Traction

Traction caters for those interested in the fascinating development of classic diesel and electric traction on the railways of mainland Britain, Ireland, continental Europe and the parts of the world where British-built locomotives have operated.

Within the pages of Traction you will find a wide variety of articles written by professional railwaymen, railway historians, photographers and enthusiasts.

You’ll also find a ‘Traction Modelling’ section of the magazine which caters for readers who have an interest in modelling the railway in the era of the classic diesel and electric motive power.

Traction is published every two months.

We start this issue with a visit to northern Scotland to photograph trains on the Highland Main Line and the line to Kyle of Lochalsh. A new series of articles starts about the transportation of carbon dioxide by rail. A hair raising experience is recalled when testing a Class 56 on the main line after maintenance at Toton depot. Then we travel along the southern part of the East Coast Main Line to photograph trains against the backdrop of semaphore signals, shortly before they disappeared. We visit the attractive Hope Valley line between Manchester and Sheffield to photograph passenger and freight trains. A former Virgin Cross Country manager tells us the story of how preserved ‘Deltic’ No. D9000 came to be used on passenger services for the company. Finally we visit the island of Anglesey in the years when loco hauled trains were plentiful on passenger services to Holyhead.