Great Western Star
The reason for launching this new, on-line magazine is to offer to the discerning Great Western and Western Region enthusiast a new publication specifically dedicated to his or her taste.
The Great Western fraternity is probably one of the largest “supporters” groups in the world, after all, the Great Western Railway developed its own following as it grew from small beginnings in the 1830s, survived the great Amalgamation of the 1920s through to Nationalisation in 1947. Even then, it lived on s the BR (Western) Region for many years until privatisation, when it reappeared on the later diesel trains! It must have done something right to have survived all these traumas.
Frequently, the true GWR enthusiast does not just dream of the pre-1948 days but has remained dedicated to the Western region and has followed the last steam trains and, increasingly the diesels into preservation. Beyond this, I know both from personal contacts and conversations as well as from the many Group sites on Facebook, if anything the membership continues to grow as can be seen also by the enthusiasm for not only preserving the existing Great Western locomotives – both steam and diesel – but now the growing desire to bring back classes that were wiped out by BR – for example the Grange, the Saint, the County and the 47XX. On top of this, I know that any of these enthusiasts are also keen railway modellers – not just those in OO Gauge but in all scales, certainly from N Gauge up to 7¼ inch live steam.
Judging by the number of railway books that continue to be written, GWR enthusiasts are also avid readers, hungry for yet more never-revealed secrets about their beloved railway.
With this in mind, Great Western Steam has been designed to take a different view of the GWR and to take a new look through the eyes of those who are involved or who worked on it. Articles will cover in detail the stories of different lines across the GWR, will tell the stories of those who worked on it, those who are working to preserve and develop the heritage that has been handed down to us and those who are seeking to recreate those long-gone days when the GWR was truly “God’s Wonderful Railway”
Each issue will include features on the railway as GWR, with, amongst other features, a look back through the issues of 100 and more years ago in the GWR’s own Great Western Railway Magazine, the GWR in Preservation and the GWR in model form – not just OO gauge but any gauge from N up to and including 7¼ inch.
Hopefully, subscribers will find something in each issue that will delight and interest them. I would also love to hear from you
Rodney Pitt
Editor & Publisher