Table of contents for Volume 40 No 2 - February 2026 in Backtrack

Genesis The Manchester & Leeds Railway reached Oldham from the Oldham Junction (renamed Middleton Junction on 11th August 1842), opening the town’s first station at Werneth (a district lying west of the town centre) on 31st March 1842. The line to Oldham was not easy to work: an upward gradient of 1 in 27 formed the Werneth Incline [see Backtrack, January and February 1991] on the final approach to Werneth station. By dint of the construction of two tunnels (Werneth and Central), the line was extended about one mile to the Oldham district of Mumps, a station opening there by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway on 1st November 1847. In 1845 the opinion was entertained that Oldham deserved much better railway communication with the outside world; hence the driving force…

I always felt, up until the end of steam anyway, that Manchester Victoria was my station. I visited it the most out of all the railway spotting locations around Manchester. I caught trains from there to see my aunty in Glasgow, a family friend in Greenfield, the Blackpool Illuminations and for travel daily to Bolton Technical College. The platforms had everything a steam enthusiast desired – passenger trains going east, west and north and through freight which needed banking assistance up the 1 in 48 Miles Platting bank. I lived on Cheetham Hill Road, a mile and a half north of the station, and if the wind was blowing in the right direction I would lay awake at night listening to heavy goods trains restarting on the steep bank. Once…

Following the success of the Highland Railway ‘Jones Goods’ 4-6-0s, fifteen of which were built from 1894 for all types of traffic, it was inevitable that a series of passenger engines would be constructed for main line work between Perth and Inverness via Carr Bridge and also for the ‘Far North’ route to Wick. The ‘Castle’ Class locomotives were built in three series during the tenure of three Highland Railway Locomotive Superintendents: David Jones (1870-96), Peter Drummond (1897-1911) and Frederick Smith (1912-15). In June 1900, the first series of six 4-6-0 passenger engines, more powerful than the existing ‘Strath’, ‘Loch’ and ‘Ben’ 4-4-0s, were delivered from Dübs and Company, Glasgow, and allocated to Perth shed – No.140 Taymouth Castle, No.141 Ballindalloch Castle, No.142 Dunrobin Castle, No.143 Gordon Castle, No.144 Blair…

Managing the LYR Cheesman Henry Binstead would remain as General Superintendent of the ‘Eastern Division’ of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway from 1849 until his retirement in 1871. In 1850 the LYR was organized into three geographical divisions, each with its own ‘passenger superintendent’ – the Western or Lancashire Division (Henry Blackmore), Manchester (George Hall) and Yorkshire (Binstead). According to Thomas Normington, who would be Binstead’s assistant from 1859, further change to the LYR management structure took place in 1853 following the resignation of George Hall. This was “the commencement of working the line upon the principle of divisional management” with each division having its own manager and his assistant: Western Division: Henry Blackmore, George Aylsebury (assistant) Eastern Division: Captain Binstead, Alexander Barber (assistant) There was further change in 1860…

Steam locomotive arrangements and developments The 1950s started with the Eastern Region’s Great Northern main line having an allocation of 22 A3 Pacifics dating from the 1920s, nineteen A4 Pacifics dating from the 1930s, twelve A1 Pacifics from the post-war period and nine A2 Pacifics including rebuilt former 2-8-2s, plus two others. The two others were W1 4-6-4 (No.60700) and A1/1 Pacific No.60113, a rebuilt Gresley Pacific, with both allocated to Doncaster. Very capable deputees were the V2 2-6-2s dating from the 1930s. With a main line capable of allowing high speeds over long distances (almost level for 60 miles north from around milepost 155, near Doncaster), the use of Pacific locomotives with high coal capacity tenders from London/Newcastle/York and Leeds would, in theory at least, provide a highly efficient…

The Portpatrick & Wigtownshire Joint Railway was created in August 1885. Vesting day was 1st August 1885. The company was an amalgamation of the Portpatrick Railway which possessed a single track main line from Stranraer Harbour to Castle Douglas, with the independent rural branch railway from Newton Stewart to Whithorn, which had been the Wigtownshire Railway. The main line company’s shareholders had the benefit of a better deal in this amalgamation than the Wigtownshire line’s shareholders. The Portpatrick company had been offered 3.5% perpetual shares for their holdings at par, but the Wigtownshire shares were only exchanged one new share for every two old shares, meaning their shareholders received the equivalent of 1.75% annual interest. The new company kept its main operations and offices retained in Stranraer, at the Stranraer…

We resume our journey through the minute books of this committee at the meeting held on 19th August 1949 which took place at the British Railways Headquarters offices and a decision was taken that all future meetings should be held there rather than rotating around the Regions. With the group getting into its stride, this meeting dealt with many managerial and welfare topics such as staff structures etc. as well as the standardisation on various forms, and revisited a number of subjects covered previously. Reference was made to a Census carried out in week ending 10th April 1948 which allowed comparison of staff numbers in all grades to be assessed against data gathered in 1938 and 1947. A quarterly statement was to be compiled at 30th September 1948 to compare…

“From Gloucester you can travel by ordinary train through Stroud or by the motor train (Great Western Regional Station) which ambles and sways via Stonehouse, Ebley Crossing Halt, Cashes Green Halt, Downfield Crossing Halt, Stroud, Bowbridge Crossing Halt, Brimscombe Bridge Halt, Brimscombe, St. Mary’s Crossing Halt and so to Chalford…” In this way the Chalford Official Guide of the 1950s described its much-loved local railway passenger service, which served the Frome Valley between Stonehouse and Chalford in south west Gloucestershire for just over six decades before succumbing to the Beeching axe in 1964. Although you can still travel between Cheltenham and London via this impressive Brunel legacy of 1845, through the beautiful wooded slopes of the Golden Valley (reputedly named by Queen Victoria on account of its autumn colourings) between…