Vol 36 No 6 - June 2022

Backtrack

Britain's Leading Historical Railway Journal

Backtrack4 min read
Carry On Camping
As I put pen to paper, an early spring (though inevitably a false dawn) put thoughts of holidays into my mind and indeed to book holidays to visit narrow gauge railways and attend sporting events or concerts. Armed with English Heritage and National
Backtrack1 min read
Backtrack
Publisher and Editor MICHAEL BLAKEMORE • E-Mail pendragonpublishing@btinternet.com • Tel 01347 824397 [Mon.-Fri. 9.00am-5.00pm] Trade Account Manager Ann Williams Design + Repro Barnabus Design in Print • Typesetting Melinda Trevivian • IT Consultant
Backtrack1 min read
Up And Under At Worting Junction
A notable location on the London & South Western Railway main line in Hampshire, to the west of Basingstoke, is Worting Junction and the Battledown flyover. Worting Junction marks the divergence of the main lines from London to Southampton and to Exe
Backtrack24 min read
The Fort William-mallaig Line In 1986
The second half of the 1980s saw considerable changes on the 122¾-mile long West Highland main line between Glasgow Queen and Fort William (opened in 1894) and the 42-mile-long extension between Fort William and the west coast port of Mallaig which d
Backtrack14 min read
More Frustrations Of Fuel Efficiency Incomplete Combustion
In my previous series of articles, I concentrated on feed-water heaters as a way of improving fuel efficiency in steam locomotives. I now intend to discuss another major source of thermal wastage – poor and incomplete fuel combustion. One of the rule
Backtrack13 min read
Memories Of Angerstein Wharf 1949-1951
In 1949, towards the end of a somewhat nomadic schooling, the result of my father’s numerous promotions, the family was settled, for a few years at least, in a railway owned semi-detached property located adjacent to Orpington station. Previously liv
Backtrack20 min read
Blyth Spirit A Ghost Line Comes Back To Life
At one minute before midnight on Saturday 31st October 1964, the last passenger train left Blyth station in south east Northumberland for Newbiggin as passenger services along several lines in the area were withdrawn. The Newcastle Journal reported o
Backtrack13 min read
Back On The Erewash In 1968
On hearing the news of my promotion, Mother concluded that I had gone completely insane! “What was wrong with that nice little signal box at Kimberley? Why on earth do you want go all the way to Chesterfield on that awful Ml? You’ll have to lodge nea
Backtrack18 min read
Ingleton Forgotten Frontier
Today there is still a great viaduct in Ingleton which ought to be carrying the best, most direct and relatively low-lying main line from West Yorkshire to Scotland. Instead it is trackless and a memorial to the sheer obstinacy of two determined rail
Backtrack2 min read
A Beyer-garratt At Bedford
Sometime in the early 1980s a friend called to see me and to show me three photographs he though I might be interested in. All the photographs were of a Beyer-Garratt locomotive. There was nothing to say where or when, or who the photographer was. Wh
Backtrack20 min read
LONDON MIDLAND & SCOTTISH – THE CAMPING COACH BEHEMOTH
In continuing this history of the London Midland & Scottish Railway’s 1930s Camping Coach operation, we rejoin the activities in the summer season of 1937, when the company further expanded its caravan roster with 50 new conversions from redundant ro
Backtrack12 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
Backtrack4 min read
Book Reviews
★★★★★ Excellent | ★★★★ Very Good | ★★★ Good | ★★ Fair | ★ Poor| By Mark Yonge. Published by Pen & Sword Books, 268 pages, hardback, 127 colour and black-and-white illustrations. Published price £30 plus postage. Details from https://www.pen-and-sword

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