Track Record
The Railway Magazine’s monthly news digest
62 Steam & Heritage
Turkish 8Fs back in Britain; Passenger shuttles for West Somerset triangle; Appeal for Bahamas overhaul.
74 Railtours
‘Great Britain IV’ or ‘Steam Dreams’ Explorer? Top Gear pilot fined for buzzing steam loco; Overhaul for 40145.
78 Traction & Stock
DB Schenker to create ‘Super 60’; Class 90s and remaining 37/4s put up for sale; First LM Class 172 on test.
84 Network News
First phase of reading project completed; Passengers angry at fare hikes; £2.5m facelift for Peterborough.
86 Freight News
89 Narrow Gauge
Lyd repainted in BR Black; Monobloc cylinders for Taliesin; Joffre restoration nears completion.
92 Classic Traction
Minehead closure recalled; West Somerset to mark Class 59 anniversary; Cumbrian metal thefts.
97 Metro
98 World
100 Operations
A round-up of news from the train and freight operating companies.
106 Traction Update
Repainted, scrapped, named or sold? Full details here.
Regulars
20 Location, Location
This month’s selected photo location is in Cornwall.
32 Subscriptions Offer
54 Panorama
Our monthly showcase, Panorama, features six-pages of the best railway photographic images.
107 Reviews
A selection of the latest books and DVDs reviewed.
108 Meetings
Details of local railway society meetings near you.
109 Heritage Diary
A comprehensive listing of railways and steam centres operating during February and March.
110 100 Years Ago
A look back to what Britain’s senior rail title was reporting 20, 50 and 100 years ago.
Features
14 West Midlands freight then and now
Paul Shannon looks at the changing face of railfreight in the West Midlands over the past 25 years.
22 Rule Britannia!
Fifty years ago, the first ‘Britannia’ Pacific was introduced. Chris Milner traces their history.
28 The WSR’s Triangle Triumph
Cliff Thomas reviews the West Somerset Railway’s project to build a triangle at Norton Fitzwarren.
34 ‘Deltic’ Golden Jubilee
It’s a half-century since the ‘Deltics’ were introduced, and Paul Bickerdyke recalls their life and times on BR.
42 Blyth Spirit
By way of a change, in Practice & Performance, John Heaton looks at the spirited running of coal trains in North East England.
49 The Belvoir Castle Railway
New information about the Duke of Rutland’s private waggonway is uncovered by Robert Humm.
On the cover
Main image:
Resplendent in LMS Crimson Lake livery, ‘Crab’ 2-6-0 No. 13000 sits outside Locomotion Shildon on December 22, the day its new look was unveiled
ANTHONY COULLS
Inset 1:
‘Flying Banana’! No. 70012 at Newport. MARTIN TURNER
Inset 2:
Coming soon - Super 60s. JACK BOSKETT