Steam World

Steam World is Britain's best selling historical railway magazine. Covering the magical times when steam railways were the lifeblood of the country. It features first-hand accounts from drivers, firemen, BR managers and enthusiasts alike. Featuring magnificent photography from the fifties and sixties, it will bring back wonderful memories coupled with inside information of what it was really like to work, travel and play on the world's best railway.

Steam World

BEAUTY – IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

CALL ATTENTION • Chris Leigh calls attention to some photo-stories with some questions – and answers, too.

‘BRITS’ ON RAILTOURS • BR's ‘7MT’ 4-6-2s found themselves popular power for railtours and specials during the 1960s. Peter R. Cooper takes a look at the trains they hauled during the decade

WATER TROUGHS • The British steam locomotive needed a constant supply of coal and water but how did ingenuity overcome the conflicting demands of fast non-stop trains and the need to make frequent stops for water? Chris Leigh looks back at a long-gone feature of the steam railway

PLATFORM • send your letters to Steam World, 4 Milnyard Square, Orton South gate, Peterborough PE2 6GX or steamworld@choicemag.co.uk

STEAM WORLD CROSSWORD • This month we will be giving away a special prize worth £70! A copy of Steam Photographer by Gavin Morrison along with a copy of An Illustrated History of Her Majeysty's Railway Inspectorate from 1840 by Ian Prosser & David Keay will be sent to the sender of the first correct answer opened on June 20, 2025. Answers (with your name and address) to SW456 Crossword, Steam World, 4 Milnyard Square, Orton Southgate, Peterborough PE2 6GX. Photocopies welcome, but please do not enclose correspondence. Crossword compiled by Alan Frost.

FOWLER'S LEGACY • Having looked at Sir Henry Fowler's 2-6-4Ts last issue, Richard Foster focusses on the designs that it spawned

YOU'RE IN THE ARMY NOW • Conscription and basic training gave the late Frank Hornby an unrivalled opportunity to see locomotives that he might not normally see

GREAT SHOT!

BY THE LINESIDE AT STOKE TUNNEL • Gavin Morrison presents a selection of images from around the tunnel that sat at the start of one of the country's most famous racing stretches

THE ORDINARY DAY-TO-DAY • You don't always need technically great photographs to convey railway atmosphere. David Perry's father Bill took these snaps of Paddington during a visit in 1960 and they perfectly illustrate the types of activities that could be found day-in, day-out at any given busy city station

THE SMELL OF HOT STEAM • Steam locomotives stir all the senses. Jim Murray recalls some particularly powerful encounters, of sights, sounds – and smells – that enlivened the drab war and post-war days

SCRAPPED AT BARRY • Contrary to popular belief, Woodham Brothers did cut locomotives for scrap. Richard Derry lists all 74 engines that met their end there while highlighting some of the more interesting victims

A SPOTTER'S YEAR CONTINUED • Bruce Laws was part of a group of trainspotters from Ipswich who were having a memorable year in 1961. He picks up the tale, the first part of which was published in December 2022's Steam World, in April 1961…

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