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

70 GLORIOUS YEARS OF THE ‘GROVE’ AND ‘DEEPDENE’

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SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST? • Almost half of the 20,000 steam locomotives inherited by BR in 1948 dated back to pre-Grouping days. Philip Atkins explores the remarkable contrasts in locomotive longevity between the oldest survivors and their more modern successors.

A DAY TRIP TO CHALFORD • A somewhat crowded cab ride on a GWR ‘14XX’ 0-4-2T working an auto-train was the highlight when Roger Temple enjoyed a day out to Chalford in the Cotswolds on Saturday June 13 1964.

STEAM SURPRISES IN S COTLAND’S FAR NORTH • A pictorial post-script to the article in Steam World March 2022. By spring 1961 Ron Herbert and his father thought it might be too late to travel behind steam in the North of Scotland. In fact, their five- day adventure saw them hauled by some of the last pre-Grouping engines in traffic in the Far North.

PLATFORM • There was a great response to Stef Niewiadomski’s article in Steam World, April. Sixty years on it seems spotters are happy to admit their misdeeds of long ago and we’re delighted to publish a selection of their ‘confessions’

STEAM WORLD CROSSWORD

THE EAST COAST FLO ODS OF 1948 - PART 2 • After one third of Berwickshire’s annual rainfall fell in just six days in August 1948, major flooding washed away no fewer than seven bridges near Grantshouse in the Scottish Borders. Lorne Anton continues his review of the heroic civil engineering work to rebuild these bridges - and reopen the line within just 11 weeks.

GREAT SHOT

WHEN T’LOC O WERE OPP’N RAISING STEAM AT ROSE GROVE • In the conclusion of his fascinating series about his work as a behind-the-scenes steam-raiser at Rose Grove shed in Lancashire, Alan Benson recalls the workings of the giant coal hopper – and an MP’s protest against engine smoke. Part 2

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN FOR ME • Caught up with the desire to see some new diesels, Chris Leigh ventured off the Southern Region to find that the former GWR was his oyster, as he describes in the conclusion of his evocative series on his early spotting days. Part 3: Over to Iver…

BEAUTIFUL BALLAST! • Steam World Consultant Editor Nigel Harris recalls the days when manicuring the ballast shoulder by shovel was an art form…

THE LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE • The final weekend of the 1966 summer timetable was incentive enough for Keith Widdowson to undertake a live-night, 109-hour marathon visit to areas in Britain that still offered steam train travel.

Notebook extract

PICK ‘N’ MIX • This month’s selection of images has a personal connection for Chris Leigh and owes much to his recent electronic post-bag

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