NEWS:
HEADLINE NEWS - Green Arrow returns to steam; Central Trains orders 20 more Turbostars'; NWT fights for survival as managing director resigns: Great Central (Nottingham) takes lead in resinstating Loughborough's missing bridge as GCR Leicester section has its line speed increased to 60mph; Vandals blamed as "most likely cause of an accident"; MPs back bid to reopen the Lewes-Uckfield line; Steam railmotor project goes from strength to strength; Strathspey line in EWS timber trial; Bid to build a 'Grange;'
STEAM NEWS - End of BR steam commemorated; Burkhardt says more freight could run onto heritage lines; SRPS axes 'Caledonian ISO'; 14XX moves 400 miles for a three-mile trip; KESR launches Bodiam bearer bonds; B 12 and Gresley stock for SVR gala; Mid-Hants makes Bodmin a priority.
NARROW GAUGE NEWS - Manx group gets Loch in 21 -year deal; Welshpool plans gala; Peter Pan goes home; Dinorwic twins in steam-up.
TRACTION & STOCK NEWS - Hunslet Class 20s go to DRS; ISO years of the 'Irish Mail' celebrated; Sudbrooke's departmental returns to the Class 09 fleet; Connex South East launches Class S08/2s - plus our usual round-up of the wagon scene.
NETWORK NEWS - 'Wall of death' line upgraded; GNER starts Skipton-London service; Renovation at Temple Meads; Airport link by National Express Rail; plus our regular and revealing 'Railways in Parliament' column.
CLASSIC TRACTION NEWS - D9000 Group agrees main line deal for NRM's 'KOYLI' and triggers a situation in which all six production Deities could soon be back in main line service!; D6703 could get its name after all!; Alyddon for King's Cross return;; Barrow Hill to house 'Peak'? 'Crompton' makes debut on Churnet Valley Railway.
OPERATIONS NEWS - Our comprehensive monthly round-up of news from the train operating companies, railway workshops and freight companies.

STEAM:
'PERCHANCE IT IS NOT DEAD, BUT SLEEPETH - Celebrating the centenary of its opening, Keith Hill looks at the history of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway and the efforts currently being made by preservationists to rebuild it.
CUBA LIBRE! - It is one of the last bastions of Communism in the world - and said by many to be the most important stronghold of steam in the world. John Titlow presents an informative 'beginner's guide' to this fabulous West Indian island.

PLUS: SPECIAL ATLAS OF HERITAGE RAILWAYS PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT - Part three of our exclusive and innovative 'Atlas of Heritage Railways' appears in the centre of this issue. Each month for ten issues, we are giving away four pages of this highly popular atlas, which eventually will build up into a 40-page book. It features Ordnance Survey maps and, for the first time ever. the GRADIENT PROFILES of all major steam railways. This is one series you will not want to miss. See page 14 for subscription details and on the opposite page for a newsagents' reservation form.

MODERN
THE LOCO THAT NEVER WENT ANYWHERE! - As stories in railway magazines go, this one takes some beating. It explains the extraordinary and rather sad history of a powerful main line diesel which made only eight main line runs (none of which were more than a few miles from its builders' plant) never hauled a revenue-earning train and went to the scrapyard with 99 per cent of enthusiasts unaware it had even existed!
PRACTICE & PERFORMANCE: WAGN TRAIN TO YORK - Chief correspondent Peter Semmens charts the special run of a Class 365 from London to York and asks whether West Anglia & Great Northern Railway could introduce regular services to the Great North Eastern Railway strongholds of Grantham, Newark and Retford!
CHASING 'LE CHOPPERS' - In the early 1990s, four Class 20s were bought by a private French railway company and shipped over the Channel. Since then, very little has been heard of them. Colin Marsden travels to Autun, in central France, to find out what's been happening to them and how they're earning their living.
PANORAMA - Five full-colour pages in our monthly showcase, sponsored by Fuji - which has recently renewed its support for this high-quality series.

REGULARS:
'SPECIAL' PAGES     
ANSWERS
READERS' FORUM    
MYSTERY TRAVELLER
RAILWAYS IN
PARLIAMENT
GRASS ROOTS
FIGHT FOR FREIGHT
TRACTION UPDATE
VIDEO VIEW
BOOKSHELF
COMING EVENTS     
IMPERTINENT
PARAGRAPHS
PRIZE COMPETITION
WHERE IS IT?
CLASSIC YEARS

FRONT COVER Main picture: The first-ever green main line ac electric in Britain: Class 86 No. 86631 poses proudly in new Freightliner livery at Crewe Basford Hall after its unveiling on August 17. See story page 7. DARREN FORD. Top picture: The first Brunswick green V2 for almost 30 years: No. 60800 also poses proudly in new livery, at the NRM, after its unveiling on August 12. See story page 8.