ABOVE: Haymarket-based Class 40 D260 passes Falahill on Borthwick Bank on September 2, 1965, on the Waverley route as its heads south with a delightfully mixed freight for Carlisle. This line would cl

While there were undoubtedly many benefits for a single, nationalised railway, for customers there was one thing lacking: competition. For passengers, the car was a viable alternative in most cases, a

Overhauls, restorations and running notes

A good train livery is one that stands out but doesn’t draw attention. Since the onset of Passenger Transport Executives, sectorisation, and especially privatisation, train liveries have veered from the sublime to the sometimes ridiculous. RICHARD WILCOCK counts down his personal favourites

Looking at railways in detail

It may be axiomatic to suppose that after the Nationalisation of the railways in 1948, wherever main line trains ran they did so on British Railways’ tracks, as opposed to the position prior to that w