Western Times - Issue 12 Summer 2025

There was more to the GWR than just the mainlines to Bristol and the South West as reflected in this issue. A colour photographic collection looks at the different architectural styles found in that once common, now sadly missed, piece of lineside ‘furniture’ – the country signal box, in this case all located in Wales. Another rarity in the modern landscape is the junction station for cross-country secondary routes so an extended article on Ross on Wye and its long-lost connections is an unapologetic immersion in nostalgia. Border territory is explored in the joint route with the LNWR between Wellington and Shrewsbury while the holiday line sobriquet is remembered in a trip to the beach. Motive power diversity includes an unusual slant on diesel railcars, reflections on a twelve-wheeled engine and the fate of steam locomotive name and number plates. The regular features once again appear – the GW Trust bulletin, another delve into the Riley archive, and readers’ feedback appears in Guard’s Compartment.