Our lead article in this issue details the rescue for preservation of a locomotive directly from Swindon, in this case iconic diesel-hydraulic No. D1062 Western Courier. Another author contribution describes what it was like working for BR Western Region in a busy Bristol area signal box. In keeping with the mission of seeking out the more obscure corners of the GWR, there are short pieces about Paddington’s horse power, and oddities in proposed locomotive re-numbering following Nationalisation.

There is a nostalgic photographic wallow into steamy Summer Saturdays at Exeter St Davids, and an account of the early developmental stages of Automatic Train Control. There is also a description of one of the revered Dean ‘Single’ 4-2-2s and of personal associations with the locomotive in question. All the regulars are present – more from the Riley archives, a book review, the latest Great Western Trust Bulletin, and the latest instalment of ‘The Pannier Story’ which delves into design variations. For those readers with a taste for mystery, there is an investigation into arguably the strangest standard gauge GWR locomotive, one that Swindon occasionally pretended had never existed at all.