WEST COAST FLASHBACK: Is this Preston in the 1980s, or the National Railway Museum today? It is the latter, of course, but this photo taken on January 28 neatly captures the atmosphere on the West Coast Main Line in the late 1970s/early 1980s, with preserved No. 87001 Stephenson/
TAIL-LAMP TALE: The tail-lamp of No. 43924’s train waits to be replaced after the loco has run round at Keighley on December 31 – the final day in traffic for the Midland ‘4F’ before its boiler ticket expired.
ROBERT BATTY