Innehållsförteckning för June 2023 från Steam Days

That’s a 27% 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 £46 Direct debit (27% saving) 1 year credit/debit card for £53 2 years…

The success of the SLS railtour of Sunday, 17 June 1951 from Birmingham (Snow Hill) to Swindon Junction to visit the nearby locomotive works and engine shed led to a similar repeat 12 months later, and in turn a repeat in the June of 1953 and 1954 proved beyond doubt that a pattern was set, and in due course this unbroken run would continue over the next four years. The first four tours were detailed in the March 2023 issue of Steam Days but, to recap, the motive power had been ‘Bulldog’ class 4-4-0 No 3454 Skylark, ‘Saint’ class 4-6-0 No 2920 Saint David, ‘Earl/Dukedog’ class 4-4-0 No 9000 (briefly Earl of Mount Edgcumbe) and LMS Compound 4-4-0 No 41156. From the outset these tours embraced shed visits and perhaps…

Sometimes you come across a railway station that has assumed an importance belying its humble appearance. The wayside stopping place of Hinton Admiral is just such a station. It lies just over 100 miles from London (Waterloo) on the London & South Western Railway/Southern Railway main line (101 miles 5 chains to be precise) which connects the London terminus with Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth. The station’s setting was essentially rural up to the 1950s, its surroundings comprising woodland and heathland, and this is exemplified by early maps that show the station and little else. Now located on the Hampshire/Dorset border, Hinton Admiral is not named from its settlement, the small hamlet of Hinton, but from a grand house, Hinton Admiral House, which lies across the A35 main road from the…

In their prime the ‘Big Four’ railway companies of 1923-47 were so often masters of public relations and advertising – think glamorous titled trains and encouragement to holiday at resorts within their own domain – but the war years had worn them down and led to the nationalisation of the railways on New Year’s Day 1948. There was something of an expectation that resurrection of the railways would be a long haul and while the chairman of the British Transport Commission was very much on-board with not over-egging expectation, it was for J H Brebner as chief public relations officer to find the way forward in terms of promoting the new brand that was ‘British Railways’. He was appointed to the position in late 1947 having previously held a similar…

The history and development of the two principal engine sheds described in this article was inextricably linked with the growth of iron and steel making in Scunthorpe. It will be seen that the area developed into one of Britain’s major seats of industry involving the movement by rail of colossal amounts of coal, coke, limestone, iron ore and the finished products of the smelting works. Keadby engine shed The railway reached the west bank of the River Trent at Keadby on 10 October 1859 when the South Yorkshire Railway & River Dun Navigation (SYR&RDN) completed its route from Thorne, which had itself been reached by the line from Doncaster in December 1855; it was freight-only until 1 July 1856. In 1861 the SYR&RDN was leased by the Manchester, Sheffield &…