25 YEARS OF CHANGE
Founding co-editor Murray Brown recalls the early days of getting Rail Express off the ground.
Previous editors Murray Brown and Gareth Bayer recall some of their Rail Express memories, backed up with snippets from some of our 300 past issues.
PRODUCING a brand new magazine from scratch is no small undertaking – there is a myriad of matters to finalise, finance and implement.
The introduction of issue No. 1 of Rail Express at the Tinsley Open Day in 1996 was the culmination of months of work, and was not the first issue as that accolade went to issue No. 0.
It may surprise readers to learn that every magazine sold by WH Smith must be to a high standard – and rightly so – which means any budding publisher must produce a dummy issue, replicating to as near as possible what the finished product will look like.
We produced a 64-page dummy issue incorporating eight pages of news, an article and photo spread, and this eight-page section was then duplicated to produce 64 pages.
A cover with the high weight of paper and gloss finish encased issue zero, which went forward for consideration by WH Smith's managers.
In the trade, it was known as the ‘thud' factor – that is, if dropped on a table, did it sound like a magazine produced with quality paper and substance, rather than a flimsy, lightweight periodical with little substance?
WHAT’S IN A NAME
Of interest was the magazine's chosen name; a choice between ‘Railway Times' and ‘Rail Express'.
There were factors favouring both, but history showed the latter was chosen with a specially designed masthead by Philip Sutton, one of the architects of Rail Express.
Philip's mastery of design, his immense knowledge of the model world, and his photographic expertise were a key factor in our subsequent success.
RE's first office was in Kings Cliffe, a sleepy Northamptonshire village some 13.5 miles west of Peterborough on the former LNWR railway from Peterborough to Rugby (closed under the Beeching era in June 1966).
The change in ambience between a huge publishing concern with scores of staff on many magazines to a former chemist's shop converted to an office with four staff was transformational.
One thing remained the same – the ethos that punctuality was king. To be late on sale was the worst crime possible in publishing because readers could buy an alternative title if we were not on sale. So no one went home at 5pm – indeed, no one went home at all on some nights, except for our secretary.
With the office lights on often gone midnight, the villagers thought we were producing a men's magazine, or so the rumour mill had it. Then they found out we had a photocopier and in they came with their cakes and biscuits in return for five copies of a document. We were contributing to village life.
SUNSHINE DAYS!
We were so indebted to the photographers who supported us. We had a simple philosophy: sunshine pictures only, preferably large. If it was a dull day, forget it. And no more postage stamp-sized images!
The village grocer's shop 50 yards down the road did a roaring business from our little publishing firm, called Foursight Publications, as we nipped out for provisions. It is still there today, run by the same brothers.
Looking back to the start of that adventure, we were so humbled by the fact that the magazine's contributors had decided to come along with our new venture, despite that we had no guarantee of surviving. This was outstanding loyalty, and several are still writing for us 300 issues later.
So much of the everyday railway life in 1996 has now passed into history, including trains and locomotives we took for granted. Even Tinsley depot, where we launched the title (see pages 80/81), is sadly no more.
BY AND FOR ENTHUSIASTS
Issue 300 is a magnificent milestone, a far cry from issue No. 3, what one commentator predicted would be our last. That is one of the greatest satisfactions for me – that we did survive – and it is all thanks to you, the reader.
Twenty-five years later, founding advertising manager David Lane, co-editor Phil Sutton and myself can look back and say we have something to show for our lives. Phil Sutton still runs Foursight Publications, now specialising in Rail Exclusive models.
It is a personal pleasure to still be writing for the magazine I and my colleagues started in the year our railways were privatised. What an adventure it was. We did it because we wanted to produce a magazine for enthusiasts, which remains the magazine's ethos today.