Steam Days September 2026

This issue celebrates the experiences that turn an interest in railways into a lifelong passion. Robert Darlaston recalls memorable encounters spanning eight decades, while Mike Page explains how inexpensive day-return tickets enabled wide-ranging adventures from the Black Country during the 1950s. David Booth revisits his trainspotting years in Rotherham and farther afield during the early nationalised railway era, and Keith Widdowson remembers overnight journeys undertaken between 1964 and 1968 in pursuit of Britain’s dwindling steam workings. Completing the theme, Andrew Kennedy traces the wider history and evolution of trainspotting and the enduring appeal of collecting locomotive numbers.