MAIN IMAGE: Two generations of Eastern motive power race along the East Coast Main Line at Tallington, north of Peterborough, on March 12 as 125mph Class 91 No. 91106 overtakes 75mph limited B1 No. 61306 Mayflower. The electric had been rebranded with Virgin vinyls just 10 days earlier, while the 4-6-0 was running on the ECML for the first time in the ownership of David Buck. NICK BRODRICK INSET 1: The first Hitachi Class 800 SET arrives in the UK from Japan. See Headline News. CHRIS MILNER INSET 2: LNER J15 re-emerges as GER Y14. See pages 50/51. NICK BRODRICK Headline News Stagecoach/Virgin take over East Coast franchise; First Hitachi Class 800 unit arrives; Landslip line reopens early; Abellio orders 70 new EMUs for Scotland; Exciting rail plans for the north unveiled; Riot scenes at London Bridge; Government sells Eurostar stake. Track Record The Railway Magazinea€ s monthly news digest 62 Steam & Heritage NRM snubs Waterman overa€~Super Da€ ; Llangollena€ s mega-gala 74 Traction & Stock Class 68s better than expected; Northern Class 319s enter service; DRS to sell off Class 47s. 77 Traction Update Scrapped, sold, renumbered, repainted? Details here. 78 Traction Portfolio 83 Network New St demolition work ends; Bridge deck replaced on Scarborough line; Honeybourne link to be reconsidered. 85 Freight 86 Metro News 87 Railtours Steam Dreams and RTC to share Flying Scotsman; Youngest steam driver follows in fathera€ s footsteps. 90 Classic Traction East Lancashire Railway enters service on ELR; FGW a€~Gronka€ for Epping Ongar; Nene Valley confirms diesel gala. 93 Narrow Gauge First steaming for Barber at South Tynedale; Russell to return to Talyllyn for a€~150a€ ; Golden Valley buys Ffestiniog carriages. 96 Miniature 98 World New locos and electrification for Buenos Aires; Amtrak withdraws older electrics; Uganda set for rail revival? 100 Operations News from the train and freight operating companies. Regulars 24 Multiple Aspects 24 Railways in Parliament 27 All Change A look at how the railway has changed at Carlisle. 28 Subscription offer 36 Readersa€ Platform Our Off the Beaten Track feature generated an immense volume of correspondence, with a selection printed here. 42 Grass Roots 48 Reviews 52 100 Years Ago 55 Panorama 107 Meetings Details of railway society meetings near you. 109 Heritage Diary Opening times of steam centres and heritage railways. 113 Reader Services 114 Prize Crossword 114 Where Is It? Features 14 The Grand Old Man of Steam Nick Pigott interviews R H N (Dick) Hardy, a former LNER premium apprentice and one of the most highly respected personalities of the steam era. 20 First TransPennine: In Control Practice & Performance compiler John Heaton spends time in the Control office at TransPennine, finding out how they keep the intensive service on track. 30 What happened to these diesels? Following our exclusive revelation of incorrect steam disposal records, errors have been found in diesel disposal records too, as Peter Hall explains. 44 The worlda€ s greatest marshalling yards Britain dispensed with its marshalling yards many years ago, but there are many still active around the world, as Michael Rhodes reveals. 50 Goodbye J15, Hello Y14 Nick Brodrick takes a look at the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Societya€ s project to back-convert an LNER J15 0-6-0 into a Great Eastern Y14 in ultramarine livery. 52 10 Questions, 10 Minutes This month, Steve Knighta€ s interview spotlight falls on Charles Horton, chief executive of Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd.