Steam Alive! - Trains Illustrated No 0012 (Final Issue) - October 1971

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-line locomotives, the article traces the growth of societies such as the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society, highlighting the challenges of finance, manpower, infrastructure decay and public scepticism. Illustrated throughout with evocative photographs, it captures the optimism — and uncertainty — of preservation’s formative years.

A major historical contribution comes from “British Railways and the Steam Engine”, written by W. O. Reynolds of the British Railways Board. This thoughtful piece examines why steam traction could no longer be sustained in everyday service, while also acknowledging its cultural importance in preservation. It provides valuable insight into how British Rail viewed steam in hindsight — not as nostalgia, but as an engineering chapter that had naturally reached its conclusion.

The photographic feature “Past and Possible” showcases privately owned locomotives that had already operated successfully on British Rail metals, alongside those that might yet return under suitable conditions. Images of engines such as Princess Elizabeth, Flying Scotsman, and preserved industrial locomotives illustrate both achievement and ambition.

Throughout the issue, extensive photography documents volunteer labour in action — rebuilding track, repairing bridges, and operating trains on lines such as the Talyllyn Railway. These images underline the publication’s central message: that preservation was no longer about saving machines alone, but about rebuilding railways through community effort.

As its final issue, Steam Alive! No. 12 stands as both a celebration and a handover — recording the moment when railway preservation moved from experiment to permanence, and when steam, once thought extinct, had firmly proved that it was indeed still alive.

This issue is available via the Internet Archive here.