Steam Days July 2026

This issue commemorates Captain Charles Fryatt and examines the Great Eastern Railway’s vital continental services during the First World War. Rare photographs reveal obscure locomotive sheds from Llanberis through North Wales and North-West England, while another feature returns to the Swanage branch for its final summer of everyday steam-hauled passenger services. Drawing upon British Railways documentation, Philip Atkins investigates how long steam was expected to remain in service when the 1955 Modernisation Plan emerged. The issue also recalls Sanquhar station during the eventful 1960s, including railway operations, the unsuccessful fight against closure and the eventual joy of its reopening.