Backtrack

A fleet of twenty Type 2 Co-Bo locomotives was ordered by British Railways from the Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Co. as part of the 'pilot scheme' of 174 locomotives to evaluate various designs. The locomotives incorporated a Crossley 1,200hp two-

When the great and the good of London's railways gathered on a chilly Friday 9th December 1932 they marked both a beginning and an end. One purpose was to celebrate the opening of one of the last surface railways to be built in Greater London, the Me

It is not unknown to hear somebody complain that the train service at their nearest station is “no better than it was in the days of steam” or words to that effect, although whether this refers to the frequency or the speed, or perceived lack of it,

Railways were late in coming to the Tendring Hundred in north east Essex, an area of some 80,000 acres of rich farmland extending from Colchester in the west to the North Sea in the east. Local businessmen in the port town of Mistley set up the Mistl

The despatch of Government mails between England and Ireland (London and Dublin) was of paramount importance in the years leading up to and beyond 1800. The transport of mails by road presented carriers with many difficulties, not least the amount of

The Barry Railway was the brainchild of David Davies, owner of the Ocean Coal Company collieries, mainly located in the Rhondda Valley. During the 1870s, like many coal owners, he was frustrated by the sloth of the Taff Vale Railway (TVR) and Cardiff

The earliest examples of the use of oil as a fuel for firing steam locomotives were not in any way the result of carefully pre-planned experiments. In fact, the first came about as the result of a geological feature, when deposits of crude oil were f

DAVID IDLE visited Southall locomotive shed, in west London, on 23rd October 1965, just two months before its closure. The place already had that look about it…

Mention has often been made in Backtrack of the vital role played in the nation's life by the railways’ ownership of docks, ports and shipping fleets ranging from Channel steamers to humble coasters and tugs. Here, then, are some views of the railway

In Backtrack No. 36/4 for April 2022 I wrote about F. S. William's Our Iron Roads, broadly-based history published in 1852, intended for the general reader. Twelve years earlier, in 1837, it had been preceeded by S. C. Bree's Railway Practice, strict

The name ‘Joyce Whitchurch’ will be familiar to anyone who has used a medium to large railway station just about anywhere in the country. That name has for many years adorned and indeed continues to adorn so many large round clock faces above or behi