RMweb Premium steverabone Posted February 5, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 5, 2014 The next issue of TRACTION will be on sale from Friday 7th February. Members of RM Web will be pleased to know that from the next issue (TRACTION 220) there will be a return of some specific modelling content. When passengers board a train it’s unlikely that they give a moment’s thought to where and how their train was prepared for use; the maintenance of the vehicles is something that goes on behind closed doors in depots. To find out more, we asked Bob Dunn to write about how his local depot at Oxley prepares trains. Nowadays, of course, it’s mainly Virgin ‘Pendolinos’, but Bob has drawn on his own experiences to describe how Oxley worked when trains were locomotive hauled. The first section of his three-part article ‘OXLEY DEPOT’ appears in this issue. Back in the 1990s Steve Gandy spent a day beside the Taunton to Exeter line photographing trains. His feature ‘WEST COUNTRY LIVERY VARIATIONS IN 1997’ looks back at the early days of the privatised railway. Whilst locomotive haulage of passenger trains has disappeared from much of Britain’s railways, one company that has re-introduced them is Chiltern Railways. With Class 67s powering services with demanding schedules and significant loadings, we asked Jon Littlewood to investigate. In ‘50 MINUTES TO BANBURY’ he reveals just how exciting travelling on these trains can be. Colin Boocock recalls the saga of ‘THE ADVANCED PASSENGER TRAINS’ built by British Rail; sadly the concept wasn’t a total success and the project was abandoned, with Britain’s passengers having to wait many years before tilting trains were re-introduced. If there is one aspect of being a railway enthusiast today that I miss, it’s the disappearance of the magic of ‘Summer Saturdays’. I spent many a Saturday on stations watching those trains of slightly decrepit Mark 1s taking holidaymakers to the coast. Peter Rose has put together a selection of photographs and reminds us what it was like on ‘SUMMER SATURDAYS AROUND SHEFFIELD’. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the announcement that the Settle and Carlisle line was to be reprieved. In more uncertain times Peter Cooper made the journey to record ‘THE END OF THE NOTTINGHAM TO GLASGOW SERVICES ON THE SETTLE AND CARLISLE’ on the final day’s workings in May 1982. Of course we all know that, for once, it wasn’t the beginning of the end for the line, but just a temporary dip in its fortunes. Gavin Morrison takes us on a journey to a railway location that, sadly, didn’t see better days. His photographs of ‘SEVERN TUNNEL JUNCTION’ are a reminder that this once busy and vital freight yard in South Wales no longer exists, killed off by the changes in British industry and the decline in wagonload freight trains. The story of one of the least successful of BR diesel types is told by Simon Carter in the first part of a detailed study of the ‘BABY DELTICS’. Quite why BR and English Electric were prepared to spend so much time and effort on a class of just ten locomotives is hard to understand. Suzanne Robinson’s photograph feature records ‘A DAY IN THE LIFE OF TOTON DEPOT’ in 1973, just before the introduction of the TOPS renumbering scheme. Finally, in our European section, Michael Watkins introduces us to the variety of French diesel locomotives and multiple units to be found in the early years of the 21st century in ‘FRENCH DIESEL POWER’. French railways are not all glamorous TGVs! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold D9020 Nimbus Posted February 6, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 6, 2014 I remember reading (quite some time ago) that BR persevered with the Baby Deltics because their engines were effectively higher-rated than the class 55s; they were effectively "half" of one of the class 55's two engines, and the work was done in the hope that there would be a 4400hp "Super-Deltic" but of course it never happened. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonC Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I thought it was a really good issue this month and enjoyed pretty much all the articles with perhaps the exception of the French diesels. Otherwise fantastic! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tractionman Posted February 28, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 28, 2014 I thought it was a really good issue this month and enjoyed pretty much all the articles with perhaps the exception of the French diesels. Otherwise fantastic! same here, though I liked the French diesels too - great looking locos to my eye! cheers, Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium steverabone Posted February 28, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted February 28, 2014 same here, though I liked the French diesels too - great looking locos to my eye! cheers, Keith Look out for issue 220 next Friday. This time it's the turn of French electrics which look just as interesting as the diesels.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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