Welcome

The subject of the cover image for the first issue of Railways Illustrated featured Virgin Trains Class 57/3 locomotive 57304 Gordon Tracy, on an electric ‘drag’, hauling 87035 Robert Burns past the footbridge at Wingates with a diverted 10.57 Milton Keynes to Glasgow service on January 5, 2003. Although this wasn’t the exact photograph to be published on the cover of that inaugural issue, the photographers were stood together to capture it and they are almost identical. Terry Eyres

This month we celebrate our 250th issue. Founded by Colin Marsden on behalf of Ian Allan Publishing, the first issue of Railways Illustrated hit the shelves just over 20 years ago in March 2003 and since then has continued to bring you all the latest news and developments from around the rail network and at our heritage railways.

Colin was responsible for editing 38 issues of the magazine before he moved on to establish Modern Locomotives Illustrated (now MLI Plus), and I met up with him a couple of months ago to talk about those early days when he was tasked with setting up a brand-new railway title to take over from where Railway World had left off.

Since Colin left the editors seat after producing the April 2006 issue, three more people have occupied the hotseat. Pip Dunn – our longest-serving editor and still part of the current writing team – was responsible for a total of 111 issues between 2006 and 2015, while Mark Nicholls produced 73 issues before I took over the role from the September 2021 issue (so just 28 to my name so far).

We are also now on the third publishing company for the title. Ian Allan sold Railways Illustrated and a number of other titles to Key Publishing in 2012, and Mortons Media Group acquired this title and Steam Days from Key in the autumn of 2020.

The railway has changed a lot over the last 20 years – some would say for the better, while others have the opposite view – and Railways Illustrated has always been at the forefront of reporting the latest news and developments shaping the British railway scene, accompanied by excellent photography and a varied roster of features in each issue.

A magazine is only ever as good as those who contribute towards it each month and I am grateful to my support team of regular writers – Simon Bendall, Richard Clinnick, Pip Dunn and Andrew Watts, along with those who contribute written and photographic features on a more occasional basis, such as Martyn Hilbert and Chris Gee, to name just a couple.

I am also grateful to the many excellent photog