RMweb Premium steverabone Posted November 28, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 28, 2020 (edited) Welcome to this rather special issue of TRACTION in which we celebrate the Rail Blue years of British Rail. It was an era which many readers of TRACTION remember with great affection as, somehow, those years of the 1970s and 1980s managed to combine something of the old steam age railway with an increasingly modern one. We start with the short period when pairs of Class 50s were introduced to speed up the principal services north of Crewe on the main line to Scotland. Jon Littlewood and David Clough take us back to those heady days when high speed diesel traction roared over the northern hills. David Hayes concludes his look at the Midland Main Line using photos by Kevin Lane; in this issue it is the turn of the southern part of the line into London between Harpenden and St. Pancras. I’m sure most enthusiasts have tales of unexpected events on their travels by train when something unusual happened to add interest. Barrie Rigg talks about ‘Those occasional oddities’ on his journeys around the north of England. We start a two part feature by David Hayes about the distinctive tanker trains run for the British Oxygen Company. The first part looks at the 1970s and 1980s with the later years following in the next issue. Staying with freight traffic, John Dedman recalls the short period in 1985 when Class 45s were scheduled to power Severn Tunnel Junction to Eastleigh Speedlink freights. The ‘Deltics’ were, of course, no strangers to Scotland although, as a rule, they were largely confined to the East Coast Main Line between Berwick and Edinburgh. Richard MacLennan has looked at how widely the Class 55s actually travelled on lines north of the Border with some surprising conclusions. Martin Axford recounts his photographic experiences with different cameras in his younger days with particular emphasis on his favourites, the Class 33s. Finally Gavin Morrison presents a selection of Rail Blue images ranging across Britain from Penzance to Georgemas Junction. In TRACTION MODELLING we feature a fascinating layout which imagines that the Somerset and Dorset Line did not close after all but was modernised and survived into the Rail Blue period. There’s also a detailing feature about weathering a Class 40 as a review of the new Bachmann Class 414 2-HAP unit. Edited November 28, 2020 by steverabone 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David J Hayes Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 (edited) Well done to the TRACTION team for producing a wonderful themed issue, within which I'm very pleased to have had material included. A nice touch is that the cover shot of issue 261 features 40061 (formerly 261). I, for one, hope that this special edition is well-received by the readership and leads to further themed issues of TRACTION appearing in future. Cheers. Edited November 29, 2020 by David J Hayes 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevebr Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 After finding the last issue a bit average this is a really good issue which I read cover to cover (well the electronic equivalent) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Legend Posted November 29, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2020 Can I just ask when is it available in shops ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium steverabone Posted November 29, 2020 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2020 The printed version was published on Friday 27th so should be in the shops already and if not in the next few days. The digital version is available a few days before the print version. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grampus Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 Well done! I thought this was a particularly good edition. I especially enjoyed the features on peaks on Severn Tunnel to Eastleigh Speedlink services, the 'BOC trains; feature and Martin Axford's reminiscences of his spotting days; you can never have too many Cromptons in an issue! On a personal note I was particularly pleased to see the photograph of my late Grandfather's house beside the line, just shy of Skew Bridge, probably one of the most photographed houses in Salisbury, albeit only accidentally! (the picture of 50043 heading west out of Salisbury on p.58 - Martin only mentions the Cathedral :-) ). My grandfather was a career railwayman and my Dad grew up in that house, which was a railway property at the time. I have fond memories of sitting up in the window closest to the line and feeling the whole place vibrate with the passage of each train. Thanks again and looking forward to the next edition. Best wishes, Paul 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 I must see if Tesco have it in Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Banger Blue Posted December 1, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 1, 2020 4 hours ago, ess1uk said: I must see if Tesco have it in https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Store/Latest-Issue/traction Free P&P Just in case Tesco doesn't have it! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Covkid Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 On 29/11/2020 at 01:03, David J Hayes said: Well done to the TRACTION team for producing a wonderful themed issue, within which I'm very pleased to have had material included. A nice touch is that the cover shot of issue 261 features 40061 (formerly 261). I, for one, hope that this special edition is well-received by the readership and leads to further themed issues of TRACTION appearing in future. Cheers. Looking forward to getting this one, as I remember the BOC trains on the LMR at least. During the 1982 strikes they were some of the most important trains to run, keeping the hospitals supplied with oxygen. I recall us going light to North Wembley with a class 47 to work some empties north. IIRC we were relieved at Bescot by an onward crew taking it to Ditton. Also looked forward to seeing and hearing the empties from Monmore Green (6F57 David ??) thrashing past Bescot with an English Electric 4 on the front. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David J Hayes Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 Yes, "Covkid", 6F57 was the afternoon return empties from Monmore Green to Ditton and makes for a cracking cover shot by David Rostance. Hope you enjoy the feature and issue 261 as a whole. Cheers. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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