Very few enthusiasts alive will remember the first issue of the Railway Magazine which was published in July 1897.

The idea for the magazine came from Frank Cornwall, the manager of the Railway Herald, a journal read by railwaymen. Its first editor was George Sekon, a railway author of some repute, who edited the magazine under the name of Nokes (Sekon reversed!).

During the Edwardian years, the Railway Magazine flourished with Sekon at the helm, until an internal disagreement with his publisher over the omission of coverage on London's deep-tube railways - financed by American money - led to his resignation.

It was at this time that the long association between Railway Magazine and Railway Gazette started and still continues today, albeit more loosely now, with both titles owned by different parts of the Anglo-Dutch Reed Elsevier publishing group.

In 1901, the first 'Locomotive Practice & Performance' feature appeared, penned by Charles Rous-Martin, and three year's later in 1904 it covered the record run down Wellington bank by GW 4-4-0 No. 3717 City of Truro, although the speed of 102.3 mph has been disputed.

Taking over the series in 1909 and continuing until 1958 was Cecil J Allen, who wrote 536 LP&P features of which 535 were published. The missing one was planned for September 1930. Allen had passed the proofs and gone on holiday, and being critical of Gresley Pacifies, it was 'spiked' by the then editor John Gaims, a personal friend of Nigel Gresley and to this day has never appeared. Cecil J Allen left in late 1958, becoming involved with rival publishers Ian Allan Ltd, and rules prohibited working for other organisations.

Replacing Allen was the legendary railway author O S Nock who continued to compile the feature until his 'retirement' in December 1980. Peter Semmens, an industrial chemist by profession and former assistant keeper at York's National Railway Museum replaced Nock, and under Peter authorship, the feature is now known as 'Railway Practice & Performance' and allows inclusion of diesel or electric multiple units.

Surprisingly, Practice & Performance is not the magazine's longest running feature. This honour falls to the 'Why & Wherefore' which first appeared in November 1899 and was re-titled 'Answers' in January 1992.

How is each issue planned? With a 100-page issue as the 'norm', once the regular features of Reader's Forum, Answers, Coming Events, Seen & Heard and Traction Guide Update been accounted for on the flat plan, along with pages for display and classified advertising, around 68 pages are left for news, features and photographs.

Being the only railway journal covering steam and diesel preservation, the modem scene and authoritatively-written Railway Magazine 'team' strive to bring readers the latest news and stories backed up by quality photographs from our valuable contributors. The hardest part each month is finding an equal balance between the differing subjects. There is never any shortage of material to put in Railway Magazine - in fact we could fill another 20 pages every month!

Using the latest technology, all editorial copy is written on Applemac computers, and then each page of the magazine is 'made up' on a large computer screen by our expert designer team. The computer software allows an amazing range of on-screen manipulation of the text. Scanning of photographs digitally allows them to be seen in their correct positions on page, with the bonus of being able to position them exactly as required.

Railway Magazine is just two years away from celebrating its centenary - a tremendous achievement in railway publishing which will be commemorated appropriately - and we hope that if you are not already a reader, you will come aboard and join us very soon!

Notes:
The text in this Quainton Railway Society publication was written in 1995 and so does not reflect events in the 20+ years since publication. The text and photographs are repeated verbatim from the original publication, with only a few minor grammar changes but some clarifying notes are added if deemed necessary. The photos from the original publication are provided as scans in this internet version of this long out of print publication.

Reference:
The Railway Magazine - Chris Milner - Quainton News No. 76 - June 1995