MILESTONE ISSUES

ISSUE 50

JULY 2000: The new millennium had dawned, but there was still a relatively healthy number of loco-hauled trains in action with Virgin Trains, First North Western, the Cardiff Railway Company, and the sleeper trains out of Euston and Paddington. Freight firm EWS was busy standardising on Class 66s, however.

ISSUE 150

NOVEMBER 2008: DRS bought ‘Deltic’ No. 55016 from Harry Needle with a view to returning it to the main line, but sadly this did not happen. About a year later the loco was sold on to Beaver Sports to become a stablemate to No. 55022 at the East Lancs Railway.

ISSUE 250

MARCH 2017: With the reluctance, and in some cases the collapse, of British firms willing to run rail franchises, this was the month when Italian firm Trenitalia and Japanese Mitsui were added to the growing list of approved overseas-based operators as the privatisation model evolved further.

ISSUE 1

JUNE 1996: And we’re off! Making the news was a plan to build doubledeck Eurostars for use on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now called HS1), from Dollands Moor to Fawkham Junction in 2003, then on to St Pancras in 2007. But we are still waiting for the doubledeckers…

ISSUE 100

SEPTEMBER 2004: The Strategic Rail Authority, established to determine train service requirements, was axed after just four years and its role was handed over to the Rail Regulator and Network Rail instead. Modelling became a standalone section within the magazine from this issue.

ISSUE 200

JANUARY 2013: A ‘Deltic’ was in the news again – this time the NRM’s No. 55002, which was to return to the main line after 30 years. In London, tunnelling was well underway for Crossrail, as the third boring machine was switched on to start burrowing from the eastern end.