Backtrack | January 2014
The Trent Valley Railway - Robin Mathams and Dave Barrett trace the origins of what is now an important part of the West Coast Main Line between Stafford and Rugby.
Portrait of a 'Clan' - three archive photos of BR No.72009.
Settle-Carlisle: A History of Snow - Ken Harper, Ron Herbert and Peter Robinson chronicle the challenges of winter on England's highest main line.
Open House at Longmoor - Jeffrey Grayer recalls the final open days on the Longmoor Military Railway in 1968/9.
From 'Glen' to 'Glen' - colour spread featuring the North British D34 4-4-0s.
On the Works Trip - archive spread on factory outings by train.
Observing good 'Manors' - four colour pages of the GWR 'Manor' 4-6-0s.
The St. Ives Branch - Alan Bennett considers the life and times of a short branch line at the heart of the Cornish tourist industry.
Barnum & Bailey's Circus Train - Part One - Mike G. Fell looks at the characters involved in the circus train and the logistics of organising its tours.
Gresley's Mighty Mikados - an appreciation by David Cullen of the LNER P1 and P2 2-8-2s.
Fantastic Foolery: A Deputy Lord Lieutenant in Court - a sorry tale related by Alistair Nisbet.
'Deltic' on Trial - three archive photos of the prototype 'Deltic' on test on the Midland route north of Leeds.
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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 January 2014.