The Railway Magazine

The Railway Magazine has been published since 1897 and is now the UK's best-selling general interest rail title. Every month, The RM provides enthusiasts and professionals with authoritative and informed news coverage of the following: - Network Rail and the train operating companies - Locomotives, multiple units, carriages and wagons - Steam, heritage and the preservation world, inc narrow gauge- Metro and underground systems - In addition, the magazine carries frequent items of overseas interest.

The Railway Magazine is also renowned for its wide-ranging and innovative feature coverage, encompassing up-to-the-minute developments as well as historical, nostalgic and foreign subjects. The magazine is also renowned for its award-winning photographic content.

The Railway Magazine

Mixed fortunes

The great ‘Whistle-Up’! • This year’s Railway 200 celebrations kicked off in style on January 1, as heritage lines large and small across the country took part in the simultaneous midday ‘Whistle-Up’.

Freight firms fear being crowded off the network • A combination of track access charges and capacity constraints make freight operators concerned about hitting the Government’s rail freight growth targets.

Five manufacturers shortlisted for new Northern trains • Alstom, CAF, Hitachi, Siemens and Stadler will compete for the deal, the first phases of which will see‘Sprinters’replaced.

Post-pandemic passengers up but revenue shortfall continues

Swietelsky acquires Harry Needle Railroad Company • Austrian rail infrastructure firm says the deal allows it to expand its UK market presence.

Man’s track fall went unnoticed, says RAIB report

Get ready for The Greatest Gathering • Three-day summer event at Alstom Derby promises to be a standout highlight of the Railway 200 celebrations.

DIARY

Stockton & Darlington replica train

GWSR launches Railway 200 gala weekend

Railways in Parliament

Siemens wins HS2 contracts with a combined value of £560 million • The company has announced four deals, one of which will enable semi-automatic train operation on the high speed route.

BOX STRUCTURE PROGRESS

Sushila completes its two-year, five-mile London tunnel boring journey

joined up thinking • As more railways were built after the opening of the Stockton & Darlington in 1825, the benefits of linking them together soon became apparent, as Bob Gwynne describes

Northumberland Phoenix

The blame game • The investigation into a plain line derailment on the Blyth & Tyne route in 1982 highlighted the problem of fragmented responsibilities that would later trouble the early years of rail Privatisation, as John Heaton FCILT recounts.

Ashington by ‘Paddy’ • Dedicated ‘Paddy Trains’ for local miners had ended the year before, but a 1967 railtour to the Ashington area made use of the National Coal Board’s veteran passenger stock.

Sixty years… and still waiting • In 1964, Blackpool Corporation lobbied British Railways to close the town’s Central station and release the land for redevelopment. With the bulk of the site still awaiting transformation, Graeme Pickering examines the impact of a gamble that is yet to pay-off.

Keeping the skills alive • Karen Richardson visits the trimming team at the Bluebell Railway to see how traditional skills, techniques and materials are being used to give an authentic feel to historic carriage seats.

Readers’ Platform • Send your letters to: The Railway Magazine, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR. Email: railway@mortons.co.uk

MEETINGS

From the archive • Subscribe and read previous issues at www.railwaymagazine.co.uk/archive

The RCTS: then and...