Backtrack | February 2025
In Hampshire again - three colour pages of steam at locations around Bournemouth and Southampton along with the Hayling Island branch.
Eleventh-Hour Steam Running - Steve Leyland records some stirring locomotive performances between Bolton, Wigan and Liverpool and the closing years of steam.
Moorgate: 28th February 1975 - Stephen Roberts reflects on the Moorgate disaster on the London Underground 40 years on.
Army Diesels at Bicester - a photo-feature by David Ratcliffe How Four became One: Part Two - Simon Lilley concludes his account of the manufacturing companies at the heart of the electric locomotive building industry from the 1950s onwards.
The Duke Triumphant - Alistair F. Nisbet shows how who you were – the Duke of Argyll in this case – was important in opposing railway building plans.
Ten-Coupled - four pictorial pages featuring the BR Class 9F freight locomotives.
The Manchester Locomotive Society: 90 years of enthusiasm – Eddie Johnson relates the history of this eminent north west railway society.
From the South West of Scotland to the North East - archive photographs by John Spencer Gilks ranging from the ‘Port Road’ in Galloway to Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire.
Waggons Roll! - Mike buns reviews the rise and fall of five German-built rail buses built for BR in 1958.
Between Leicester and Rugby - colour photographs by Tommy Tomalin How Ashford Works helped the Soviet war effort – John Chapman shows that while conflicts remain the blight of the world, allies may change.
Sleaford’s Signal Boxes - visited and photographed by Peter Butler.
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The specialist magazine was first published in 1986 for the purpose of ‘recording the history of Britain’s railway’ - the magazine’s strapline - and it is now published by Pendragon Publishing. Dropping every month, Backtrack magazine is your monthly dose of railway nostalgia and historical insight.
35 years later and Backtrack has firmly established itself as the authority on topics such as the history of Britain and Ireland’s train stations, railway bridges, signalling, biographies, train services and staff recollections - all of which regularly appear in the magazine. Backtrack's contributors include many of today's leading railway history writers and the magazine has a reputation for being of the highest quality.
With a multitude of unmissable monthly features, every issue aims to chronicle and record part of the history of Britain’s railway system. Every issue contains a dozen or so large articles that focus on a particular line or area in British railway history.
Whether you’re into early railway history from the 'pre-Stephenson' era, steam, diesel or electric locomotive you’ll find every era covered in minute detail - from railway company history, railway carriages and wagons, railway stations, railway ships, hotels and road vehicles, railway economic and social history and railway publicity and advertising.
A Backtrack digital magazine subscription is your go-to for railway history:
- Britain's leading historical railway magazine
- Delving into the era of horse-drawn tramroads up to locomotives and rolling stock
- History of lines, the social, political, financial, engineering and labour aspects of the railway
- Archive black and white quality images and historical colour coverage of the railway scene
- The history of train stations, railway bridges, signalling, biographies and train services
- Contributors include many of today's leading railway history writers
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You'll receive 12 issues during a 1 year Backtrack magazine subscription.
Note: Digital editions do not include the covermount items or supplements you would find with printed copies.
Articles in this issue
Below is a selection of articles in Backtrack February 2025.