Heritage Railway is the definitive news source for the UK heritage railway scene. With its extensive network of contacts, Heritage Railway brings you amazing exclusives every month - along with features, stunning imagery, gala reports and much more.
OPINION PERSEVERANCE and persistence are defining keys to the future of the heritage railway sector. That basic fact was crystal clear in the official opening of the Northampton & Lamport Railway's half-mile extension on March 30. Guests at the ceremony heard that it had taken nearly 17 years for volunteers at the 1½-mile standard gauge line with a 300 membership to lay the track, restore a seven-arch viaduct by hand, import a classic Victorian signalbox and return it to full working order, and build a new southern terminus to a markedly high standard, as reported in Headline News, pages 8/9. The end result is outstanding. At the other end of the scale, I could not fail to be impressed by the joint gala held by the Great Central Railway at…
A PAIR of steam era icons will visit two Sussex heritage lines to headline very different gala events – with one set to be a significant preservation first. As the Kent & East Sussex Railway prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary on June 1/2, the first visitor announced, BR Standard 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 Britannia, will not be traversing the line between Tenterden Town and Bodiam but instead will be operating trips along the currentlyisolated Rother Valley Railway at Robertsbridge end of the original line throughout the weekend. With the KESR currently terminating at Junction Road and the RVR at Northbridge Street, following the approval of a Transport and Works Act Order in 2023, the two lines are due to be linked together in the coming years. The wait is…
PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak paid a visit to Darlington Locomotive Works on April 2 to meet staff and volunteers of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust and see for himself the progress made on developing its new base. Accompanied by Darlington MP Peter Gibson, Mr Sunak was given an update on the project to build the seventh example the most powerful express passenger steam locomotive to operate in the UK, Sir Nigel Gresley P2 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales – and at one stage, lent a helping hand to its construction. He was also told about the recent overhaul of Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado, which, as reported in Main Line News, page 56, is set to make its comeback trip over the national network on June 29. Last…
THE Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Cotswold Festival of Steam is set to mark a heritage era first – with three new-build locomotives running together at the same event. The trio are all GWR-designed. As previously reported, No. 6880 Betton Grange has been booked to appear at the May 25-27 Bank Holiday weekend gala, along with Saint 4-6-0 No. 2999 Lady of Legend from at Didcot Railway Centre. Now the duo will be joined by West Somerset Railway 2-6-0 No. 9351, which was converted by the Minehead line from ex-Barry scrapyard 2-6-2T No. 5193 by removing the tanks, modifying the back end, and adding a new tender. In its 21st century form, it represents a type that was designed by GWR Chief Mechanical Engineer George Jackson Churchward in about 1910 but was…
NEW-BUILD GWR 4-6-0 No. 6880 Betton Grange was being readied for its first steaming and test runs in the yard at Tyseley Locomotive Works as this issue of Heritage Railway went to press. The 81st Grange, the culmination of a 26-year project, had, as previously reported, been booked to visit Shackerstone on the Battlefield Line for testing. However, delays to the completion of its painting and varnishing due to the damp caused by the record levels of rainfall in the early part of the year and also the need for final adjustments, such as the setting of the valves, led to the cancellation of that visit. Instead, No. 6880 was rescheduled to go straight to the Severn Valley Railway for test-running in readiness for its debut at the Spring Steam…
SR West Country 4-6-2 No. 21C127 Taw Valley has been briefly resurrected to act as a standby locomotive at the Severn Valley Railway. Last operational at the January 6/7 Winter Steam Gala, the Bulleid was withdrawn ahead of its boiler ticket expiring, pending an intermediate overhaul starting. However, after two cracked boiler tubes were discovered on WR 0-6-0PT No. 7714, the light Pacific was revived on April 2 and underwent a test run ahead of working trains at the April 6/7 Open House weekend. Taw Valley will also be on standby should booked guest GWR 4-6-0 No. 6880 Betton Grange be unable to run at the April 18-21 Spring Steam Gala.…
