Archiving

Rather than something from the dim and distant past, this is right up-to-date; a (planning) consultation for a new development adjacent to Lolworth (just down the road from Bar Hill) in South Cambridgeshire. Newlands Developments is proposing a major new logistics development, Newlands Park Cambridge, located near Junction 24 of the A14, close to Cambridge Services and the Swavesey interchange. The proposal replaces the earlier “Boxworth” naming and follows a first round of consultation held in July 2025. The developers state that the updated plans reflect feedback received from residents, local councils and planning officers. The document is available here (via the Internet Archive).

The October 1971 edition of Steam Alive! marked the end of a short but influential publication devoted entirely to Britain’s growing railway preservation movement. Published as the twelfth and final issue of Trains Illustrated – Steam Alive! , it arrived at a moment when preserved steam had moved beyond novelty and into a mature, organised national effort. The cover feature, “A Look Back Over 21 Years – Back to Steam on the Main Line?” , sets the tone for the issue. It reflects on the remarkable transformation that followed the end of main-line steam in 1968, charting how enthusiast groups, volunteers and private owners rescued locomotives, reopened branch lines and laid the foundations of what would become Britain’s heritage railway network. Central to the magazine is J. M. Lloyd’s extensive article “Twenty One Not Out” , which provides a detailed commentary on railway preservation from its earliest days. Beginning with small volunteer groups operating redundant industrial and branch...

This March 1961 issue of Model Engineer captures the hobby at a pivotal moment in British engineering history. Full-size steam was rapidly disappearing from the national railway network, yet enthusiasm for steam power — particularly in miniature — had never been stronger. The result is an issue rich in locomotive construction, practical workshop guidance, and thoughtful reflection on the changing engineering landscape. At the heart of the magazine is the continuing construction series for the GWR 45XX “Firefly” 2-6-2 tank engine , built to 3½-inch gauge. This instalment focuses on the locomotive’s underframes, axleboxes, pony truck assemblies, and wheelwork. As was typical of Model Engineer at the time, the article is supported by fully dimensioned drawings and detailed machining notes, making it both an instructional guide and a permanent workshop reference. Railway history also features prominently in an important article titled “These Will Be Saved” , which examines British Railwa...

As part of my year-end "fun", I've been going back through my quite extensive (but sadly incomplete) archive of my time living in Cambridge. This post includes nine issues, including the final issue from June 2011 of the "Chesterton Challenge" newsletter.  All nine issues are available here (via Internet Archive).

So, like all good "compulsive collectors", I've spent the Christmas break working on my increasingly mammoth archive. This has involved writing a couple of new applications for my Mac (using Go/Automator) and uploading a whole host of things to the Internet Archive. I then came across this; This is the "offer" letter for my SECOND ever job. My first ever job was working from 6 am to 3 pm at a family butcher's just across the road from where I lived at the time. Yes. I was a "butcher's boy" and had a bike with a large basket of meat at the front! Those were the days ... My job at the butchers paid a grand total of £5 for the day, plus I got a cut of meat.  This made the £1.92 an hour, plus 21p "Reading weighting", look very attractive indeed!