The railway has been shaped by its people -from the early pioneers, through waves of immigration and women in wartime, to today’s diverse leaders. TONY STREETER reports

One of the most well-known sheds on the northern stretch of the West Coast Main Line provided vital assistance for trains climbing up to Shap summit.

As thousands gathered to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway, RAIL’s Features Editor ANDY COMFORT looks at how Locomotion No. 1 once again drew in the crowds

The urge to create model trains can be traced back to the genesis of the real railway. George Dent examines how what was once a pastime of the affluent few became a mass-market hobby that endures to this day.

1M86, the 09.35 Glasgow Central-St Pancras, was the famous Up Thames Clyde Express and ran via the Glasgow Sou’ Western route, then the Settle and Carlisle line to Leeds, and then took the Midland Mai

PART ONE