Backtrack | March 2013
To Portsmouth by Class 50 - David Cable's colour photos record the short period in the late 1980s when these locos were used on the Portsmouth Plymouth services.
Railway Participation in the Royal Agricultural Shows - Jeffrey Wells looks at the extent of railway activity, particularly the Great Eastern at Cambridge in 1922.
Acton - Twilight of a Marshalling Yard - Part One - Brian Ringer explains the operation and traffic of this freight centre in West London in the 1970s/80s.
Malton: Memories of a Yorkshire junction 1950-67 - recalled by Tony Kirby.
The British Steeple Cabs - R. A. S. Hennessey reviews an early period of electric locomotive history.
Saint Pancras and his station - Peter Butler reveals who he was!
At Carlisle - five colour pages at the border city's station and depots, mostly steam with a few more recent diesel locos.
South by South West - archive photos of steam on the former LSWR lines in Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.
Some Railway Recollections 1900-14: Part Three: Principal features of railway travel - the final part of R. E. Charlewood's survey takes in passenger accommodation, dining and sleeping cars, through trains, refreshment rooms, hotels and publicity.
A Return Ticket to the Pre-Grouping Era - Clive Baker offers some observations of a journey from Portsmouth to Shanklin just before the end of steam traction on the Isle of Wight.
Stationary Locomotive Testing - Part One - Adrian Tester begins this series by looking at some early test plants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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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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- 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 March 2013.