Phil Atkins: librarian & author

Atkins was the Librarian at the NRM for many years. His published output, much of it in the periodical literature, has shed light on the many "unexpected links" between designs on very different railways, especially the connections between "British" designs and those produced in the United Kingdom for sevice in India. His The Scottish 4-6-0 classes was produced prior to his installation as Librarian at the NRM, nevertheless these links are revealed even in this "early work", but the referencing does not match his own later exacting standards. At the end of this page there is a full listing of Atkin's very considerable output as provided by him: in time it is hoped that the material will be inserted into the appropriate "slots" within the website. It contains a few items not related to railways, including two on long distance views in the British Isles. This last is of particular interest as KPJ has (early June 1907) just returned from Scotland where he saw the Isle of Man from the Isle of Whithorn for the first time, and a return visit to Portpatrick showed the proximity of the Northern Irish coast. On his only previous visit made in the late 1950s he had watched the exhaust from a steam train making its way up to Belfast from Larne. 

Atkins is an authority on the unhappy professional life of F.G. Smith, who was briefly in charge of locomotive affairs on the Highland Railway. Atkins summarises much of this in The Highland Railway 'River' Class 4-6-0 Affair, September 1915. LMS Journal, 2004 (7), 52-69

The Golden age of locomotive building is a history of locomotive construction in Britain and contains a wealth of tabulated statistical information and a superb bibliography.

He is the author of two of the highly regarded Locomotive Profiles, written under the overall editorship of Brian Reed: Nos 31 Lima Super-Power and 35 Canadian Pacific Selkirks. .

Books

The British Railways Standard 9F 2-10-0. Irwell Press, 1993.

Britannia: birth of a locomotive. Pinner: Irwell Press, 1991. 92pp.
"This is as far as I am aware the first time that a locomotive class history has been tackled in such a clinical manner" stated Bob Essery in BackTrack, 1991, 5, 243.

Dropping the fire : the decline and fall of the steam locomotive. Clophill: Irwell Press, 1999. 106pp.
Account of the end of steam traction on a global basis. Sadly the Publisher's inferior standards detract from the message: three columns make reading difficult and this defect is magnified by the excessive use of bold type. Some of the illustrations are good, but there was no attempt to make them of comparable size. There are some excellent diagrams. Includes Pennsylvani Railroad's Duplex 4-4-4-4s and NYCR 4-8-8 Niagraras. The book got a five star review in Backtrack, 2000, 14, 250:
Reviewer, Rutherford, knew of this book during its long gestation, was eager to see it, and was not disappointed. This is not another sadly nostalgic memorial to the summer of 1968 but a work that covers the final designs and manufacture of the ultimate steam locomotive classes and series in all countries and how and when each nation ended the use of such head-end power. Photographic coverage of this wide brief is lavish and reproduction, on art paper, excellent. Each chapter and the appendices at the end contain a large quantity of statistical data, much of it in tabular form. The importance of costs and global energy considerations feature more than sterile arguments about superior technologies; the rugged US design philosophy becoming the dominating one worldwide, by the end . There is much food for thought in this book and plenty of references to sources mean that interested readers can follow up various implications with their own further researches.
Chapter 1: Statistical analysis
Table 1: steam locomotive production by country

Peak stocks: main line steam

Locomotive life expectancy
LMS:
Express passenger 30 years
Mixed traffic 40 years
Superheated goods 45 years
Non superheated goods/ shunters 50 years

LNER renewal times
Tyres six years
Boilers 12 years
Cylinders 15 years
Frames 20 years
Crank axles 30 years
Wheel centres 60 years

Webb 2-4-0 No. 955 Charles Dickens
Built February 1882
500,000 miles by September 1886
1 million miles by September 1891
2 million miles by August 1902

Page 46: [UK] annual coal production had attained a peak approaching 300 million tons in 1913, but post-1945 it stood at 210-220 million tons. This was in despite of rapid advances in machine cutting, which had doubled from 30 to 60 per cent of total production during the 1930s alone, and by 1950 was approaching 80 per cent. Ironically this ran against railway interests in that hand cut 'large' coal was required for locomotive purposes. The national shortfall in production was made good by imports, once unimaginable, from the USA and Europe which mainly consisted of 'large' coal. In March 1951 it was reported that locomotives in South Yorkshire, at such depots as Mexborough and Doncaster, which were close to a major coalfield, were being fired with American coal! At the beginning of that year, the government had requested that the railways reduce their weekly coal consumption by 10,000 tons and some passenger services were cancelled. The domestic demand for 'large coal', i.e. for household fires, was actually three times greater than that of the railway. The combined annual requirement of about 50 million tons simply could no longer be met. Furthermore future projections to 1960-65 suggested that by then the overall shortfall in coal production could amount to no less than 50 million tons. Another factor then entered the equation.
In December 1952 the city of London was enveloped for 60 hours in impenetrable smog with daytime visibility in places down to less than ten yards, accompanied by exceptionally high concentrations of smoke and sulphur dioxide, which resulted in the deaths of many elderly people. In July 1953 the government set up a committee under Sir Hugh Beaver to investigate the question of air pollution in Britain. Its findings, published the following year, found that railways were responsible for one seventh of all smoke discharged to the atmosphere. The Committee's decided that the only complete answer was the replacement of coal-fired locomotives by alternative smokeless forms of traction. In particular, it was felt, shunting operations by steam locomotives in industrial areas should be eliminated, by 1960. The Clean Air Bill was published in July 1955 and received the Royal Assent one year later. In practice this had greater impact on the use of industrial steam locomotives (there was a clause which referred to the owners of 'railway locomotive engines') rather than British Railways, which in the mid-1950s administered the second largest steam locomotive fleet on earth, after Soviet Russia. Some of the biggest offenders were locomotive depots, but the Act made allowance for smoke generated during steam raising on shed.
Also in late 1952 Parliament debated the Ridley Report, the National Policy for the Use of Fuel & Power Resources. When giving evidence to the Committee, the Federation of British Industries had declared that 'the steam locomotive was in a fuel efficiency sense, one of the least efficient machines to survive in the modern age and pointed out that British Railways annually consumed approximately 14 million tons of high quality large coal which was in great demand for export and other uses.
This was not strictly true, for the continuing decline in the quality of available fuel was becoming a matter of considerable concern to BR. Wide fireboxes had been specified on the Standard Class 7 4-6-2 in 1948 because for locomotives which have to perform main line duties the desired combustion rates can only be obtained by use of the wide firebox' which also made it possible to burn lower grades of coal. Provision was made for the possible later installation of a mechanical stoker, but experience with the SR Merchant Navy class 4-6-2 so equipped experimentally in 1949 showed it to be very wasteful and no answer to poor quality fuel. Nearly twice as much coal had to be fired than by hand to perform the same work, making operation disproportionately costly. The use of cheaper coal in various trials over the years had yielded the same result, greater overall cost, not least due to the greater number of non-productive coal trains

Table 21 .
Comparison of fuel costs and drawbar thermal efficmncy of four alternative forms of motive power, 1952

Flying Scotsman: LNER classes A1/A3 Pacific No. 4472, 1923 onwards: am insight jnto maintaining, operating annd restoring the legendary steam lcomotive, Sparkford: Haynes Publishing/National Railway Museum, 2016. 172 pp.
It may seem churlish to note this is mainly an account of that which is perceivable in 2016 (and hopefully for many years to follow) rather than that which led up to the massive restoration project and in retrospect one can but wonder at the intellectual midgets who would have scrapped the iconic locomotive in favour of some of the junk which has survived to be trailed around the countryside creating traffic jams to steam galas in minor resorts.

The golden age of steam locomotive building. Penryn: Atlantic (in association with NRM), 1999.128pp.
The development of locomotive manufacturing in the United Kingdom: an illustrated history with an extensive bibliography. He is Librarian of the NRM : following an Introduction the chapters are entitled: Railway Works; The Workshop of the World 1830-1897; The Locomotive Famine 1898-1900; Climax and Crisis 1901-1942; The Final Flourish 1943-1958; The Locomotive Manufacturers Association; The British Locomotive Industry at Work; A Case Study, 4-8-4s for China; Locomotive Building Feats and Faults; Locomotive Building Centres..

The Scottish 4-6-0 classes. London: Ian Allan, 1976. 123pp.
Written before Author became Librarian at NRM and it shows as the bibliography is poorly constructed, and there is one infuriating incomplete reference. Ottley 9542

West coast 4-6-0s at work. London: Ian Allan, 1981. 128pp.
The title is redolent of an O.S. Nock book built around a series of logs of locomotive performance, but this is a false impression. The text which is subsumed within a welter of photographs covers all of the English pre-grouping 4-6-0 classes, including those built by the L&YR, the Claughtons (and the Patriots and Jubilees derived from them), but not the replacement Prince of Wales aka Stanier class 5, nor the Royal Scot class (although this last is mentioned in passing). There is a dreadful lapse on page 115 where reference is made to "Herbert" Holcroft. The CR class 60 and the Pickersgill three-cylinder 4-6-0s are also included (but no other Scottish 4-6-0s).

Heppell, George
North Eastern locomotives: a draughtsman's life. North Eastern Railway Association. 2012. 28pp. 3 colour illustrations on cover. 16 illustrations including 3 diagrams and portrait.
Includes notes by Phil Atkins

Philip Atkins

Published works, 1966-

The Whitelegg 'Baltics', in Trains Annual 1967, (21-24), Ian Allan Ltd, 1966

The Unmistakable Viennese Berkshires, European Railways, 1967 No.3, 12-16, (Austrian 2-8-4s)

Irish Three-Cylinder Locomotives, Model Engineer, 17 May 1968, 506-508,
incorrectly titled Irish Three-Cylinder Compound Locomotives.

Large Irish Tanks, Model Railway News, May 1969, 236-237, 258

Saga of the Irish 4-6-0, The Railway Magazine, July 1969, 375-379

Steam in the 1960s a survey of world steam locomotive construction, Railway World, September 1969, 382-384, October 1969, 436-438, November 1969, 476-479.

Post-War North American Steam Power the twilight of an era, Railway World, November 1970, 482-485, December 1970, 532-537, January 1971, 10-15, February 1971, 52-57

Loco Profile 31- Lima Super Power, (with Brian Reed), Profile Publications, January 1973, 24p,
also reprinted in Locomotives in Profile, Vol.4, 145-168, Profile Publications, 1974.

Nidd Valley Railway, The Dalesman, January 1973, 781-784.

The Eleventh Hour of Steam, Railway World, February 1973, 56-61, April 1973, 146-149.
ultimate steam locomotive designs worldwide.

Robert Whitelegg's Masterpieces, The Railway Magazine, March 1973, 124-126, April 1973, 174-176
LT&SR and G&SWR 4-6-4Ts

Loco Profile 35 Canadian Pacific Selkirks, Profile Publications, March 1973, 24p,
also reprinted in Locomotives in Profile, Vol.4, 241-264, Profile Publications, 1974

Great American Passenger Engines, Great Trains, Part 19, New English Library, June 1973, 361-365.
also reprinted in Great Trains of North America, Ed P B Whitehouse, 54-58, Crescent Books, undated.

The Mersey Railway Tank Locomotives, Railway World, March 1976, 96-99, April 1976, 160-164,

Highland 'Castles' for the French State Railways, Journal of the Stephenson Locomotive Society, August 1976, 241-242

Two of a Kind, Railway Modeller, September 1976, 277-279.
Hull & Barnsley and Maryport & Carlisle 0-6-0s built to many of the same drawings.

The Scottish 4-6-0 Classes, Ian Allan Ltd, 1976, 123p.

F G Smith a biography, Railway World, January 1977, 14-18

The Furness Baltics, Railway Modeller, January 1977, 20-21

The NER Drawing Office Register, The North Eastern Express (North Eastern Railway Association), February 1977, 86-90

Some Peter Drummond Highland Railway Locomotive Proposals, The Strathspey Express (Strathspey Railway), No.16, Summer 1977, 4-5

More Light on the Highland 'Rivers' the mystery solved? Railway World, February 1978, 75-77.
a newly discovered early diagram

The Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway 0-6-4Ts, Railway Modeller, April 1978, 118-119.

Some Observations on NER Locomotives, The North Eastern Express (North Eastern Railway Association), August 1978, 36-38

Highland Railway Comings and Goings, 1914-1922, The Strathspey Express (Strathspey Railway), No.18, Summer 1978, 9-12, No.19, Winter 1978, 7-10,
locomotives loaned to the Highland Railway 1914-1922,

'Fury' on Trial, The Railway Magazine, December 1978, 579-581.
road testing LMS No.6399

Some GER 4-4-0 and 4-6-0 Proposals, Great Eastern Journal (Great Eastern Railway Society), No.17, January 1979, 10-11

Stirling 0-8-0s of the Hull & Barnsley Railway, Railway Modeller, March 1979, 96-97

North London Railway: A Pictorial Record, (with John Edgington), HMSO, 1979, 56p

York as a Railway Centre, and The Derwent Valley Railway, in This Is York Major Railway Centre, (2-5, and 38-39), Ian Allan Ltd, 1980

An Ultimate Steam Locomotive Design, in Railway World Annual 1980, (89-96), Ian Allan Ltd, 1979 .
New York Central Hudson 4-8-4s

West Coast 4-6-0s at Work, Ian Allan Ltd, 1981, 128p

The National Railway Museum and its Photographic Collection, Railway World, January 1982, 6-10

2-6-6-6s Over the Alleghenies, in Railway World Annual 1983 (94-99), Ian Allan Ltd, 1982

York as a Railway Centre, and The Derwent Valley Railway, in This Is York Major Railway Centre, (2nd Edition) (2-5 and 38-39), Ian Allan Ltd, 1983

NBR Locomotive Proposals, North British Railway Study Group Newsletter No.17, September 1983, 24-26

No.71000 Duke of Gloucester 30 Years On a new appraisal of its design and performance, Railway World, 1984, 45 (May) 230-235

The Highland 'Rivers' who or what was really to blame? Railway World, June 1985, 300-302

Box Railway Tunnel and I K Brunel's Birthday: A Theoretical Investigation, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, November 1985, 260-262

The Light at the End of the Tunnel? Great Western Study Group Newsletter No.8, Winter 1985-86, 7-8
9 April sunrise at Box Tunnel

The National Railway Museum Photographic Collection, Locomotives Large & Small No.26, February 1986, 31-35

Does It, or Doesn't It, and was it Meant To? The Box Tunnel Enigma, Newsletter of the Friends of the National Railway Museum, No.38, May 1986, 18-20

The National Railway Museum Library and its Collections, Journal of the Railway & Canal Historical Society, July 1986, 322-328.

Biggest But Not Best: new light on Class R1, The North Eastern Express (North Eastern Railway Association), August 1986, 58-60

The GNR and the NRM Photographic Collection, Newsletter (of the) GNR Society, No.32, September 1986, 32.5

6256 and All That, Steam Days No.5, April-June 1987, 12-17.
comparisons between LMS 4-6-2s Nos.6256/7 and Co-Co Des Nos.10000/1.

More Light on the Lickey Banker, Back Track, Summer 1987, 64-66.

The Metro-Land Tanks, Railways South East, Winter 1987/88, 46-49
Metropolitan Railway 4-4-4T, 0-6-4T and 2-6-4T classes.

Wheel Cycles an analysis, by wheel arrangement, of British steam locomotive evolution, Back Track, Spring 1988, 5-10

Changing Standards - Minutiae from the Minutes, Railway World, February 1988, 89-91.
trivia regarding the evolution of the BR Standard steam locomotive classes.

Changing Standards - The BR Standard 2-8-0s, Railway World, April 1988, 222-223
abortive BR proposals for a Standard 2-8-0 in 1953

The Eclipse of Steam on British Railways, Railway World, June 1988, 326-330

The Great Locomotive Famine of 1899, in Railway World Year Book 1989 (6-13), Ian Allan Ltd, 1988

The James Clayton Influence, Railways South East, Winter 1988/89, 122-129
locomotive links between Derby and Ashford

Box Tunnel A Final Word? Newsletter of the Friends of the National Railway Museum, No.45, November 1988, 15

The LNWR/Caledonian 4-6-0 Exchanges of 1909, The True Line (Caledonian Railway Association), No.23, November 1988, (no pagination)

Intoduction, The North British Railway Atlantics and 4-4-2Ts, Locomotives Illustrated No.62, November-December 1988, Ian Allan Ltd, 4-7

Locomotive Building on the Midland Railway 1870-1922, Chapter 6 in An Illustrated Review of Midland Locomotives, Vol.3 (126-132) by R J Essery and D Jenkinson, Wild Swan, 1988

[Midland Railway] Locomotive Building Costs, Appendix in Essery & Jenkinson (above) (133)

Crewe At Home and Away, Back Track, April-June 1989, 77-80
LNWR locomotive exchanges in 1909

A Caledonian Compound, The True Line (Caledonian Railway Association), No.25, May 1989, no pagination
St Rollox drawing office evidence for a proposed CR 4-cylinder compound 4-4-0, designed during 1899-1900.

Locos from Scratch, The Railway Magazine, August 1989, 516-517
remarkable feats of rapid steam locomotive building

A Weight Problem, North Eastern Express (North Eastern Railway Association), August 1989, 12-13,16.
conflicting evidence as to the actual weights of the NER Class W 4-6-0T/4-6-2T

Caledonian Railway 'Outlines' of Proposed Locomotives, 1900-1922, The True Line (Caledonian Railway Association), No.26, August 1989, no pagination

On Test: Rugby Locomotive Testing Station, Back Track, September-October 1989, 148-154

LMS 6399/6170 A Chronology, Journal of the Stephenson Locomotive Society, September/October 1989, 177-179.
Fury and British Legion rebuilt from it.

Horses for Courses, Back Track, November-December 1989, 202-205
locomotives designed for special duties or for service on specific demanding routes

How Many, Where and When? Steam Railway, December 1989, 71-73
an attempt to quantify the total number of steam locomotives ever built. This article was subsequently translated and published in Italy: Vapore nel mondo, tutto Treno, Septembre 1990, 26-30.

What Might Have Been, The Railway Magazine, March 1990, 164-166
National standard locomotives proposed by the Association of Railway Locomotive Engineers during 1917-1918.

Taking a Distant View, Country Life, 5 April 1990, 181
exceptional long distance views within the British Isles

British Railways Standard Steam Locomotive Boilers, Railway World, April 1990, 290-291, August 1990, 501-503

The 'Dreadnought' Era A Forgotten Contemporary Published Record, Warship World, Summer 1990, 15-17.
contemporary technical descriptions of British battleships and battle cruisers in The Engineer and Engineering, 1906-1920

The Lambton Tanks, Moors Line (North Yorkshire Moors Railway), Summer 1990, 19-20
0-6-2Ts built to the direct order of Lambton Collieries and now preserved on the NYMR

Anglo-Irish Connection, Back Track, May-June 1990, 100-106
locomotive and locomotive designer connections between Great Britain and Ireland)

The Picture Collection Now Standing at the National Railway Museum is the 1991 From Over One Hundred Sources, The BAPLA Journal, Winter 1990/91, 45

[British Railways] Class 9F 2-10-0, World of Trains, Part 8, 1990, 157-160

Last of a Long Line, Back Track, January-February 1991, 39-40.
GWR 94XX 0-6-0PTs

Britannia Birth of a Locomotive, Irwell Press, 1991, 92p

Lost Locomotives From 'A1' to 'Z' (with John Edgington), 24pp supplement to Steam World, May 1991
a survey of locomotive types contained within BR stock which escaped preservation

Keeping the Records Straight, Steam World, August 1991, 6-12.
the rationale behind LMS Engine History Cards.

Death by Unnatural Causes, Steam Railway, November 1991, 25-29
British locomotives suddenly written off in untoward circumstances

More Light on the Bulleid 4-6-2s, Railways South East, Winter 1991/92, 18-22

Engines Elite British 'Pacifics' 1908-1954, 24pp supplement to Steam World, May 1992

The Fruitless Quest, Railways South East, Summer 1992, 62-67.
R E L Maunsell proposed locomotive projects

[anon] [LNER] Class P2 2-8-2, The World of Trains, Part 25, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, June 1992, 498-501

Death by Unnatural Causes, Part 2, Steam Railway, August 1992, 51-52.
update on November1991 article.

Standing the Test of Time, The Railway Magazine, September 1992, 54-57; 63.
steam locomotive designs the world over which were built over a period of 30 years and more virtually unaltered.

Locomotives Off the Peg, Back Track, September-October 1992, 246-248.
locomotives left on their builder's hands and sold on elsewhere, or built unchanged for other customers.

[anon] [New York Central Railroad] Niagara Class 4-8-4, The World of Trains, Part 38, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, - 1992, 757-760

Locomotive Rebuilds, Steam Railway, November 1992, 40-

Some Observations on Britain's Railways and Coal, in Perspectives on Railway History and Interpretation (12-22), Ed N Cossons, A Patmore and R Shorland-Ball, National Railway Museum, 1992

[anon] [Union Pacific Railroad] Class 9000 4-12-2, The World of Trains, Part 51, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, - 1992, 1018-1021

[anon] [Norfolk & Western Railway] Class Y6b 2-8-8-2, The World of Trains, Part 69, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, - 1992, 1378-1380

[anon] [Nickel Plate] Lima 2-8-4s, The World of Trains, Part 74, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, -1992, 1477-1480

Sticking with Shovels, Steam Railway, August 1993, 47-48
why mechanical stokers were not adopted in Britain.

The Last Word in LMS Steam, Steam World, July 1992, 6-12
LMS 4-6-2s Nos.6256/7.

The Enigma of the BR 'Clans', Steam World, November 1992, 6-10.

More on the South African Railways Class S2 0-8-0, Locomotives International, No.20, July 1993, 19-21

[anon] [Chesapeake & Ohio Railway] M1 2-Do-2-Do-2 (steam turbine electric), The World of Trains, Part 78, Eaglemoss Publications, - 1993, 1558-1560

[anon] [Midland and LMS] Midland Compound, The World of Trains, Part 81, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, - 1993, 1618-1621

[anon] [London & South Western Railway] Class M7 0-4-4T, The World of Trains, Part 88, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, - 1993, 1757-1759

The British Railways Standard 9F 2-10-0, Irwell Press, 1993, 92p

The Origin of the NER Class T3 3 Cylinder 0-8-0, The North Eastern Express (North Eastern Railway Association), November 1993, 91

Great Northern Railway 4-4-2 No.990, Henry Oakley, The Friends of the National Railway Museum Newsletter, No.65, November 1993, 16-17

Evidence Not In Camera, The Railway Magazine, December 1993, 27-29.
post-1900 British locomotives of which very little or no photographic evidence appears to exist

Private Locomotive Building and the Indian Connection, in Bedside Back Track (19-24), Ed D Jenkinson, Atlantic Transport Publishers, 1993

[anon] [South Eastern & Chatham Railway] D Class 4-4-0, The World of Trains, Part 100, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, - 1993, 1997-2000

[anon] [Southern Railway] S15 Class 4-6-0, The World of Trains, Part 132, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, - 1993, 2637-2641

[anon] [London Brighton & South Coast Railway] Terrier Class 0-6-0T, The World of Trains, Part 110, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, - 1993, 2197-2200

[anon] [Southern Railway] Heavy Freight Tanks, The World of Trains, Part 114, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, - 1993, 2277-2280
ex-LSWR 4-6-2Ts/4-8-0Ts and SR Class Z 0-8-0Ts

[anon] [London Midland & Scottish Railway] 4F Class 0-6-0, The World of Trains, Part 117, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, - 1993, 2238-2241

[anon] [London & North Western Railway] G Class 0-8-0, The World of Trains, Part 118, Eaglemoss Publications Ltd, - 1993, 2358-2361

A Royal Progress building the first LMS Pacifics, British Railways Illustrated, May 1994, 428-429

Diesel Dinosaurs and other 'prehistoric' forms of traction, Traction, October-November 1994, 46-49
some early British non-steam main line locomotive projects

Derby's Wooden Engine, Steam Railway, December 1994, 64-65
full size pre-construction wooden mock up of Ivatt LMS Class 2 2-6-2T built at Derby c.1945

The Early British Rolling Stock Inheritance, in Common Roots Separate Branches, railway history and preservation: proceedings of an international symposium held at the National Railway Museum, York from 8 to 12 October 1993, Ed R Shorland-Ball, Science Museum for National Railway Museum, 1994 (88-94)

The Great British 4-6-0, Steam World, October 1994, 25-32, November 1994, 46-51, December 1994, 12-17, January 1995, 40-44

So you think you've got a weight problem? The Railway Magazine, February 1995, 17-20
steam locomotives which exceeded their officially stated weights

The Rise and Fall of the Great British 4-6-0 1937-1967, Steam World, March 1995, 30
statistical summary of British 4-6-0 classes as at 31 December 1937, 1947, 1957 and 1967

The 'Railway Races' and Gateshead Drawing Office, The North Eastern Express (North Eastern Railway Association), May 1995, 40-41

A Rare Distinction, Back Track, June 1995, 302-305
locomotives built and withdrawn from service by the 'Big Four' within the 1923-1947 period

A Glimpse of the Past, Back Track, June 1995, 335-336
article illustrated by photographs from F G Smith's personal archive while he was works manager to the Highland Railway at Inverness, c.1911

Better Late Than Never, Steam World, June 1995, 46-50
the origins of the BR Standard Class 4 4-6-0 traced back to a proposed LMS 1933 antecedent

Books of Revelation, Railway World, July 1995, 23
locomotive drawing office registers held in the National Railway Museum archives

Engines for War, Steam Railway:
Part 1, The 'cheap and nasty Stanier 8Fs', May 1995, 39-42
WD 'Austerity' 2-8-0s
Part 2, The Scottish 'Heavies', June 1995, 38-41,
WD 'Austerity' 2-10-0s
Part 3, Overworked and over here! July 1995, 57-59,
US Army S160 2-8-0s
Part 3, The 'Yankee Dockers', August 1995, 77-80,
USA 0-6-0Ts

The Rise and Demise of the 'Turbomotive', Steam Days, October 1995, 584-589

Self Weighing Tenders, British Railways Illustrated, October 1995, 28-29

One hundred Up detail evolution in the British Railways Standard Class 5MT 4-6-0, British Railways Illustrated, November 1995, 99
comparison of official photographs of Nos.73000, built April 1951, and 73099, built December 1955

State of the Art Quintet, British Railways Illustrated, January 1996, 191-196
comparisons of ultimate US, French, British and German 4-6-2/4-6-4 express passenger steam locomotive designs, 1948-1957

Blackpool Britain's most obscure locomotive? Back Track, January 1996, 40-42
Knott End Railway 2-6-0T

Post-War Compounds, Locomotives International, No.35, September 1996, 20-22
compound locomotives were built in four European countries other than France after 1945, and for two US railroads

Forty Years On 1956 And All That, British Railways Illustrated, July 1996, 527-529
steam locomotive developments on British Railways during 1956

COAL the Steam Railway Guide, Part 3: What Happened to Coal? Steam Railway, June 1996, 30-33
the problems of satisfactory coal procurement in the early British Railways era

The First One to Go, British Railways Illustrated, August 1996, 598-599
BR Class 4 2-6-4T No.80103, the first BE Standard steam locomotive to be withdrawn from service, August 1962

The Nidd Valley Railway 1928 and 1996, Steam World, September 1996, 52-54
a photo comparison of the same locations in Upper Nidderdale in 1928 and 1996

An Unexpected Connection, FNRM Newsletter No.77, November 1996, 19
LMS 4-6-2 No.6229 and Chinese National Railways 4-8-4 No.607, both now held in the National Collection, were both conveyed overseas pre-war by the same ship, the MV Belpamela, which was later lost in a storm in 1947

The 36 'Britannias' That Never Were, The Railway Magazine, December 1996, 19-22
British Railways Standard steam locomotives which were provisionally authorised but never built

Yorkshire and the Great Pyramid, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, Vol.68, 1996, 225-230
several curious links between England's largest county and the Great Pyramid of Egypt

Building Cock o' the North Doncaster Works 1934, British Railways Illustrated, January 1997, 176-181

The National Railway Museum Library & Collections, Railway World, March 1997, 28,
an abridged version was published in FNRM Newsletter, No.79, May 1997, 5-6

G&SWR Locomotives after James Manson, Steam Days, May 1997, 268-273

The North Eastern Railway Dynamometer Car, Railway World, June 1997, 26

An Inchicore Threesome, Back Track, July 1997, 396-399
biographical details concerning Robert Coey, R E L Maunsell, and E A Watson

The Four-Cylinder Compound Atlantics of the North Eastern Railway, Back Track, August 1997, 424-429

From Hops to Pots The Ashford-Stoke Connection, Steam Days, September 1997, 556-559
locomotive links between the South Eastern & Chatham and North Staffordshire railways

Chinese Puzzles, Continental Railway Journal, Winter 1997-98, 67
an analysis of Chinese locomotive stock, 1985-1995

A Tale of Red 0-6-4Ts, Back Track, January 1998, 37-39
Midland, North Staffordshire, Metropolitan and Barry Railway 0-6-4Ts

Hawthorn, Leslie and the Highland Railway, Back Track, March 1998, 141-144

The 1400 Class 4-6-0, The L&NWR Society Journal, March 1998, 137-138
notes on the Webb compound 4-6-0s and proposals to rebuild them

Superheated Mixed-Traffic Engines, Steam Days, July 1998, 412-419
the superheated 2-6-0/4-6-0 mixed traffic genre of 1911-1921

Who was Who in Harrogate, The North Eastern Express (North Eastern Railway Association), August 1998, 89-90

The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie 2-8-4s, Locomotives International, November-December 1998, 14-15

The Evolution of the 'Flatirons', Midland Record, No.9, 1998, 5-13
alternative schemes for a large MR passenger tank engine, 1903-1906

The Smith Connection, Midland Record, No.10, 1998, 15-19
locomotive links between Gateshead and Derby via W M Smith (father) and J W Smith (son)

[untitled], Railway World, March 1999, 25
unusual enquiries received by the NRM and the contemporary naval background to one of the largest GWR wagons ever built

It Had Already Been Done, Steam World, May 1999, 54-57
exceptionally high annual mileages achieved by British steam locomotives

That Was a Year That Was, The Railway Magazine, April 1999, 42-46
a review of the British locomotive classes introduced during the exceptionally prolific year of 1903

Forward to a reprint of the British Railways Modernisation and Re-equipment Plan of January 1955, Rail Express, July 1999

Dear Mr Stanier, You Don't Know Me But .., Steam World, June 1999, 21-24
the gratifying responses from writing to surviving CME's etc in the 1960s

Dropping The Fire The Decline and Fall of the Steam Locomotive, Irwell Press/NRM, 106p
a study of the causes behind worldwide decline of the steam locomotive after 1945

A Greek Tragedy, New Light on the Ansaldo/Breda 2-10-2s, Locomotives International, No.50, July-August 1999, 6-8
highly unsuccessful very large Italian-built steam locomotives for Greece in the 1950s

Gresley 2-8-0s For Export, The Gresley Observer (The Gresley Society), No.119, Autumn 1999, 30
sometimes curious proposed adaptations by the North British Locomotive Co. of the GNR Class O2 3-cylinder 2-8-0 for export in the 1920s

Setting the Standards for BR Steam, in Steel Wheels, Britain's Railways 1825-2000 (28-33), EMAP Active, 2000

The Beginning of the End, in A Year to Remember 1957 (14-16), Irwell Press, 1999
the end of steam locomotive construction in several railway workshops

The Golden Age of Steam Locomotive Building, Atlantic Transport Publishers/NRM, 1999, 128p
a study of steam locomotive construction in Great Britain 1825-1964

A Truly Unique Locomotive, National Railway Museum Review, No.94, Winter 2000-2001, 13-17,
the evolution, construction and operation of the 'Lickey Banker' 0-10-0

The 640,000 Steam Locomotive Question, Steam Railway, March 2000, 32-36
how many steam locomotives were built?,
31 March 27 April 2000, 32-36
the quest to improve steam locomotive efficiency. Part 1 formed the basis of an article, published in German in Lok Magazin, November 2000, 44-54 (Deutschland auf rang 2, Germany ranked second

The Italian Job: The Chronicle of the Crosti 9F 2-10-0s, Steam Railway, 21 July 17 August 2000, 30-36

Career Moves, Back Track, September 2000, 502-504
the contrasting careers of George Heppell (NER) and Robert McColl (American Locomotive Company)

Midland Eight-Coupled, Midland Record, No.13, 2000, 38-43
abortive MR 0-8-0, 2-8-0 and 2-8-2T proposals

A European Perspective, Chapter 10 in World's Greatest Steam Locomotives, by E L Huddleston, TLC Publishing, 2001
a comparative study of UP 4-8-8-4, C&O 2-6-6-6, and N&W 2-6-6-4

British Steam Locomotive Demography, Back Track, February 2001, 71-77

Counsels of Perfection A New Look at Robinson Great Central Railway Locomotives, Back Track, August 2001, 445-452

Going 'Outside', LNWR Society Journal, September 2001, 185-190
an examination of the exceptional placing of locomotive orders with private builders by the LNWR after 1914

Ephemeral Engines, The Railway Magazine, February 2002, 18-23
shortlived British steam locomotive classes

Alpha and Omega, LMS 4-6-0s 10433 and 4767, LMS Journal, No.1, 2002, 33-37
the first and last locomotives, both 4-6-0s, to enter service on the LMS

The Ultimate Steam 'Singleton' ..Sinner or Sinned Against, Steam Railway, 16 August 12 September 2002, 36-43
an examination of the evolution and performance of BR 4-6-2 No.71000, with comparisons with other British 4-6-2 designs

Britannias in the Age of Elizabeth Getting There and Beyond, A Note on British Railways Standard Steam Locomotive Boilers, and Standards That Never were, in The Book of the BR Standards : 2, Ed R Derry (1-7, 26-27, 67-74), Irwell Press, 2002

LMS Post-1937 4-6-2 Projects, LMS Journal, No.3, 2002, 35-36

4-6-0 Heaven, 1958, British Railways Illustrated, April 2003, 286-297
1958 witnessed the peak of the British 4-6-0 population shortly before its rapid withdrawal

More Light on the Proposed Pickersgill 2-6-0, The True Line (Caledonian Railway Association), No.81, July 2003, 28
CR 2-6-0 designed in detail 1920-1923 but not built

New Boilers For Old, Steam World, August 2003, 8-14
British Railways boiler renewal policy

Furness Railway Locomotive Specifications, Cumbrian Railways (Cumbrian Railways Association), August 2003, 191
a note on FR locomotive specifications held in the NRM archive

Sudden Death, The Railway Magazine, September 2003, 14-20
a listing of British locomotives which met a sudden unscheduled demise

The Highland Railway 'River' Class 4-6-0 Affair, 1915 a detailed chronology, Highland Railway Journal (Highland Railway Association), No.67, 10-13, Autumn 2003

Sudden Death 2, The Railway Magazine, July 2004, 56-58
an update incorporating further information from readers of September 2003 article; even more examples have since come to light

On A Clear Day , Dalesman, June 2004, 46-47
speculation as to the longest distance view in Yorkshire

The Highland Railway 'River' Class 4-6-0 Affair, September 1915, LMS Journal, No.7, 52-69, 2004

Richard Mountford Deeley Author and Polymath, Midland Record, No.20, 2004, 11-12

The Mystery of No.1880, LNWR Society Journal, September 2004, 202-203
scant details regarding the final Webb 3-cylinder compound 0-8-0, and a 0-6-0 coal engine, which were fitted with experimental boilers of which there is no apparent photographic record

Untitled (Thirties File), British Railways Illustrated, March 2005, 256-257
three photographs taken by M W Earley at Cove Bay, south of Aberdeen, during the afternoon of Saturday, 23 July 1938

1913 A Halcyon Year, Back Track, May 2005, 300-305
a celebration of the year 1913, deemed to be the zenith of steam railway operation in Britain in terms of scale and diversity

The Great Cull of 1962, Steam World, September 2005, 8-14
an analysis of the massive steam locomotive withdrawals on British Railways during the second half of 1962

Some Reflections on Locomotive Engineers of the North Eastern Railway, British Railway Journal Special NER Edition, (December 2005), 8-21

Changing Times Curious Aspects of Boiler Changing on BR, British Railways Illustrated, March 2006, 234-243

Box of Puzzles, Back Track, December 2006, 740-741
the enigma posed by alleged sightings of the rising sun shining directly through Box Tunnel on different dates in early April, but never when theory dictates it ought to happen

The Real Crown Jewels, Steam Railway, 29 December 2006 25 January 2007, 40-44
the writer's favourite ten images from the NRM photo archive

George Heppell An Appreciation, The North Eastern Express (North Eastern Railway Association), February 2007, 16-21
biographical details concerning the NER Chief Locomotive Draughtsman, 1906-1919

Perthshire 'Des Res', Back Track, March 2007, 182-184
the Perthshire origins of some classic Scottish locomotive names

Every Single One There's Ever Been, The Railway Magazine, May 2007, 14-19
a further attempted quantification of total world steam locomotive construction, which appears to have peaked in 1907

Some Notes on the Larger-boilered Somerset & Dorset 2-8-0s, Midland Record 24, 2007, 92-96

2016-09-06