Crossword

Win The Railways by Simon Bradley.

WELCOME to the RAIL Crossword. In this issue, one lucky winner can claim a copy of Diesels on the London Midland, courtesy of Rails Publishing ( www.capitaltransport.

com), PLUS a copy of Andrew Martin’s popular Belles & Whistles: Journeys Through Time on Britain’s Trains, courtesy of Profile Books ( www.profilebooks.com).

In the mid-1950s, British Railways embarked on the planned replacement of steam traction, and ordered 174 ‘pilot scheme’ diesel locomotives of various power categories to evaluate their capabilities.

This policy was then blown off-course due to competition from other transport modes, which resulted in rapidly falling traffic. It was decided that dieselisation needed to be drastically speeded up to improve the rail industry’s competitiveness.

The rush to modernise resulted in a host of different designs built by various manufacturers. Using the best available archive images, Diesels on the London Midland (hardback, 120 pages, retail price £19.95) looks back at the assortment of diesel locomotives and units that could be found on the London Midland Region.

In Belles & Whistles: Journeys Through Time on Britain’s Trains (hardback, 280 pages, retail price (£15.99), best-selling author Andrew Martin re-creates famous train journeys by travelling aboard their nearest modern-day equivalents - the Golden Arrow, the Brighton Belle, the Cornish Riviera Express, the Flying Scotsman and the Caledonian Sleeper.

For those who wonder whatever happened to porters, dining cars, mellow lighting, timetables and luggage in advance… the answers are here.

Send your completed crossword and contact details to: R865 Crossword Competition, RAIL Magazine, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough Business Park, Peterborough PE2 6EA.

The first correct answer out of the hat will win the prize. Good luck! Closing date for entries is November 23 2018.