Features

44 The magnificent seven
It does not get much better than this for diesel fans. The modern traction equivalent of the National Railway Museum’s planned line-up of all six extant A4 Pacifics saw all seven surviving Deltics brought together for the first time at the Locomotion museum in Shildon, after which the five operational examples travelled together to the East Lancashire Railway for a special weekend of running also to mark the 50th anniversary of the production Class 55s entering service, reports Robin Jones.

67 Sunderland’s steam stadium of light
Monkwearmouth station is probably one of Britain’s less well-known transport museums, but it has seen major developments in recent years. Neil T Sinclair, who was the first curator, outlines the history of one of Britain’s finest station buildings and the changes from its purchase for conversion to a museum 40 years ago to the opening of the new Wagon Shed to house restored rolling stock.

70 Upgrade signals - it’s a long haul
Almost any signalling upgrade takes a long time to be completed from the initial announcement through to the completion of the project. But when it takes place on a heritage line it invariably takes even longer, as Peter Brown reports from Horsted Keynes on the Bluebell Railway.

76 A Lifetime in Steam
Rarely does an entire collection of railway photographs dating back to 1952 become freshly available for publishing today, but on the death of Nottingham enthusiast and photographer John Procter in 2007, video cameraman David Richards came into possession of his entire collection, and it is now available in the form of a photographic album.

90 Saturday Morning Pictures - chance encounters
Did three pictures taken in 30 minutes at Stratford in the autumn of 1961 lead to three engines being restored to their 1961 liveries again over the next half century? Also, a haunting revelation by Geoff Silcock from 20 years ago about the N7 0-6-2T in the former Stratford diesel repair shop that is now part of the 2012 Olympic and International station.

Regulars

6 Headline news
Death of Flying Scotsman’s former owner Dr Tony Marchington; Patriot wheels paid for by Heritage Railway readers now complete, engineer Roland Kennington awaits verdict on Southall suspension and David Ward explains why main line steam may self destruct.

10 News
Flying Scotsman overhaul now set to hit £2.million; Jeremy Hosking in bid to buy Severn Valley Standard 4MT tank; tribute to railway photographer Roger Siviter; boiler problems halt main line tests for blue King; gala action from Great Central, Keighley, Foxfield, North Yorkshire Moors and Severn Valley railways; another coach for KWVR Lancashire & Yorkshire train: vegetation causes Wensleydale crossing crash, Fairbourne launches fighting fund; axle fatigue caused Bure Valley derailment, Didcot Railway Centre saved after 50-year lease signed, Ffestiniog Railway to rebuild oldest London Underground coach and plans for a steam railway tunnel between Scotland and Ireland rediscovered.

50 Railwayana
Geoff Courtney’s regular update on the latest auction prices and what is coming up for sale.

54 Centre
GWR 4-6-0 No. 6024 King Edward Iheading a late night Severn Valley service at Bewdley is this month’s centre spread by Alan Corfield.

56 Main Line News
Tangmere repaired at Carnforth, Heroes trip hit by gauging issues, ‘Lizzie’ suffers hotbox, Tornado record-breaking 500-mile marathon, Britannia hauls VSOE Pullman and Sir Nigel Gresley not back until next year.

61 Main Line Itinerary
Brian Sharpe’s definitive guide to steam and heritage modern traction railtours.

61 The Thin Red Line
David Wilcock poses the question as to whether there was an official cover up of a fatal accident on the Longmoor Military Railway.

88 Scale Heritage Railway
NRM Midland Compound, Farish Metro-Cammell DMU, N gauge Tornado from Farish, Limited Hornby King Arthur and weathered Maunsell N from Bachmann.

94 Platform
The pages where your views matter most, including a suggestion that all three preserved Duchesses should be brought together in steam.

96 Morgan
New managers are needed for the future.

98 Up & Running
Brian Sharpe’s complete listing of heritage lines and museum venues.

106 Next Issue