We’re heading into a momentous year for railway preservation as the Talyllyn Railway marks 75 years since it was saved from almost certain extinction to become the first heritage railway. But how did the concept of railway preservation emerge and develop? MARK PEARCE digs deeper.

The railway revolution opened up new destinations, expanded our culinary horizons and dramatically improved trade. Jonathan Self takes us on a whistle-stop tour of ‘railway mania’

We’ve already seen how railways feature in films, but in his latest Top 10 STEPHEN ROBERTS counts down some of the locations used in TV series

Kicking off a special final section of Railway 200 features to round off our year of anniversary celebrations, TIM DUNN looks at how art has long been used to romanticise and promote Britain’s railways

Gently tended by devoted staff, the country-station garden has become a rural idyll in its own right, says Andrew Martin

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