It’s our ‘quasquicentennial’!

Buckingham’s exclusive souvenir cover marks our 125th anniversary.

A Golden Age

Former RM editor Pete Kelly looks back to the late Victorian era and sets the scene for launch of Issue No. 1 in 1897

125 years of magazine history

The history of The RM is a story in itself, with a dozen editors, multiple owners, office moves, style and size changes – but its commitment to the whole railway scene has remained constant, as Robert Humm explains.

Moments in time

We have published more than 1450 issues in our 125 years. Contributing editor Chris Milner delves into the archives to give a f lavour of how The RM has reported on the ever-changing railway scene in that time.

The decades through the lens

The Colour-R ail photography collection goes back to the early days of The Railway Magazine, with this selection illustrating the changing scene over the 12 decades of RM history.

The Famous Five

John Heaton FCILT marks our 125th anniversary with a whirlwind tour of five famous railway climbs – high tea and lashings of ginger beer optional.

Britain’s last Victorian main line

The imminent completion of the Great Central Railway’s 92-mile ‘London Extension’ was one of the main stories in our Issue No. 1 – and its rise, fall, and partial rebirth has been covered within the pages of The RM ever since, as Graeme Pickering recounts.

A new Golden Age?

Mike Jones looks at how today’s railways have had to adapt to face market competition.

Taking stock of 1897

Gareth Evans highlights a selection of rolling stock that was built in 1897 and which survives in preservation or is otherwise repurposed in Britain.

Thanks for the memories!

We asked our readers for their favourite railway memories and were pleased to be swamped by tales that were funny, touching and full of nostalgia. We thank everyone who took the time to write in, and present here a selection of the best.

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The RCTS: then and now

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Reviews

Books, v ideos and other items for possible

Prize crossword

£100 worth of Nostalgia Collection books to be

Where is it? Our pictorial quiz, for fun only

LAST month’s photo (right, by Gareth Evans) showed

Stratford to Honeybourne reopening plan rejected

Line would serve new housing, alleviate road congestion, and create new journey opportunities.

Axing HS2 link line ‘will create a bottleneck’

THE Rail Industry Association says scrapping HS2’s proposed

High inf lation puts pressure on pay

Three strikes in June by members of the RMT union saw widespread disruption for passengers across England, Wales and Scotland.

Efficiencies needed for a sustainable railway

EFFICIENCIES are needed to create a sustainable railway

SIDELINES

New Birmingham stations named ALMOST 6000 residents have

Cumbrian infill was a bridge too far

National Highways must unblock portal after retrospective planning permission was refused.

Entries open for WHR centenary competition

THE competition launched as part of the Welsh

SIDELINES

Barking Riverside to open this summer TRANSPORT for

Back to the future

LNER unveils a new twist to an old livery for the InterCity 225 fleet.

Two more locomotives go purple

GBRf released No. 66734 (the former European No.

Railways honour Queen’s Jubilee

MID-NORFOLK ‘BRUSH’: Class 47 No. 47580 County of Essex

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Crossing the Colne Valley

700-tonne machine begins deck construction on the UK’s longest railway bridge.

Design for infrastructure maintenance depot revealed

IMAGES have been released of the design for

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Key Government coal meeting secured

The Heritage Railway Association has secured a vital meeting with a minister from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in its ongoing campaign to secure the long-term supply of steam coal.

GWR ‘42XX’ on course for imminent Dartmouth return

. GWR 2-8-0T No. 4277 at Churston on

Bluebell gears up for ‘Terrier’ gathering

THE Bluebell Railway is to celebrate 150 years

‘Intermittent issue’ found on Sir Nigel Gresley

LNER ‘A4’ Pacific No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley

‘P2’ cylinders united

THE construction of new-build ‘P2’ No. 2007 Prince

SIDELINES

‘Q1’ gets attention BULLEID ‘Q1’ 0-6-0 No. C1

Corwen station put to the test

Test trains operate to Corwen Central station as

Second cylinder cast for County of Montgomery

No. 3840’s cylinders at Hargreaves. CCT THE second

Bluebell accepts offer for ‘Dock Tank’ locomotive

THE Bluebell Railway has sold SR ‘Dock Tank’

First new wheels cast for ‘Patriot’

THE first two of six replacement driving wheels

DIARY

July 9/10 Great Central Railway: Ford Zepher &

Severn Valley ‘ups its game’

TWO classic games have been adapted to feature

S&D gala success

Cotswold Festival of Steam pays dividends for Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway.

Bluebell plans its next project

HERITAGE WAGONS TRACK RECORD

Wissington for ‘Middy’ return

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

BR Sentinel lookalike of fered to S&D Trust

£55k appeal launched to secure locomotive for Midsomer Norton

BAGNALL 0-4-0STs ON THE MARKET

TWO Bagnall-built 0-4-0STs have been advertised for sale

Hastings returns to Kent & East Sussex ‘home’

Picture: JOHN CHAPMAN FORMER Sproxton Ironstone Quarry Hunslet

Unique Kerr, Stuart ‘Witch’ steams again at Foxfield Railway

JACK Dibnah’s restoration of Kerr, Stuart ‘Witch’ class

Steam Portfolio

GLINT ON THE WCML: SR Bulleid Pacific No.

SINGLE LINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

WLLR ‘Beyer Bash’ gala marks Earl and Countess 120th anniversaries

Six Beyer, Peacock locos of four gauges gather at Welshpool Raven Square.

L&BR launches £1.6 million ‘Return to Parracombe Appeal’

LYNTON & Barnstaple Railway Trust is seeking to

Three STR carriages b ought by Statfold

THE Statfold Barn Railway has purchased the three

Apedale steam fleet addition

FOLLOWING restoration off-site, 2ft gauge Orenstein and Koppel

Latest stage of Rheidol’s terminus redevelopment project gets underway

THE next phase of the Vale of Rheidol

Powerful Taiwanese diesel set for Welshpool

WELSHPOOL & Llanfair Light Railway (WLLR) anticipates the

Six steam at Fairbourne gala

Perrygrove Railway’s 0-6-2T Anne (leading) and Evesham Vale

DIARY

July 9-10 Apedale Valley Light Railway (AVLR) military

SINGLE LINES

■ ISLE of Man Steam Railway’s brake composite

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SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

As popular as ever – Severn Valley Railway’s first big diesel event for three years

A wide variety of visiting classic and modern diesels featured.

New-build 10000 group strips unwanted parts from Class 58 donor loco

THE Ivatt Diesel Re-creation Society, constructing a new

ROG Type 3 for Dean Forest gala

A Rail Operations Group (ROG)/ Europhoenix Class 37

Tanat Valley replaces heritage DMUs with ‘Pacers’

THE Tanat Valley Light Railway (TVLR) in Shropshire

DIARY

July 9 Tanat Valley Light Railway running day

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Poole Park Railway further delayed

Local authority seeks traction and personnel to operate revamped line.

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

East Anglia Golden Anniversary gala

Trams take part in 50th birthday celebrations at Carlton Colville.

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Class 37s poised for S&C special

TWO West Coast Railways Class 37s are to

Steam Dreams and Mayflower bought by LSL

Acquisition reinforces LSL’s position in rail excursion market.

UK Railtours launches early bird discounts

UK RAILTOURS (UKRT) has introduced an early booking

Tornado Railtours renamed

THE A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s railtour arm, Tornado

Cambrian special deferred to 2023

A THIRD Pathfinder tour out of four which

Coast to Coast with steam

Shortly after visiting the South West on the

NOTES

■ Please note that advertised traction, routes, times

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BOOKING CONTACTS

IC – InterCity 0800 038 5364 MP –

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Fife Circle electrification gets underway

Procurement of new rolling stock to work the routes also begins.

£145m improvements for Hope Valley line begin

WORK to improve passenger train performance both in

First trains run using ETCS on Northern City line

A CLASS 717 EMU fitted with ETCS digital

New £56m Universit y station, Birmingham, shaping up

REDEVELOPMENT of one of the West Midlands’ busiest

Appeal for station adopters at Dorchester South

ON the back of the success of station

Tender briefings planned for MML electrification

NETWORK Rail has held a series of briefings

Rebuilt Perry Barr station opens

THE rebuilt station at Perry Barr, Birmingham, reopened

SIDELINES

Platform repairs complete at Lichfield SERVICES to Lichfield

Freight

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Varamis plans high-speed future

‘Azuma-style’ logistics trains and routes into mainland Europe

New traffic for DCRail

A RECENTLY-launched DCRail service, moving construction soils from

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

West Midlands Metro service resumes

Trams back in public operation later than expected

Gosforth second phase completed

Part of the new South Gosforth depot, where

Partner sought for London developments

An architect’s impression of the development planned above

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Reduced Merseyrail ser vice af ter wheel bearing issues

‘Unexpected and significant increase’ in faults with current fleet

‘No risk’ from potential fault

TRANSPORT for London commissioner Andy Byford has said

Loram wins NR contracts

DERBY-based Loram UK has won contracts worth £25

ETCS fitted to ‘New Measurement Train’ power cars

THE three yellow-liveried Class 43 High Speed Train

Taking stock at Barry

MOVEMENTS of trains into the new Transport for

WAGON REPORT

AMONGST the most impressive items of on-track plant

Dromod public trains resume

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

New commuter capacit y options outlined

Iarnród Eireann submission reveals potential timescales for expanded

Oranmore loop gets the goahead to add more capacity

IT WAS announced on May 23 that work

Off-peak frequency to double on Cork commuter services

THE National Transport Authority (NTA), and Iarnród Éireann

TGVs to Berlin?

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Electrification to Tibet

CHINESE Railways will electrify its 1136km long line

New trams for Tallinn

POLISH manufacturer Pesa has won a contract for

Italian diesel hauled passenger trains on borrowed time

Trenitalia plans to renew 80% of its regional

Bulgarian freight variety

Bulgarian private operator TBD Freight Transports (TBD TP)

New lines, new trains for Israel network

ELECTRIC trains connecting Modi’in Center with Jerusalem via

New diesel train fleet in service in Costa Rica

New DMU No. 200 3121 departs San Jose

Austrian locos put to the test in Africa

FOUR former Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) Class 1014

Heljan enters ‘TT’ market

The manufacturer has revealed a RTR Class 31 locomotive in 1:120 scale, with delivery expected in 2023.

Market Deeping show

THE Market Deeping Model Railway Club held its

SAS Glorious Trains auction

‘O’ gauge Duchess of Montrose realised £1400 THE

Alresford Festival of Toy Trains returns

AFTER a break of three years due to

Sir William McAlpine remembered

THE 1973 saviour of LNER ‘A3’ No. 4472