Headline News

Abellio wins Greater Eastern franchise; Cargo-D goes into Administration; Former Flying Scotsman owner dies; Financial woes at Fairbourne; ORR?has issues over ‘Pacers’; More passengers since 1920s; Long Marston becomes newest heritage rail centre.

Track Record

62 Steam & Heritage
‘Caley’ 0-6-0 wows Severn Valley crowds; S&D theme at GCR?gala; Steam to return to Hunsbury Hill.

73 Railtours
‘Help for Heroes’ special postponed; Charity train raised £40,000; ‘Belles’ mobile wine-and-dine shop.

78 Traction & Stock
ECML performance pinned on ‘Project Falcon’; LM?Class 150 cascade details; Transfesa buys Class 58s.

83 Traction Update
Scrapped, repainted, named or sold? Full details here.

86 Freight

88 Network
Blackfriars to be biggest solar bridge; New frontage for Glasgow Queen St; Community Rail Award winners.

91 Narrow Gauge
Hunslet ladies crowned ‘Queens of Hills’; Axle failure caused Bure Valley derailment; Dinorwic wagon restored.

94 Classic Traction
‘Deltic’ 55002 is back; 4-COR carries passengers; ‘Grid’ debuts at Mid-Norfolk; ‘Chopper’ back at Wirksworth.

97 Metro

98 World
Daily Germany-China freight launched; High speed in Morroco; Railjets find new home.

100 Operations News
A round-up of news from the train and freight operating companies.

Regulars

32 Subscriptions Offer

43 Reviews

56 Panorama
Our monthly showcase of some of the best images in railway photography.

60 Platform
Your lively monthly letters page.

107 100 Years Ago
What Britain’s senior rail tile was reporting 20, 50 and 100 years ago.

108 Meetings
Details of railway society meetings near you.

109 Heritage Diary
A comprehensive listing of dates when heritage railways and steam centres will run Santa Specials.

113 Reader Services

114 Prize Crossword

114 Where Is It?

Features

14 The Flying Scotsman saga
After a high profile launch, Chris Milner looks at the latest problems that have set back the return to steam of A3 No. 4472 Flying Scotsman by six months.

18 Death in Captivity
In the final part of an exclusive survey, Peter Nicholson reveals that an alarming number of steam locos were cut up after being earmarked for preservation, and that William Stanier had a destructive as well as a creative side.

24 Settle & Carlisle freight focus
Once facing closure, the Settle &?Carlisle line is once again a freight artery, as our pictorial special shows.

27 A Vanishing Breed
With the news that semaphore signalling is to be swept away by 2020, Dafydd Whyles looks at the last pockets of signals in East Anglia.

34 Full Circle
Tony Sparks tells the story behind the installation of the Great Central Railway’s turntable at Quorn.

38 Back and Forth
For Practice &?Performance, John Heaton looks at train performance on the four different routes between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

43 Christmas Gift and Reviews
Our special seasonal guide is full of gift ideas, books, calendars and DVD?reviews.

53 The Final Push
A chance to own a share of the World’s oldest railway company - the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland.