Vol 36 No 9 - September 2022

Backtrack

Britain's Leading Historical Railway Journal

Backtrack1 min read
Backtrack
Publisher and Editor MICHAEL BLAKEMORE • E-Mail pendragonpublishing@btinternet.com • Tel 01347 824397 [Mon.-Fri. 9.00am-5.00pm] All Subscription Enquiries 01778 392024 (see inside back cover for details) • Trade Account Manager Ann Williams Design +
Backtrack4 min read
Editorial
It’s a rare event these days to be hauled in everyday service by a locomotive – that seems increasingly to be the province of the charter special business – and the likelihood is that a current journey will be in a fixed formation multiple unit train
Backtrack19 min read
Difficulties On The Lauder Light Railway
When we read accounts of rail journeys, and especially steam footplate trips whether officially sanctioned or otherwise, there is a tendency to assume that both driver and fireman are used to working with each other and are comfortable in each other’
Backtrack13 min read
The Railways Of Gravesend And Grain Part One
Gravesend in Kent is not a town we think of as a holiday resort, but such it was for Londoners who made the boat trip down river, at least until the development of the rail network made more distant sandy beaches easily accessible. Day trippers aligh
Backtrack20 min read
Preston Station In The News 1860-1896
Speak to an inhabitant of Preston, or the owner of a car in the 1950s, and they will tell you of the road congestion in Preston, especially on Bank Holidays, and during summer weekends and the Wakes holiday season. Many drivers have been caught in a
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The Impact Of The Great War On The Railways Of Gelligaer Parish And Adjoining Areas Part Two
A recent book hypothesised that the First World War was not won on the Western Front, but by the Royal Navy’s blockade of Continental Europe, ensuring Germany’s weakened state, consequently its politicians sued for peace before social revolution embr
Backtrack17 min read
The Investment Difficulties Of The Lner 1923-1938
This article looks at the limitations on London & North Eastern Railway investment and why it struggled with financial stringency throughout its existence. The railways in the inter-war years found it difficult to finance capital expenditure in the c
Backtrack18 min read
The Introduction Of Multiple Unit Diesel Railcars By British Railways Background, Process And Outcomes
In October 1952 authority was given for the construction of the first lightweight, bogie diesel multiple units. All were two-car sets to be assembled at Derby Carriage and Wagon Works. Eight were destined for local workings between Bradford, Leeds an
Backtrack9 min read
An Island Odyssey
Today we take for granted the ability to access all the latest news immediately, 24 hours per day, and to be able to research even the most arcane of subjects simply by operating a computer keyboard. Back in the 1960s things were very different and i
Backtrack9 min read
Readers’ Forum
Letters intended for publication should ideally add extra detail to our articles (or offer corrections of course!) and not be too long, consistent with the detail they offer. As always, we are sorry that space and time prevent us from printing them a
Backtrack5 min read
Book Reviews
|★★★★★ Excellent|★★★★ Very Good|★★★ Good|★★ Fair|★ Poor| by Philip M. Lloyd, published by Pen and Sword, hardback, 276 pages, priced £30. ISBN 978 1 52674 919 2 It is 50 years since the first volume of Peter Baughan’s history, one of what were then t

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