Features

Mike Huckfield shares his experience of organising a day out with a difference with a group of like-minded friends – to visit as many heritage railways as possible in a single day It was a simple idea – how many tourist railway sites could we visit in one day? A few years ago I got…

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In the second part of his series about the dawn of steam, Brian Sharpe investigates the background to how the position of chief mechanical engineer came about in the early days – leading to the evolution of locomotive design. In 1821 a parliamentary bill was passed to allow the building of the Stockton and Darlington…

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Gareth Evans reports on the Mid-Hants Railway’s three-day autumn steam gala, held between October 19-21. The weather was undoubtedly kind during the Mid-Hants Railway’s autumn steam gala over the weekend of October 19-21. Crowds were drawn to the trains – seat occupancy appeared to be high. Perhaps that was due to the attraction of visiting…

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In his latest column, Don Benn compares the performance of Great Western and Southern steam locomotives on the South Devon banks hauling charter trains. The South Devon banks have always held a fascination for me, even though I didn’t venture there in the real days of steam. I did however, time a number of trains…

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October 19, 2018, will be indelibly etched in the annals of heritage railway history after the world’s first internal combustion-powered passenger vehicle gave its first rides in 88 years. NER petrol-electric autocar No. 3170 may be viewed as important as Stephenson’s Rocket in the evolution of rail travel – but it was the train the…

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