Railways Illustrated

The best coverage of today's railway scene. Each issue of Railways Illustrated offers a comprehensive round-up of the latest news and topical events from the UK across the present-day railway, including heritage traction in operation on the main lines. Railways Illustrated reflects the energy and vitality of the present-day railway scene.

Welcome

Railways Illustrated

DC Rail unveils first overhauled 60

Alstom to hold Polmadie depot open day

Major milestone for return of C37LG loco to traffic

Statesman comeback

Belmond’s Britannic Explorer back in business

Multi-million-pound upgrade completed at Bletchley depot

New trains and more electrification in Scotland

Wagons and locos moved for start of RHTT season

GBRf renumbers another regeared Class 66/6

Freightliner tinkers with its loco pool codes

More CrossCountry trains timetabled from December

More locos confirmed for SVR gala

Romic offers all Class 18s for sale

Last Class 69 released – in Red Stripe Railfreight

Avanti introduces enhanced September timetable

Peak District viaduct major repairs completed

More GWR diesel running

66316 is final ‘new to UK’ Class 66

No Deltic – but IC multi traction heritage tour is a success

The rumour mill • And the news you probably haven’t heard yet…

Liveries

Coaching Stock News

Names

Unit Focus

Wagon News

Unit News

Shunter News

Double-headed Class27 first at Great Central

HNRL boosts collection as it buys Waterman locos

Class 35 stars at North Yorkshire diesel gala

Retro sector looks for shunter

GCR Hymek running day prior to Kidder minster move

Running days a step nearer at Shillingstone

Severn Valley confirms December diesel gala

Class 03 to return to Isle of Wight

NRM removes asbestos from EM1 Class 76

Lancs dates for 2026

43091 for sale?

More cancellations leaves Pathfinder in trouble

The Preservation Files: the shunters • More than 500 ex-BR diesel and electric locos were sold for restoration, but not all run, and indeed some may never do so. But what’s the state of play with the preserved ‘fleet’? Pip Dunn rounds up the list in this, Part One: The Shunters.

LIVING LIFE IN THE PAST LANE • Chris Gee recalls numerous visits to the old BREL loco works and succeeds in recreating a successful photoshoot at one of the few, much rationalised, survivors, York Works.

GALA PICTORIAL

A spot in the sun? • Is trainspotting still enjoyable? Ten years on from first assessing the health of what was once one of the most popular hobbies, Pip Dunn visits two major stations to see if there is enough to keep spotting alive and fun.

What’s happening to … • Our monthly round-up of restoration projects around the country, compiled by Pip Dunn.

Early days of the Class 47s • Using the pictures of respected photographer Peter Fitton, Ian McLean looks back at the early days of Class 47s on British Rail, with the transition from green to blue.

10 PICTURES • In each issue of Railways Illustrated, we ask a photographer to select their 10 favourite rail-related images and tell us the reasons why they believe these photos stand out from the crowd.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

Super shunter • Bachmann has delivered its latest re-tooled diesel locomotive in OO gauge with the release of an all-new Class 08 shunter. This not only features greatly improved detail and tooling variations but also brings the model in line with current technical expectations, as Simon Bendall explains.

Networking opportunities • Every now and then, Network SouthEast staged Network Days, where for a...