TRACTION 217

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TRACTION 217 is now on sale .

 

 

Issue 217 of TRACTION has a distinct diesel-hydraulic feel to it, with Colin Boocock’s ‘THE WARSHIP ZONE’ tracing the development of this iconic Western Region type from its origins in the German Federal Railway’s V200 class.

 

Andrew James also looks at the performance of the class on the former LSWR main line from Waterloo to Exeter in ‘WARSHIPS ON THE SOUTH WESTERN’.

 

In our European feature we continue with the hydraulic theme with a brief look at probably the most successful of all German diesel locomotives, the Class 218 B’B’. In the photo feature ‘MUNICH AND ITS DIESEL HYDRAULICS’ Tom Braund recommends a visit to Bavaria to see them in action before the tide of new multiple units sweeps these powerful locomotives away.

 

Back in Britain, Phil Barnes photographed ‘E5001 ON THE MAIN LINE’ in the brief period of its use on specials before it was returned to the National Railway Museum at York.

 

Cliff Cook’s fascinating account of life on the railway in ‘STRATFORD SECONDMAN 1979-1984’ reaches part two in this issue and will, no doubt, bring back many memories for those who knew the Eastern Region at this time.

 

‘BLACK AND WHITE DAYS AT NORMANTON’ by Bill Jamieson is a reminder of not just how motive power has changed, but also how much of the infrastructure of Britain’s railways has disappeared in the last forty years. There’s no doubt that the expansive network of tracks, the signal boxes and complex semaphore signalling all added a lot to our interest in the railways.

 

J. Crosse looks back fifty years in his annual feature ‘1964 REVIEW OF THE YEAR’. It seems a different world altogether!

 

In what, I suspect, will be a popular two-part article Paul Nash begins a rail bash around the northern half of Britain in ‘DIARY OF A RAILROVER 1985: PART 1’.

 

Finally, for all diesel multiple unit fans, Gavin Morrison has checked his archives for images of the ‘TRANS PENNINE DMUS’. I lived by the Manchester to Leeds main line at the time of their introduction and well remember the excitement of January 1961, when steam was replaced by English Electric Type 4s on the Liverpool to Newcastle trains and the sleek new ‘Trans Pennines’ took over the Hull and Leeds to Liverpool workings. What a revelation they were, with their smooth riding and superb hill climbing abilities.

 

 

Don’t forget that the next issue of TRACTION will be on sale straight after the New Year on Friday 3rd January 2014.