Contents November 2009. No. 1,303. Vol 155. A journal of record since 1897

Headline News 60 Alstom and Bombardier show off Thameslink train designs; Glasgow Airport link cancelled; Refugees hail Winton; Chiltern to take over Wrexham operations; Anger as Thames axed from Tube maps; No Sunday trains for London Midland; GNER name re-emerges.

An artist’s impression of the X’Trapolis EMU, which Alstom is proposing for Thameslink. See Headline News

On the cover MAIN IMAGE: British Railways’ ‘Lion and Wheel’ logo, which adorned the sides of its locomotives for most of the 1950s.

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INSET: The first General Electric Class 70 locos, due to land in Britain in November. Picture: FREIGHTLINER

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Track Record The Railway Magazine’s monthly news digest 69 Steam & Heritage N2 and quad-arts star at North Norfolk; Steam shortage at East Lancs; Cornish visitors to North-east; Severn Valley reviews Bridgnorth site; NVR cancels gala. 78 Railtours ‘Torbays’ cancelled; Railtour to run through the night.

83 Narrow Gauge K1 returns to birthplace; Sister locos re-united. 86 Traction & Stock New Wrexham stock arrives; East Midlands £9m HST upgrade; Air-con trials for GBRf Class 66s. 92 Metro Tram-train trial U-turn. 93 Network Network Rail’s new HQ plans unveiled; Great Western strategy outlined; Work begins at Borough Market. 96 Classic Traction Last big event for Barrow Hill? Mangapps celebrates. 99 World News ‘Kingston Flyer’ doubts; ‘Adios’ for Spain’s Talgo 3. 100 Operations Our monthly round-up of news from the TOCs. 106 Disposals and Stock Spot Repainted, named, sold or scrapped? Full details here.

SET starts naming its ‘Javelins’. Traction & Stock – p86.

Regulars 55 Photo of the Month Buy a copy of a classic photo from our archive.

57 Subscription Offer More and more readers are subscribing. Why not join them and never worry about The RM being sold out. 66 Multiple Aspects Columnist Lord Berkeley shares his opinions on the state of Britain’s railways. 67 Heritage Diary Where to go for steam and classic traction this autumn. 67 100 Years Ago A look back to what The RM was reporting 20, 50 and 100 years ago. 98 Reader Holiday to New Zealand Why not leave the recession behind and travel with like-minded readers on our railway holiday.

107 Meetings A summary of club meetings and film shows of

Buy your own copy of this classic shot – see p55 for details.

interest to railway enthusiasts.

109 Location, Location, Location Our guide on how to find some good locations for railway photography.

114 BR Prize Crossword Your chance to win £100 worth of books in our popular prize crossword. This month it’s about BR.

The first photo of completed Freightliner Class 70s. The livery style has been revised to include a bold downward sweep, seen on Nos. 70005 and 70006 outside the GE plant at Erie, USA. Painting the grille yellow has given them a less-formidable look than was seen in our September issue. FREIGHTLINER

Above: The visit of 0-6-2T No. 1744 to North Norfolk this autumn allowed an N2 and a quad-art to be paired for the first time in some five decades. The one-time London commuter train passes Weybourne windmill on September 5 (see Steam News, p70). PETER FOSTER

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6 Introduction to BR The editor sets the scene on the British Railways era.

ts that made the Whole

9 The Parts that made the Whole The ‘Big Four’ railways came together to form BR. Here we summarise them.

12 The Birth of British Railways David Stewart-David outlines the achievements of Sir Cyril Hurcomb, the fi rst chairman of the British Transport Commission.

18 A New Golden Age Under Sir Brian Robertson, modernisation of BR was carried out the military way, as Keith Farr explains.

28 Axeman or Surgeon? The name of Dr Richard Beeching will long be remembered for line closures, but did he actually save the railways from a worse fate, asks Keith Farr.

34 The Transition Years BR chairman Sir Stanley Raymond continued the momentum set in motion by Beeching, but in a fair manner, as told by David Stewart-David.

38 End of an Era To round off the fi rst half of the BR story, Ian Day tells the story of Sir Henry Johnson, an exrailwayman who had no compassion for steam. 43 What REALLY Happened to Steam For more than 20 years, books and magazines have unwittingly perpetuated errors concerning the withdrawal and scrapping of BR steam. In an RM

exclusive, Roger Butcher tells of the background to a new project that aims to put the record straight.

50 Top Link, Top Shed The line between York and Darlington is one of BR’s famous racing stretches. In a special BR-related episode of Practice & Performance this month,

John Heaton analyses fast runs with top-link crews.

58 BR Network Map A map of the BR network at its greatest extent in 1948/49. Many of the lines shown had disappeared by the time Beeching arrived on the scene.

THE BR STORY

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THE BEECHING ERA 1961-1965

Doctor Beeching: A xeman or surgeon?He was the man thousands loved to hate, but, says the operation he performed on a seriously ill BR helped save its life. He was even accused of being ‘pro-rail’!

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BR TIMELINE

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AXEMAN? The Beeching story – p28

November 2009 • The Railway Magazine • 5 November 2009 • The Railway Magazine • 5