The Churchward ‘Moguls’
Although many steam locomotives were designed for both passenger and freight traffic, few had the success of the Great Western’s ‘43XX’ class, a design that was to be the company’s maid of all work for more than half a century. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains all.
GWR '61XX' 2-6-2Ts
Although the Great Western Railway set out to produce a range of standard steam engines in the Churchward era, inevitably as time went on variants were produced for specific tasks. One of those were the ‘61XX’ 2-6-2Ts which were specifically provided for commuter services in London, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
Trailer Control
Bi-mode trains are all the rage now - but they are just the latest solution to a problem that has arisen before and which gave rise 50 years ago to a unique, but unpowered, multiple unit train known as the 4-TC, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES discovers.
Bulleid’s mixed traffic ‘Merchant Navy’
Born in wartime and constructed under false pretences, the ‘Merchant Navy’ 4-6-2s were one of the Southern Railway’s most groundbreaking designs. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES looks into the story of these remarkable locomotives.
Bulleid’s ‘Merchant Navy’
The Southern Railway’s ‘Merchant Navy’ locomotives were some of the best looking steam engines ever built and amongst the most technologically advanced too - but they had some features which proved troublesome in service, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES relates.
British Railways 4-VEP EMU
Electrification of Southern England's railway system extended progressively throughout the 20th Century and as it did so new electric trains were built to run on it. One of the most successful designs was the 4-VEP, introduced in 1967 as the network was extended to take in Bournemouth, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES found out.