Backtrack | February 2026
An Irish Tank Quintet - colour spread of some of the individualistic tank engines in Ireland.
The ‘Castle’ Class 4-6-0s of the Highland Railway - reviewed by David Anderson Stranraer's Railway - Christopher Fox reviews the rail links to this important port for sailings to Northern Ireland.
The Oldham, Ashton & Guide Bridge Junction Railway - Jeffrey Wells describes the building of an important connection through south east Lancashire.
Admiral Binstead of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway - Anthony Dawson concludes the biography of an important figure in the railway’s early history.
The Flasks - Gavin Morrison’s colour photographs of the special nuclear flask trains to and from the Trawsfynydd power station in North Wales
A4 Excellence - four colour pages depicting the famous LNER streamlined Pacific locomotives.
The Conference of Motive Power Officers: Part Two- J. Crosse continues to peruse the records of this British Railways organisation in 1949.
Eric Bruton on the Great Eastern - archive photos from the early 1950s.
My Station: Manchester Victoria - Jonathan Guilbert recalls a favourite station in photographs from 1966.
Around the Operational Clock at Doncaster… Part Two - John Palmer concludes his study railway activities there in the 1950s.
The Chalford Rail Car Years: Part One - Mike Fenton describes the development of local services over the GWR main line in the Stroud Valley.
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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:
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- 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 2026.