Steam Days

Steam Days is a monthly magazine dedicated to all steam railway enthusiasts. Each issue covers the six regions of British Railways: Western, Southern, London, Midland, Eastern, and Scottish, with the occasional article on Irish railways and the industrial scene. These well illustrated articles in the magazine cover the history of the railways of Britain from the early days of the 1800s through to the end of steam on British Railways in August 1968.

Steam Days

TRAINS of thought

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Bicester is best • Andrew Britton recalls the latter days of steam at Bicester on the Paddington-Banbury and Oxford-Bletchley lines, as well as considering the rail network of the town’s army ordnance depot.

Scotland’s Gresley 2-6-2Ts – the prime years • Designed for short and medium distance passenger services, David Anderson and Andrew Kennedy review the long-standing Scottish work of the ‘V1’ and ‘V3’ tank engines in the 1930 to 1957 period.

STREAM DAYS In Colour 220: Teesside: Saltburn to Thornaby • The Stockton & Darlington Railway extended across the River Tees to Redcar in 1858 and on to Saltburn in 1861. The North Eastern Railway absorbed the S&D two years later and with further acquisitions had an unassailable hold on all railway operations in the North East by the turn of the century. Starting at the seaside terminus at Saltburn, we journey inland along the south bank of the River Tees estuary through the heavy industry and docklands in and around Middlesbrough as far as Thornaby. Freight traffic was extensive and usually routed through Middlesbrough over a parallel network of goods lines that ran alongside those used by passenger trains, with more permissive operating practices allowing for local shunts and moves. Passenger trains served workers, tourism and even daytrippers to Redcar racecourse but from 1958 these were an early victim of dieselisation.

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Discovering sheds and works as a Lancashire trainspotter • Chris Forrest began visiting engine sheds in 1947 at the age of 13, these recollections including some regular haunts in the Manchester and Liverpool areas, as well as three railway works within easy reach.

HELP PRESERVE A RAIL LEGACY

The Farnborough (North) line An operational view • Situated between Reading and Guildford on ex-South Eastern Railway metals, Swedebasher reviews the traffic through Farnborough (North) station in the mid-1950s.

Tail Lamp • Readers’ Letters