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➜ See pages 20 and 21 for further images of No. 590 and a report of the winner of a Heritage Railwaysponsored research competition to mark the centenary of the full opening of the original WHR and a preview of the gala being held on June 23-25 to celebrate the occasion. I CAN NOT butapplaudtheinitiativesbeingtakenby the heritage sector to tackle the challenges of the cost of living crisis.While there is a positive response to the SevernValley Railway’s £1.5 million Survival Fund appeal, the line has not only reviewed its operating costs, but it has also initiated an extra steam-hauled service on 56 days to entice more fare-paying visitors. The Great Central Railway is trialling a new timetable facilitating visits to the footplate of a live steam locomotive so families with…
THE A1 Steam LocomotiveTrust – the ground-breaking charity which built and operates new Peppercorn Pacific No.60163 Tornado and is now nearing completion of a new Gresley P2 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales – vacated the carriage works on Hopetown Lane, Darlington, its home for more than a quarter of a century, between May 19 and May 26. It has taken up a new permanent residence half a mile away at a new purpose-built facility in Bonomi Way, part of the Darlington Railway Heritage Quarter, which is being transformed into a cutting-edge tourist attraction. The move has seen the boiler for its flagship A1 and the rolling chassis for its P2 positioned side by side for the first time within the facility. Trust chairman Col Steve Davies MBE said: “The…
FOLLOWING five years in the positions of LondonTransport Museum’s current chief operating officer and deputy director, Elizabeth McKay has been appointed as its director and chief executive officer. Since joining the museum in 2018, she has led a programme of strategic renewal to articulate the organisation’s charitable purpose, overseeing its long-term approach to capital investment, gallery planning and design, and has played a central role in developing its journey to reach net zero by 2030. She has also steered the strategic focus on creating an inclusive culture for diverse audiences. Engagement with young Londoners, and supporting them in pursuing creative careers and jobs in transport, engineering and green skills, has been thanks to Elizabeth championing investment in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. She will continue to spearhead efforts to…
THE DukeofKentvisitedtheKeighley & WorthValley Railway to join in with the 100th birthday celebrations for A3 Pacific No. 60103 Flying Scotsman. The duke, 87, who is both a second cousin and first cousin once removed of King Charles III, became patron of the KWVR Preservation Society following a visit to the line in July 2008, attended the first day of the line’s Flying Scotsman Festival. Society chairman Dr Matt Stroh said: “It was wonderful to welcome our royal patron on a very special day for the railway. “We were running the first day of our sell-out Flying Scotsmanhauled services as part of the iconic locomotive’s centenary celebrations. “His Royal Highness’s eyes lit up when he realised he was going to visit the footplate, and he was particularly intrigued by its complexity.…
ONE of the most significant developments ever in Britain’s world-leading heritage railway and preservation sector was announced in May 9, when the proposal to link the RotherValley Railway with its neighbour, the Kent & East Sussex Railway, was given the go-ahead. Approval, which was granted to the RVR in the form of a Transport & Works Act Order, was described as “the realisation of a dream” by KESR chairman Simon Marsh, while Mike Hart, vice-chairman of the RVR Heritage Trust, lauded the “significant contribution” linking the two railways would make to the local economy. Mike, who will oversee the privately-funded £6 million project, told Heritage Railway that he expected the work – which will result in a 14-mile railway between Robertsbridge and Tenterden – to take three years, adding: “I…
EXCITEMENT wasmountingforthefirst visit of the Furness RailwayTrust’s 0-4-0 No. 20 to the Blaenavon Heritage Railway, where it was scheduled to operate for a month and headline the May 27-29 Coal Train weekend. However, on May 20 it was failed with a mechanical fault and removed from traffic, and replaced the following day by Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0T No. 1857, with that and visiting Avonside 0-6-0T No. 1919 Cranford taking charge of trains during the weekend’s event. Although the nature of the failure has not been disclosed, it was initially believed that the 1863-built locomotive, the oldest operating steam engine in the UK, would have to be returned to its owning group’s base at the Ribble Steam Railway. Following inspections, the railway was looking at effecting repairs in-house with aid from contracted…
