Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2025 i Steam Days

As railway enthusiasts we understand how to get the best out of a journey, and that same thought goes into each magazine as we travel around Britain through the pages of every issue of Steam Days. Stops can be to indulge in photographic nostalgia, reminisce with enthusiasts or get a railwayman’s point of view, learn of everyday operations or of the rise and fall of a long-lost railway, and most of all to seek out some fascinating elements of the UK railway scene when steam locomotives were in everyday operation. The semaphore signal is ‘off,’ so make sure you never miss a copy and join us as a subscriber. CHOOSE WHICH STEAM DAYS SUBSCRIPTION SUITS YOU BEST 1: 12-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION BEST VALUE 12 print issues for £47 Direct Debit 12…

Readers Letters Thornton Junction outstations Sir: As a native of Leven, I was interested to read the Thornton Junction outstations article in the December 2024 issue. Page 28 shows a view of Methil taken in September 1968. The article states that the Wellesley Pit closed in 1972, but that was the year it was abandoned, coal production having ceased in July 1967. After that date the docks continued to handle coal from the Michael Colliery at East Wemyss and the Lochhead Colliery at Coaltown of Wemyss. The Michael closed after a tragic underground fire in September 1967, and mining at the Lochhead ceased in March 1970, after which rail activity at Methil came to an end. Arthur J Maxfield CIÉ photographs Sir: Thank you for the November issue; excellent, as…

I very much enjoyed the ‘Pullman predicament at Potters Bar’ article which appeared in Steam Days at the end of 2024. As well as being of railway interest, I recalled a similar incident which took place when I was very young on one of my late father Derek Cross’ famed railway expeditions. In turn, this inspired a wider look at sleeper trains on the Nith Valley route, not least when there was disturbed sleep for the passengers for one reason or another, or indeed a hiccup, or worse, that caused trouble for the staff and resulted in late running. Standard subs for ‘Sheffield’ Let’s go back to 1961, more than 60 years ago. Steam traction was still – just about – at its peak; see below! A very similar incident…

In the 19th century the word hurricane was used to describe storm-force winds of 75mph and above, the strongest wind force on the Beaufort scale – it derives from the Spanish ‘huracon,’ which itself comes from the West Indian Carib ‘hurecon.’ Earlier in the 18th century, however, it was a term used to describe a riot due to the noise. In due course, it was in November 1935 that the Hawker aircraft company’s prototype single-seat fighter K5083, designed by Sydney Camm, took to the air as the prototype Hurricane. Becoming iconic in service with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, during the Battle of Britain the Hawker Hurricane destroyed more enemy aircraft than the Spitfire and all other anti‑aircraft defences put together. Sydney Camm’s prototype first took…

Railway stations can be poignant places, entrepôts for greetings and farewells. You just need to watch Brief Encounter (1945) and Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson wrestling with emotions as well as grit in the eye at Carnforth station (as ‘Milford Junction’) to understand this. Railway stations were the Victorians’ equivalent of today’s airport and cruise terminals, and while the tickets may not lead to such exotic places, the joy of embracing a returned loved one or the heartbreak experienced from watching a train gradually disappear with a soulmate aboard are just as strong. In 2012, Christchurch (Dorset’s most easterly station) celebrated the 150th anniversary of the railway coming to the town centre on November 13, 1862, a century and a half of those comings and goings. Neither was this Christchurch’s…