Innehållsförteckning för February 2023 från Steam Days

That’s a 30% saving when you pay by direct debit STEAM DAYS I have been a railway enthusiast since 1942, and together with my two sons, Ian and Andrew, since March 1993 have provided a record of Britain’s railway scene when steam ruled supreme, from the 1800s until the end of steam in 1968. With a focus on line histories, train spotters’ memories, technical information, railwaymen’s reminiscences and nostalgic photo-features, our purpose is to bring back those halcyon days. With our subscriptions you can get your magazine delivered straight to your door every month, with a superb saving on the cover price. We hope to welcome you soon to the Steam Days family. 12 print issues for £44 Direct debit (30% saving) 1 year credit/debit card for £51 2 years…

Having started out from Plymouth (North Road) station at 7.49am, Day 5 of a week of rail roving in the West Country found intrepid travellers Leslie R Freeman and Jim Harrold enjoying both Southern and Western Region travels. The former concluded with a run on the down ‘Atlantic Coast Express’ between Okehampton and Launceston, the 11am service from London (Waterloo) to Padstow, this leg of the titled train’s journey including the removal of a two-coach Bude portion at Halwill Junction, with just three coaches continuing on to Padstow. The train engine was yet to be modified Bulleid ‘West Country’ class Light Pacific No 34032 Camelford, which between Okehampton and Launceston impressively recouped eight minutes of an 11 minute time deficit, with Launceston reached at 4.08pm. Up to this point the…

The surname of the American gentleman George Henry Mortimer Pullman became synonymous with luxury travel on the railways of Britain having crossed the Atlantic and made its presence felt by the mid-1870s on several railway companies. This is a brief background to the inception of Pullmans, and what follows is specifically the involvement of the Caledonian Railway and in the subsequent years of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway, successor to the ‘Caley’. By 1912 the existing former West Coast Joint Stock (WCJS) dining cars on the Aberdeen route of services had become outdated, which opened the Caledonian Railway to consider a fleet of Pullman cars to operate these, and other particular services. First mooted in April 1912 by the Caledonian Railway board to operate a total of 23 cars,…

Although touched upon within an initial Deeside overview (Steam Days, March 2022), the ex-Great Central lines north of Connah’s Quay & Shotton or Shotton (High Level) station, beyond the River Dee swing bridge and Hawarden Bridge station and then east to Chester (Northgate) or north to Bidston, demand their own coverage, hence this largely photographic appreciation. As well as the stations at the outer limits of the two routes under review, seven intermediate stations still existed on these lines at 1955 when I moved to the area, while Bidston station was at the junction with the former Wirral Railway, three miles of that company’s network leading to a long-standing terminus for trains working over the North Wales & Liverpool Railway (NW&LR) route of 1896. The NW&LR extended north from what…

With so many pre-Grouping companies serving London, the capital city and seat of government and Empire, it effectively became the principal hub of the rail network in the mid- to late 19th century and remains pre-eminent today. Consequently it should come as no surprise that over the years more than one main line passenger locomotive carried City of London nameplates. Other names were also duplicated over the years, ranging from birds to royalty, aircraft to stately homes, holiday resorts to places of Empire and also literary figures, to mention just a few. In the case of City of London, between May 1888 and September 1964 such nameplates were carried by London & North Western Railway, LMS/London Midland Region, Great Western Railway, Great Central Railway and LNER/Eastern Region steam locomotives. L&NWRWebb…