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TRACTION 220


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TRACTION issue 220 is now on sale.

Back in the days when there were thousands of locomotives operating on Britain’s railways the more prestigious types, such as the ‘Deltics’, ‘Westerns’ and Class 50s tended to hog the limelight in the eyes of most enthusiasts. The reality for the railway was that the more mundane types were much more important for the day-to-day running of the network than those high profile locomotives. In this issue we are concentrating on the real workhorse of the railway in the form of the smaller diesel locomotives and diesel multiple units that used to be found in every corner of the country

Colin Boocock starts the celebration of the typical with his article ‘THE SULZER SIXES’ and looks in detail at the use of the Sulzer six cylinder power unit in the numerous smaller locomotives in the British Isles and elsewhere. The memory of the characteristic sound of a pair of Class 24s or 26s burbling away at the north end of Edinburgh Waverley on an Inverness train is, to me, every bit as evocative as the roar of a ‘Deltic’ at the other end of the station.

For the freight enthusiast one of the places to see lots of action was Wandsworth Road in south London. In his photograph feature ‘WANDSWORTH ROAD IN THE 1990s’, Steve Clark reminds us of those days when there was an endless stream of traffic to watch with a wide variety of motive power.

Simon Carter in the second part of ‘THE BABY DELTICS’ concludes the story of one of the less successful locomotive types. As well as detailing what happened to this small class he reveals some of the plans that didn’t come to fruition.
Bob Dunn continues his description of his experiences working as a driver at Wolverhampton in ‘OXLEY, A WORKING YARD SINCE 1849’. It’s a truly fascinating account of a side of modern railway operations that is rarely written about.
Our Black & White Days feature this issue is by Bob Avery and moves north to witness more hard working power in ‘LOCOMOTIVE HAULED IN SCOTLAND’.

I know I’m not the only one who misses those busy summer weekends when anything could turn up on expresses to the coast. Stephen Gandy lived in Devon and was on hand to witness the ‘SUMMER SATURDAY ‘PEAKS’ IN DEVON – FLASHBACK TO 1985’. He’s managed to compile a complete list of ‘Peak’ workings for that summer from a variety of sources, thus providing a valuable piece of historical research.

Following last issue’s look at the variety of French diesel power, Michael Watkins introduces us to the fascinating world of ‘FRENCH ELECTRIC POWER’. The varying voltage systems in different areas of France needing the provision of versions of the same type of locomotive powered by AC or DC current or both. In British terms imagine a Class 86 fitted with a pantograph and transformers for both 25KV AC and 1500V DC, so it could work on both the West Coast Main Line and the Woodhead route.

Returning to Britain, and the less glamorous side of operations, Andrew James in ‘DMU REVOLUTION: A CASE STUDY INTO THE UNDERRATED?’ shows how the first generation DMU improved services on many lines. Most enthusiasts tended to ignore the DMUs that provided most of the country’s secondary services which, considering the wide variety is no doubt something we look back on with regret for missed opportunities. Fortunately, some observers did take more interest in the humble DMU and recorded their work on a variety of services.

The Settle and Carlisle is justifiably one of the most popular lines among railway enthusiasts for both its scenery and the demanding work required of motive power. At its southern end lies Settle Junction and, in a combined feature, we have Gavin Morrison’s photo feature ‘SETTLE JUNCTION THROUGH THE YEARS’ and ‘THE START OF THE ‘LONG DRAG’ by Peter Welsh who suggests that this location would make a superb model railway.

The May/June TRACTION, issue 221, will be on sale Friday 4th April.
TRACTION now has a Facebook page so please visit it and add your comments. You can also complete the readers' survey online.

Go to: http://www.facebook.com/tractionbyatlantic

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Sorry, but I don't agree that Traction 220 was 'spoilt' by the article on French electrics. As long as it doesn't take over the magazine (and at 4 pages out of 64 it hardly did that) I have no objection at all to the occasional (or even regular) look at railways in other countries.

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Looks like an excellent issue but spoilt by the French stuff.

 

Do a European version but leave Traction as a UK based mag.

 

The reason TRACTION now has both a short model section and a European section is that this is what many readers have asked for. The European section which will usually be between 2 and 5 pages will cover diesels and electrics in a "historical" setting in the same way as its British content. No other English language magazine does this. To do a European version of TRACTION would not be economically viable. So, yes TRACTION will have some European material in every issue from now on for those readers (and there are many) who find railways outside the British Isles interesting. 

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