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HISTORIANS have said that the concept of railways originated in the theatres of ancient Greece, in which parallel grooves were cut in stage floors so that large items of scenery fixed to wheels could be easily and efficiently moved during performances. Drama and railways have remained bedfellows, especially in modern times, with film and TV producers spoiled for choice with heritage lines by their nature having the ability to recreate period scenes often at a stroke to mutual benefit. Remember the police drama series Heartbeat and the immense publicity it bestowed on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway during its 18 series from 1992 to 2010? In so many ways, our heritage railways are the greatest moving stages of all, each journey playing out what life was like on public transport…
HEADLINE NEWS THE Great Central Railway has won the 2024 Heritage Railway Association Interpretation Award for its Railways AtWork 1963 gala, in which the turbulent times of the Beeching Axe were recreated by dozens of re-enactors. The event looked back at the times when railways were the backbone of Britain long before road transport became king, with a mixture of locomotives hauling passenger and freight trains to reflect the ‘changeover years'from steam to diesel.The award was sponsored by Heritage Railway magazine via our publisher Mortons Media. Actors played the part of protestors demanding the reversal of the Government's controversial Beeching report which laid out plans for an unprecedented wave of closures of lines and stations across the country. Re-enactors from Derbyshire-based On-The-Beat Classic Police Hire attired in accurate police uniforms…
THE shortlist of entries for what is the world's biggest heritage rail awards – the Heritage Railway Association Annual Awards 2024, sponsored by Inspire Structures – has been announced. It is created from dozens of entries, following an extensive debate and vote by a panel of experts drawn from leading heritage rail figures and journalists chaired by National Railway Museum senior curator Anthony Coulls. The headline Railway of the Year category sees the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway competing against the Seaton Tramway and theVolks Electric Railway in an all narrowgauge shortlist. The Coiley Award for Steam Locomotive Engineering, sponsored by Hargreaves, is contested by the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Trust for its overhaul of postwar steam speed record-holder LNER A4 Pacific No. 60007, the Ffestiniog &Welsh Highland Railways for the…
THE Strathspey Railway Company is seeking to appoint a new general manager. Reporting to the company chairman and the board of directors, the successful applicant will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the railway at all levels and across all departments, including the implementation of the company's vision and strategy, ensuring compliance with company policies and the requirements of regulatory bodies such as the Office of Rail & Road. The full-time position offers between £35,000 to £45,000 per annum inclusive of all overtime, depending on the candidate's experience and qualifications. The basic week is 37.5 hours, but because of its seasonal nature as a tourist attraction, the job will involve working unsocial hours including evenings, weekends and public holidays. For details, see advertisement on page 105.…
THE 15-year scheme to build a new LMS Patriot 4-6-0, No. 5551 The Unknown Warrior, took a major step forward in December as the chassis was tranferred to its new assembly base at Tyseley Locomotive Works. The LMS Patriot Project switched venues after the Princess Royal Class LocomotiveTrust (PRCLT) wanted to see the chassis moved outside its West Shed workshop at the Midland Railway – Butterley as soon as practicable, the priority being to access the wheel drop on No. 1 road for repairs to be carried out. The PRCLT had stopped all work on The Unknown Warrior in July.“It also became very clear that PRCLT saw workshop and museum capacity and resource availability as a major challenge in the medium term,”read an LMS Patriot Project statement. The project organised…
THE Erlestoke Manor Fund acquired GWR 5101 class large Prairie No. 5164 from its previous owners, the 5164 Preservation Group, in 2021 under an agreement to return the locomotive to operational condition. Since then, the fund has been gradually fundraising and acquiring the components required for its upcoming overhaul, with the locomotive on static display at Barrow Hill Roundhouse since 2014, shortly after its last boiler certificate expired. On November 25/26, the prairie was a centrepiece of the annualWarley Model Railway Club's exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre, near Birmingham, the EMF having a fundraising stall alongside. Transport to the venue was partly sponsored by Accurascale Model Railways, which also donated an OO scale model of the fund's flagship, No. 7812 Erlestoke Manor, as a prize for a raffle held…
