Backtrack  |  November 2017
November 2017
The West Coast Main Line Electrification - Alan Taylor outlines the developments of the 1960s which led to what became Britain's most modern main line.
At Work in Derbyshire - four colour pages by David Rodgers of steam in the Peak District in 1968.
A Bridge too far - Dr. Malcolm Timperley describes the Dinting Viaduct accident of 1855.
'Out of Date - Yet Potentially Valuable' - Geoffrey Skelsey charts the decline and revival of the Birmingham west Suburban line.
Dark Matter - some night-time colour photography by Keith Dungate.
The Great Western's Eight-Coupled Tanks - four-page colour spread of the powerful 42XX and 72XX freight tanks.
Southern gone West: the Plymouth Branches - described by David Thrower.
The Railway Mission - James Johnson draws attention to a rarely considered aspect of railway social history and the iron churches which supported it.
Lesser London - archive photos of less not so well-known railway corners of the capital.
The View from the Train: Charles Dickens on Railway Development and rail travel in 'Dombey and Son' - literary connections traced by John Edmondson.
Harry Pitts and the Aldersgate Explosion - A Victorian 'incident' described by Alistair F. Nisbet.
The Dover Priory Murder - Martin Baggoley reveals a murder story with led to the first 'non public' execution.
read more
read less
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
- Delivered directly to your device every week
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 November 2017.