Backtrack  |  February 2018
Feb 2018
Freight through Warrington - colour spread by Tom Heavyside from the 1980s/90s.
Les Beet: Extracts from a Steam Locomotive Driver's Log Book - Part Two of Bruce Laws' notes on the career of a Nottingham footplateman's career.
Public and Private Opposition to Nineteenth Century Railways - by Jeffrey Wells.
The Fate of the Stainmore Route: Part Two - Edward Gibbins concludes his survey of the battles to close or save this famous trans-Pennine line.
The Ambergate Junction Complex - Jeffrey Wells looks at the rise and fall of a once notable Derbyshire junction.
90 Years of the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society - marking a notable anniversary of one of the longest-established railway societies.
The Shores of the Utmost West - four pages of Dick Riley's colour on the Devon coast.
Looks can be Deceptive - three colour pages featuring the oddly unsuccessful LMS 2-6-2 tanks.
Western Waysides - archive photos of rural stations on Great Western lines.
Poor Postal Services to Scotland - Alistair F. Nisbet looks at problems in getting the mail by train to and from the Far North.
The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee - David Pearson describes a series of unintended consequences in the history of this Irish narrow gauge system.
The Black Pugs of Ayrshire - David Idle's colour photographs of industrial steam in the Ayrshire coalfield.
Tackling the Gradient: Part Two - Miles Macnair describes the work of John Fell and looks at some locomotive/cable hybrids intended to address the problems of steam railway inclines.
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The specialist magazine was first published in 1986 for the purpose of ‘recording the history of Britain’s railway’ - the magazine’s strapline - and it is now published by Pendragon Publishing. Dropping every month, Backtrack magazine is your monthly dose of railway nostalgia and historical insight.
35 years later and Backtrack has firmly established itself as the authority on topics such as the history of Britain and Ireland’s train stations, railway bridges, signalling, biographies, train services and staff recollections - all of which regularly appear in the magazine. Backtrack's contributors include many of today's leading railway history writers and the magazine has a reputation for being of the highest quality.
With a multitude of unmissable monthly features, every issue aims to chronicle and record part of the history of Britain’s railway system. Every issue contains a dozen or so large articles that focus on a particular line or area in British railway history.
Whether you’re into early railway history from the 'pre-Stephenson' era, steam, diesel or electric locomotive you’ll find every era covered in minute detail - from railway company history, railway carriages and wagons, railway stations, railway ships, hotels and road vehicles, railway economic and social history and railway publicity and advertising.
A Backtrack digital magazine subscription is your go-to for railway history:
- Britain's leading historical railway magazine
- Delving into the era of horse-drawn tramroads up to locomotives and rolling stock
- History of lines, the social, political, financial, engineering and labour aspects of the railway
- Archive black and white quality images and historical colour coverage of the railway scene
- The history of train stations, railway bridges, signalling, biographies and train services
- Contributors include many of today's leading railway history writers
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You'll receive 12 issues during a 1 year Backtrack magazine subscription.
Note: Digital editions do not include the covermount items or supplements you would find with printed copies.
Articles in this issue
Below is a selection of articles in Backtrack February 2018.