Steam World

Steam World is Britain's best selling historical railway magazine. Covering the magical times when steam railways were the lifeblood of the country. It features first-hand accounts from drivers, firemen, BR managers and enthusiasts alike. Featuring magnificent photography from the fifties and sixties, it will bring back wonderful memories coupled with inside information of what it was really like to work, travel and play on the world's best railway.

Steam World

CELEBRATING ANNIVERSARIES

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S&D SUMMER SATURDAYS • Don Benn recalls a memorable trip to the Somerset & Dorset in the summer of 1962 when the line was still at its best

RELAXING AT ROWFANT • Escape the bustle of the 21st Century by spending some time soaking up the peaceful atmosphere at Rowfant station

INVESTIGATING THE INGLETON BRANCH • Richard Foster pays tribute to a line that, for a quirk of history, had to play second fiddle to the Settle & Carlisle

UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT: No. 680 • Welcome to the first in an occasional series where we focus on one engine from one class. We start with an example from one of the least-known classes of Southern Railway 4-4-0.

RAILTOURS ON THE S&MLR • The Shropshire & Montgomeryshire couldn't survive in post-war Britain for long and so enthusiast groups were encouraged to organise railtours to take in its unique atmosphere, as Richard Foster explains.

GREAT SHOT

COLLETT'S ‘CASTLES’ AT 100 • Richard Foster picks ten ‘Castles’ to tell the story of one of the finest express 4-6-0s ever built in Britain

WOODCOCK: THE FORGOTTEN RECORD BREAKER • The wash-out that was July 2023 wasn't as severe as August 1948 which inspired one man to create a British record for steam that has sadly escaped the recognition it deserves. C. Horne and Richard Foster explore

PLATFORM • send your letters to Steam World, 4 Milnyard Square, Orton South gate, Peterborough PE2 6GX or steamworld@choicemag.co.uk

STEAM WORLD CROSSWORD

THE FUTURE OF THE VALE OF RHEIDOL? • Richard Foster looks at a report written in the summer of 1969 that offers a critique of what was now British Rail's only steam service.

THE BEST JOB ON THE RAILWAY • Victor Michael Barrington-Ward, British Railways’ first Operating Officer, might have retired in 1953 but problems still plagued the British Transport Commission. John Palmer brings the story of the BTC to its conclusion

1955-63 AN EIGHT-YEAR ADVENTURE • Geoff Rogers recalls eight years of growing up, travel and train spotting in north-east England. But, in 1959, he made a memorable trip to North Wales

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