Freedom of the Forest
Andrew Britton fondly recalls carefree holidays with the family from Beaulieu Road station in the New Forest, observing the unique character of the Bournemouth main line between Lyndhurst Road and Woodfidley.

The Border Railway: Hexham-Newcastle operations
With commuter trains and goods activity to the fore, ‘Swedebasher’ reviews pre-dieselisation activities on the busiest section of the Newcastle & Carlisle line, that east from Hexham, nearly 21 miles of railway east from Hexham.

A ‘CORNISH RIVIERA’ ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
CREWE WORKS PILOT LOCOMOTIVES A TIMELINE OF CHANGE 1909-1968

Ventnor’s ‘first and last’ station – love at first sight
Andrew Britton enriches an historical overview with recollections of a terminus which proved to be beyond the financial reach of a BR electrification scheme and was thus was abandoned in April 1966.

North Wales and Chester memories
From childhood beach visits to post-graduate commuter
Chris Forrest started work near Chester in autumn 1955, and the city’s railways and the routes beyond passed from occasional, to everyday, observation due to a Saltney-Capenhurst commute until August 1957.

The Hundred of Hoo Railway for Port Victoria and Allhallows-on-Sea
A route born of rivalry and the desire for continental traffic, Chris Gordon Watford tells of how all this came to naught, and subsequent efforts to boost passenger receipts and create a resort of Allhallows-on-Sea were likewise largely unsuccessful.

Feltham Marshalling yard A ‘south western’ border post

Plus

‘Princess Anne’: ex-turbomotive

STRANGERS ON THE HIGHLAND RAILWAY 

THE DAFFODIL LINE : GLOUCESTER-LEDBURY

From Hurlford shed cleaner to ‘Orient Express’ driver
Douglas McNaught delves into the reminiscences of John Scarlett, who joined the LMS just two days before the nationalisation of Britain’s railways.

Through the lens of John D Edwards: A Thames and Chilterns portfolio
The archives of the Great Western Trust include the photographic work of John Drydon Edwards. This selection of his work offers glimpses of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Middlesex and London steam...

To Sharpness for scrap
In 1964/65 Swindon-based scrap merchant Cooper’s Metals undertook locomotive breaking at Sharpness Docks – Peter Kerslake recalls three visits to photograph the short-lived operation.

Crewe Works’ pilot locomotives: the steam classes
Roger Griffiths and John Hooper offer an introduction to the dedicated fleet and work of pilot engines that served Crewe Works, as well as shining the spotlight on the comings and goings of the various steam classes within the allocation in L&NWR, LMS and BR days..

An East Anglian portfolio
Photographic recollections from Peter Kerslake from his time spent working in East Anglia between August 1954 and December 1955.

1964 – A year to remember
A mix of Western, Southern, London Midland and East Coast main line outings for Peter Chatman from 60 years ago.

SLS SPECIALS TO SWINDON IN THE 1960S
Plus
EX-MAIN LINE ENGINES IN INDUSTRY: MIDLANDS AND the SOUTH.

British Railways: 1948 – summer and (just) beyond
In many ways a one-off period of change where trialled liveries and even some BR emblems turned heads but rarely lasted, Andrew Kennedy picks some sightings and events that were in the news.

Crossing Loch Etive at Connel Ferr
In service for 120 years, Eric Stuart and Kevin Tiller examine the Connel bridge on the Ballachulish branch, and consider its rail and road operations through to current times...

Hayling Sunday afternoon
Sixty years after closure of the Hayling Island branch, Andrew Britton recalls a 1960 trip on this much-loved railway from the mainland at Havant through to Hayling Island, a popular seaside destination.

The Stour Valley line: station by station
A 43 mile cross-country route, Stanley C Jenkins takes us from Marks Tey, through Chappel & Wakes Colne, Sudbury, Long Melford, Haverhill North and a host of quieter stations through to the Cambridge main line..

Deal line operations in the 1950s
Swedebasher offers a pre-electrification account of services through Deal, on the Kent coast, including the ‘Round the Houses’ duties from Charing Cross and Victoria, and the Deal-Minster trains.

Super Tanks’ – Britain’s nearly 100 ton tank locomotives
The Edwardian era saw the creation of heavyweight tank engine designs of 95 tons or more – Philip Atkins tracks the various ‘Super Tanks’ of Britain, and considers some heavier continental classes too.

Interesting Cars-on-Rail services of the past
Eric Stuart reveals how two railway companies created short distance, local solutions that helped motorists to navigate otherwise time consuming water crossings.

Steaming through Surbiton
South Western main line steam recollections, Ian Turnbull recalls his local steam scene in the 1950s and 1960s..

Caerphilly Castle – GWR centenarian
In August 1923 the first of the GWR ‘Castles’ emerged from Swindon. Andrew Wilson explains how few people at the time realised the influence that the design would have on the drawing offices of the ‘Big Four’.

The Stour Valley railway and associated lines
Between the Norwich and Cambridge main lines and where Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Essex meet, Stanley C Jenkins offers an historical overview of the railway network that evolved from the Colchester, Stour Valley, Halstead & Sudbury Railway.

Crewe Works coppersmith – Les Jenks: LMS pre-war times
Andrew Kennedy offers a glimpse into LMS operations at Crewe Works on the steel works site, the words of Les Jenks enabling us to step back 87 years to when his career began as an apprentice coppersmith.

223: Edinburgh and East Lothian ‘East Coast’ steam
The 1950s and 1960s photography of J G Wallace is at the heart of this trip, which spans from Edinburgh (Waverley) to the climb through Cockburnspath to Penmanshiel.

Stephenson Locomotive Society (Midlands Area) specials to Swindon: 1955-58 – with the ‘Stars’ and beyond
Inventive route changes and hand-picked motive power were at the heart of the annual SLS railtour to Swindon Works. Richard Garland talks us through these trains across their second four-year period.

STEAM DAYS in Colour
222: ‘Royal Scot’ survivors
The main lines of Britain are still graced with the operation of two rebuilt ‘Royal Scot’ class 4-6-0s, Royal Scot and Scots Guardsman. We look back to see these two locomotives in everyday service pre-1966.

A whirlwind Scottish shed bash: 1965
Leaving Kent on Easter Tuesday, Utrick W R Casebourne used overnight Anglo-Scottish trains to undertake a 2½ day round-trip to central Scotland that took in no less than 14 active steam sheds.

West of England Rail Rover 1960
Devon branches and home via Bodmin and Padstow!
The diary writings of Leslie R Freeman from 2/3 June 1960 conclude a week of 1,485½ miles of rail travel, the Tiverton, Hemyock, Bodmin (General) and Bodmin (North) branches traversed before return to London.

The Kent & East Sussex line in the early 1950s
Chris Gordon Watford visited the Robertsbridge-Tenterden-Headcorn route, witnessing both busy commuter scenes and lengthy periods of inactivity while seeking out some of the line’s less photographed stopping places.

Stephenson Locomotive Society (Midlands Area) specials to Swindon: 1951-54
Travelling between the Midlands and Wiltshire by four different routes, Richard Garland shines the spotlight on the first of a series of regular SLS rail tours to Swindon Works.

Pullman carriages of the Caledonian Railway and LMS
Employed from 1914 to 1934 as Pullman cars and then purchased outright by the LMS as part of its catering fleet, John Macnab offers an overview of these vehicles through to their final use in 1961.

Connah’s Quay & Shotton to Chester (Northgate) and Seacombe: Station by station
Richard Clarke concludes his Deeside travelogue with the Great Central line into Chester and the former North Wales & Liverpool Railway through to Bidston, and then over Wirral Railway metals to the banks of the Mersey..

All change: Broadstone Junction
Known for being at the southernmost point of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, trains operated through here for nearly 130 years – we look to ‘place’ the long-lost station in today’s landscape.

Schoolboy recollections of the L&Y route through Orrell
Chris Forrest describes early railway observations of his local main line, that between Wigan and Liverpool, remembering signal box visits, regular operations and specials such as Grand National trains..

The Grouping – 100 years on
Coming in the aftermath of seven years of Government ownership to simplify railway operation for the war effort, Andrew Kennedy tells how the 1921-23 period saw 120 railway companies grouped into what became known as the ‘Big Four’.

STEAM DAYS in Colour
216: SR Eastern Division push-pull operations
The fixed formation of push-pull operation was widely adopted on many former SE&CR byways and branch lines, with those serving Westerham, Hawkhurst, Maidstone (West) and the Hundred of Hoo line from Gravesend being the most enduring..

West of England Rail Rover 1960
Meandering via Callington to Launceston (SR)
We consult the diary of Leslie R Freeman for the Southern Region content of Day 5 of a week in the West Country and an outing from Plymouth calling at Callington, Okehampton and Holsworthy, before reaching Launceston.

Birmingham (New Street) to Lichfield: Station by station
Stanley C Jenkins describes the steam era infrastructure of what is now the northern section of Birmingham’s electrified Cross-City line, the former L&NWR route through Aston, Erdington and Sutton Coldfield.

Southampton – Gateway to the world
With family and friends working in the docks and on ocean liners, Andrew Britton affectionately recalls the fascinating interaction between the railway and shipping at Southampton Docks, of both passengers and goods traffic.

The RAF ‘Castles’
Andrew Wilson remembers the 12 GWR ‘Castle’ class 4-6-0s named in 1940/41 after RAF aircraft of World War II.

Travels with unmodified Bulleid Pacifics
With sightings always a highlight of spotting days on the Oxted lines, Nick Hodges went on to seek out runs behind nine of these locomotives in the last two years of their BR use.

Building up the National Collection – the BTC years: 1948-62
Inheriting a fleet of heritage locomotives, Leonard Rogers reveals how the British Transport Commission continued to build the collection, increase public display and even facilitate the return of some pre-Grouping liveries to the main line.

West of England Rail Rover 1960
A Plymouth circular via Halwill Junction, Ilfracombe and Dulverton
Venturing into Southern Region territory as part of a wide-reaching day trip, Leslie R Freeman circumnavigates Devon on everyday services on 1 June 1960.

The Garstang & Knott End Railway
Stanley Jenkins examines the 11¼ mile branch line from the West Coast main line at Garstang & Catterall through to Knott End-on-Sea on the east bank of the River Wyre..

West of England Rail Rover 1960
Truro to Plymouth via Newquay, Looe and Fowey
Everyday steam-hauled trains in Cornwall are recalled through the diary entry of Leslie R Freeman and photographs from the day, 31 May 1960.

Shotton to Wrexham: Station by station
A resident of the Hawarden area from 1957 until 1963, Richard Clarke talks us through a journey along the ex-Great Central Railway line that passed his home as it linked both Chester and the Wirral with Wrexham.

The Southern adventures of No 77014
The March 1966 transfer of this BR ‘3MT’ Mogul to the Southern Region created considerable interest among enthusiasts, Andrew Wilson and Andrew Britton tell the story of this exiled Mogul.

STEAM DAYS in Colour
210: The latter years of the ‘Kings’
The iconic ‘King’ class is depicted through the lens of Tom Williams. We see the ‘Kings’ as they reached their operational zenith in the few short years before the class was earmarked for withdrawal.

West of England Rail Rover 1960 
To Truro and the far west
Heading west for a week of travelling on everyday services as a Rail Rover adventure, Leslie R Freeman and a friend set out to discover the railways of Cornwall and Devon.

Swindon’s Stanier ‘8F’ 2-8-0s
As part of the war effort, Swindon built 80 Stanier ‘8F’ class 2-8-0s. Andrew Wilson looks at their working lives.

The wonders of Wood Green
Where the King’s Cross main line meets the south end of the Hertford Loop, Andrew Britton recalls how in 1961 this suburban station was a meeting point for friends wishing to enjoy top link steam at work.

Lineside cameraman Barry Mounsey
For many years a regular contributor to ‘Steam Days’, Andrew Wilson takes a moment to highlight some of Barry’s black and white photography..

Deeside steam memories
Richard Clarke takes us through his early memories of the North Wales Coast main line and the ex-Great Central Railway line in the Deeside area of Flintshire.

From Bristol to Bath along Great Western metals 
Features of note on this 12½ mile journey along the Avon valley are described by Colin G Maggs MBE..

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Steam Days - Steam nostalgia and railway history at its best!
Steam Days is a monthly magazine dedicated to all steam railway enthusiasts. Each issue covers the six regions of British Railways: Western, Southern, London, Midland, Eastern, and Scottish, with the occasional article on Irish railways and the industrial scene.
These well illustrated articles in the magazine cover the history of the railways of Britain from the early days of the 1800s through to the end of steam on British Railways in August 1968.

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Steam Days - February 2022

Steam Days - February 2022

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