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OPINION IN his Ode to Autumn, the Romantic poet John Keats wrote about the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; conspiring with him how to load and bless, with fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run, to bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, and fill all fruit with ripeness to the core.” Our sector will reap the ripe fruits of an autumn that may well be better than all autumns that have gone before in its 72 years… not just the magnificent hues brought out earlier than usual by the exceptionally hot summer to enchant visitors to heritage lines - along with a host of lineside photographers (see John Titlow’s seasonal feature on pages 76-81) - but also the appearance in unique, rapid…
THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway is to convert at least one of its steam locomotives to oil-burning in a bid to combat the effects of climate change as well as coal shortages, while reducing fire risk during the increasingly hot summers on the upland landscapes through which the line passes. The first fleet member to be chosen for conversion is WD ‘Austerity’2-10-0 No. 3672 Dame Vera Lynn, which is currently under overhaul. It is also hoped to convert a second locomotive within the next five to six years. NYMR CEO Chris Price said: “The NYMR has made the decision that Dame Vera Lynn will return, after its overhaul, as a liquid fuel-burning locomotive. It is our intention to raise the remaining amount of money required to complete the overhaul on…
NORTH Yorkshire Moors Railway CEO Chris Price is to leave the heritage line after eight years in charge to take up a new role as director of the Tank Museum at Bovington, in Dorset. Chris, who is also vice chairman of the Heritage Railway Association, was previously general manager of the Talyllyn Railway, where he is still president of the preservation society. He does not plan to step down from the HRA board. Since joining in 2015, Chris has taken the Moorsline through many changes and milestones - through the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic and securing £4.6 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of its £9.2 miiiion Sustainability Project, NYMR’s Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey Appeal. Earlier this year, Chris welcomed King Charles III on his first public appointment…
THE West Somerset Railway was among the places that bore the brunt of thunderstorms and monsoon-like downpours on the tail end of Hurricane Lee, an Atlantic storm which hit the south west on Sunday, September 17, bringing the late summer mini-heatwave to an abrupt end. There was flooding at many places along the line, particularly at Blue Anchor station, where rainwater gushed in waterfalls off the platform and where the museum building was damaged as two inches of rain fell in just a few hours. There was also a landslip, and the locking room was affected, leaving the line with signalling issues. As an immediate response to the unprecedented deluge, which left several streets in Minehead submerged by flood water, most of the line’s services were suspended. However, one train…
ACCLAIMED coach restorer Stephen Middleton was honoured with the William McAlpine Award at the National Transport Trust’s annual awards ceremony on September 18. Stephen and his family were presented with the award for the restoration of an ex-Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons O-6-OST No. 1208 of 1916 (previously named Illingworth and now Seacole/ Nightingale and based on the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway) by the NTT’s royal patron, the Princess Royal, at the event held in the railway museum at Fawley Hill. Trust president Lady Judy McAlpine said: “Stephen is well-known in railway preservation circles for his meticulous restorations of vintage carriages, but not many know that he and his family have also restored ex-McAlpine Hudswell Clarke engine No. 88, sister to the Fawley Hill Museum’s No.31. Sir William…
ITS overhaul may well be one of the most highly requested among enthusiasts, and now that is to become a reality with confirmation that LSWR Adams 4-4-2 radial tank No. 488 is to move into Atlantic House at the Bluebell Railway this coming winter. The team of volunteers behind the construction of the replica LBSCR H2 4-4-2 No. 32424 Beachy Head have revealed that despite previously dropping plans to overhaul No. 488 in favour of GWR 4-4-0 Dukedog No. 9017 Earl of Berkeley, the stage has been set once more for a return to steam for the former Lyme Regis branch locomotive. Beachy Head, which is currently in the final stages of assembly, will be moved out of Atlantic House at Sheffield Park this coming winter and transfer into the…
