway and its North Express service. Drawing on his own memories of the railway, he describes its history, locomotives and the journey through the Wiltshire countryside, accompanied by his railway painting. The North Express and its origins SUCH a title as the…

On Wednesday, October 20, 1982, the Queen Mother named diesel-electric locomotive No. 47 541 The Queen Mother at Aberdeen Station. In this article from the January 1983 issue of The Railway Magazine, Patrick Kingston recounts the ceremony, the preparations and an unexpected visit to the locomotive’s cab. A historic occasion at Aberdeen A COLOURFUL event…

From the October 1972 issue of The Railway Magazine: A quarter-mile railway siding was laid in one week at Invergordon, with the project commissioned within three weeks of a meeting to discuss its feasibility. The development served the MK-Shand pipe-coating plant, marking a step forward in British Railways’ involvement with North Sea oil industry traffic.…

From the October 2017 issue of The Railway Magazine: The Middleton Railway’s Hunslet 0-6-0ST Brookes No. 1 made its post-overhaul passenger debut on August 28, following a Heritage Lottery-funded purchase and overhaul project lasting more than four years. The locomotive returned to service in a lined version of Hunslet’s standard green. The Middleton Railway’s Hunslet…