News, nostalgia, preservation and modelling

An editor departs and a familiar name returns

LAUNCHED at the Tinsley Traction Depot open day in April 1996, RAIL EXPRESS has been there to report on the vast transformation of our railway system over the intervening decade and a half as British Rail was pushed out of the way for a new era of private enterprise. Behind the scenes, the magazine has seen similarly big developments. While RE’s commitment to quality production values and the best in railway photography has remained constant, the people that work at the sharp end bringing you your monthly fix have also changed over the years.

The original ‘gang of four’ that produced that famous first issue (hence the name Foursight) gradually went on to other things as new members of staff arrived, while a change of ownership last year has allowed RE the opportunity to expand its pagination and grow its retail presence.

The magazine has also led the way in the digital marketplace, and is still one of the few titles to offer a version for ereaders such as the iPad.

This issue introduces another big change as it marks my final month as editor of RAIL EXPRESS. My tenure in the hot seat has been brief and has coincided with the transition of the magazine from a small office in the Northamptonshire village of King’s Cliffe to the glitzy high life of Horncastle, Lincolnshire. Mortons Media’s acquisition of RE last June, which was closely followed by the purchase of The Railway Magazine, saw both mags join Heritage Railway under the same roof. This boosted Mortons into the big league of railway publishing, making it the principle publisher of non-modelling railway titles in the country.

After eight years of 24/7 magazine production, and with RE’s transition year now out of the way, II have made what is either a brave or foolhardy decision to step down and have a crack at a completely different career. For added adventure, this will see me travelling almost halfway around the world to central Japan to begin a teaching job!

When casting around for a replacement, we looked for someone who would understand the way of RAIL EXPRESS.

We got lucky. Murray Brown, the first editor of the magazine, and thus pre-installed with that tricky to define RE DNA coursing through his veins, was able to return to the top job. Murray is also a former editor of Rail Enthusiast/RAIL magazine and is well known as a leading light in the preservation movement, chairing both the Deltic Preservation Society and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Plus, if you ever wondered why so many LNER coaches were preserved, Murray probably had a hand in that as well, and let’s not forget D200 and the Wickham DMU.

Never one to give things up too easily, I will still be acting for the magazine as a contributing editor, and the RAIL EXPRESS Modeller supplement will still be under my control until the new team is in place later in the year. See the comment in this issue for more information.

Before I head off to the land of the rising sun, I would like to take this chance to thank everyone that has contributed to the mag in my eight years of working for RE. It isn’t possible to mention everyone by name, but if you’ve helped out with a photo that was required ‘yesterday’, or provided articles, gen, clarifications or feedback then it has been appreciated.

How to contact the new editor

A new top man means a change of editorial contact details. Murray’s new email is railexpresseditor@mortons.co.uk and all press releases, photographic submissions and other correspondence should be sent to this address. Anything related to the REM magazine should be sent to REMeditor@mortons.co.uk