RAILWAY HISTORY
Join us and delve into the archives to discover the stories of locomotive classes large and small, learn how the railway worked, and why it was built in this amalgamation of the popular Reality Check and Railway Realism sections from Hornby Magazine.
Railway Realism: Chinley
Once the centre of a busy railway network Chinley, in Derbyshire, is now but a shadow of its former self. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES looks at the rise and fall of this important railway landmark.
EVAN GREEN-HUGHES
Reality Check: GWR ‘Kings’ - the ultimate 4-6-0
Widely regarded as the ultimate development of the Great Western 4-6-0, ‘Kings’ were locomotives of great beauty and extremely powerful workhorses as well, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES relates.
EVAN GREEN-HUGHES
Reality Check: The ‘Electric Scot’ - BR’s Class 87s
For many years the premier express locomotives on the West Coast Main Line were the Class 87s, but they have now fallen from grace though surprisingly many are enjoying a second but rather less glamorous career, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
EVAN GREEN-HUGHES
Reality Check: Stanier’s ‘Duchess’ class 'Pacifics
Although eclipsed in the public’s imagination by engines from rival railways the LMS ‘Duchesses’ were the most powerful passenger locomotives of their time and given other circumstances might have even held the world steam speed record, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
EVAN GREEN-HUGHES
Class 92 Electrics
Throughout the history of Britain’s railways there have been many locomotives and trains with troubled histories, with amongst the most recent the Class 92 electrics - a design that has struggled to find its rightful place on today’s railway despite its immense capability, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES
The Crosti ‘9Fs’ - a bold experiment
One of the most easily identifiable of the ‘standard’ classes was the small group of Crosti boilered ‘9F’ 2-10-0s, a peculiar design which had the chimney halfway down the boiler and which was anything but a success.
EVAN GREEN-HUGHES
The Southern Railway 'Lord Nelson' 4-6-0s
During the 1920s the Southern Railway identified a requirement for a powerful yet fast locomotive for use on its continental boat train services, and this was to lead to the development of the ‘Lord Nelson’ class, a design that perhaps never really lived up to its full potential. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES takes up the story.
EVAN GREEN-HUGHES
TRACKSIDE EQUIPMENT - PART 3
In the final part of his series looking at lineside equipment, SIMON PALEY turns his attention to the all-important signs which provide vital information.
BARROW HILL ROUNDHOUSE
The circular engine shed, or roundhouse, was once one of the most common structures on the railway but over the years hundreds have been demolished, leaving the one at Barrow Hill in Derbyshire as the only example still working and in anything like original condition, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES describes.
MODERN TRACKSIDE EQUIPMENT - PART 2
In this second installment exploring lineside equipment on today’s railway, SIMON PALEY focuses on track mounted infrastructure and outlines how you can model it.
KEEPING TRAINS MOVING
Although trains run on what is usually termed the permanent way, in fact it is anything but permanent and requires constant attention and replacement. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES looks at how track is maintained and how that process has changed over the years.
REALITY CHECK: The Fell diesel locomotive story
In the quest to replace steam locomotives, one of the most remarkable designs was the one-off Fell diesel, which combined an innovative engine and transmission system with multiple power units, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
British Rail's Mk2 DBSOs
Railway operators are always seeking ways to improve efficiency, and one of the most interesting results of this process was the conversion of a number of brake coaches to include a cab, enabling a train to be driven from either end. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES looks more closely at British Rail’s Mk2 Driving Brake Second Opens.
MODERN TRACKSIDE EQUIPMENT - PART 1
Have you ever wondered what the various items of lineside equipment are on today’s modern railway? In the first of a series of articles, SIMON PALEY outlines the role they play and how you can replicate them in model form.
Mail by Rail
At one time an important and profitable source of income for the railways, mail traffic has largely disappeared from the system. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES traces the history and decline of mail by rail.
CLASS 769 BI-MODE UNITS
Repurposing and recycling are very much in vogue at the moment, but are principles rarely applied to trains. However, that is now all changing with the rebuilding of surplus electric multiple units into versatile and useful bi-mode trains, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
Eastern promise... UNFULFILLED
The recent introduction of a model of the 1903-built petrol-electric Autocar has aroused much interest in early forms of alternative traction – many of which were pioneered by railways in North Eastern England, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
EASTERN REGION HISTORY
Of all the regions created when the railways were nationalised, the Eastern was perhaps the most forward-looking, yet many aspects of its advances are today not widely appreciated, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
NATIONAL ‘GRIDS’ - THE CLASS 56
The Class 56 is one of only a few British diesel locomotive classes to be designed specifically for heavy freight work and has nowadays largely disappeared from the network - although those that remain could have an interesting future. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains all.
DEEP UNDERGROUND
With a route mileage of just under 250 and serving 272 stations, the London Underground network carries around five million passengers a day, yet attracts little attention from enthusiasts and modellers. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES delves into the fascinating history of this unique system, much of which is normally well hidden from public view.
Farewell to the ‘Bubbles’ Class 121 and 122 DMUs
On May 19 2017, the final examples of British Railway’s famous ‘bubble cars’ were withdrawn from mainline service after a remarkable career spanning 57 years, during which time they have gone through many modifications and changes to their duties. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES reflects on the story of the Class 121 and 122 DMUs.
The East Coast Class 91s
Although a staple of the East Coast Main Line for the last three decades the Class electrics are now coming to the end of their illustrious careers, during which time each has covered more than seven million miles, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES reports.
Great Central Railway Reborn
Although the Great Central Railway closed as a through route in 1966, the memory of this once ground-breaking line has been kept alive by what has become one of the country’s greatest preservation projects, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES describes.
THE CLASS 86 ELECTRICS
Despite being the largest single class of electric locomotive in the country, the Class 86 has never attracted much attention from either enthusiasts or modellers, yet it was the workhorse of the West Coast route for more than 20 years, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
Merry-go-round Trains
Doctor Beeching is more commonly known as the man who destroyed much of our railway system, but his time in office also produced initiatives that helped the railway to prosper, including the introduction of the ‘merry-go-round’ train for handling the transport of coal, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES describes.
Final days of the diesel hydraulics
One of the shortest-lived initiatives of British Railways’ 1955 Modernisation Plan was the use of diesel-hydraulic traction on the Western Region. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES takes a look at the demise of these famous locomotives, and explains why they had such brief lives.
The Class 14 - Swindon’s big misjudgement
Of all the diesels built during the modernisation of British Railways the Class 14s stand out as one of the shortest lived – not because they were a poor design but because they were built to the wrong specification at the wrong time. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES looks at the history of this small class.
British Rail’s tiling test - the Class 370 APT
Perhaps one of the most spectacular failures of railway engineering that has ever taken place in this country was the tilting Advanced Passenger Train, a multi-million pound project that failed to enter reliable public passenger service, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
The Vanwides - BR’s last vacuum-braked pallet van
The Vanwide or VEA van is the currently being developed as a new ready-to-run model in ‘OO’, ‘N’ and ‘O’ gauge by Bachmann, Sonic Models and Dapol respectively. DAVID RATCLIFFE explains how BR’s last vacuum-braked pallet van came to be.
The Caledonian ‘812’
Functional and workmanlike goods engines were very much a feature of the late Victorian railway scene, but few matched the beauty and level of performance of the Caledonian Railway’s ‘812’ 0-6-0s, a real maid of all work, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.