Big Picture

Welcome to this hill-climbing issue with a momentous occasion on the Lickey.

Welcome to this special issue of Model Rail, dedicated to Britain’s steepest stretches of railway. In this issue you’ll find numerous projects and sources of inspiration that star some of our most trickiest and dramatic railways. And where better to start than the Lickey Incline, the two‑mile, 1‑in‑37 climb to Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, seen through the lens of photographer Pat Ransome‑wallis in March 1950? Talk about being in the right place at the right time ‑ he was able to record EX‑LMS Garratt No. 47982 clawing its way to the summit with a 42‑wagon coal train, and being given a helping hand by not only the regular Lickey banker, ex‑ Midland Railway 0‑10‑0 No. 58100, but also EX‑LNER Garratt No. 69999. That’s six men, 38 driving wheels, ten cylinders and over 160,000lbs of power battling the forces of nature. What an awe‑inspiring spectacle that must have been.