Backtrack | January 2021
On shed elsewhere in Carlisle - Colour photos by Gavin Morrison at Carlisle’s Upperby and Canal sheds.
Working at Christmas - Bruce Laws looks at the diary of a driver at Cowlick shed, Nottingham
Paddle Steamers in the Firth - archive photos of the railway-owned vessels working on the River Clyde.
The End of Company Service - Jim McBride looks back at the final main line steam workings in Northern Ireland.
Memories of a Midland Main Line outing - Peter Butler recalls an exploratory journey from Kettering to Matlock.
In the wake of Madge Bessemer: A Review of Illegal Rail Closures: Part One - Stephen G. Abbott investigates some cases where service withdrawals did not follow correct procedures.
An Assortment of LNER A2 Pacifics - three pages of Derek Penney’s colour photographs.
Topsy-Turvy at Turvey - two colour photos of a spectacular derailment in Bedfordshire in 1960.
The Calne Branch: Part One - Mike Fenton recalls the life and times of a Wiltshire GWR byway.
A Flash of Southern Electric - colour spread of John Hayward’s photographs on the third rail.
Coals from Newcastle: Part Two - Rob Langham concludes his look at the coal traffic of the North Eastern Railway.
Railway Observations from a Selside Winter: Part One 1958/9 - Steve Leyland describes the activity at a remote location on the Settle-Carlisle line.
Stoke Station and its Station Masters: Part Two - Mike G. Fell takes the story through to the present day.
Between Swansea Victoria and Pontardulais - b/w photos of steam on a route which closed in 1964.
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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.
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- 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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Articles in this issue
Below is a selection of articles in Backtrack January 2021.