Heritage Railway Issue 321

OPINION THROUGHOUT the intensive coverage of the buildup to the general election, among the incessantly repetitive discussions about manifestoes, policies and various alleged misdemeanours, all of which would surely have taken pride of place in a parrot menagerie, I failed to pick up from any of the parties or their candidates the slightest mention of help for the arts and heritage sector. I cannot complain about such an absence, when the UK’s health service is facing beyond unacceptable patient waiting lists, and also when many ordinary people are despondent about the cost-of-living crisis. Yet, all of the parties kept repeating the word ‘growth’ as the key solution to our current predicament. Indeed, during the past weeks, we have witnessed growth in local tourist economies thanks to a series of landmark…

EXCITEMENT swept the heritage sector in early June when an almost 60-year-old wrong was finally righted at Sheffield Park on the Bluebell Railway, with the latest new-build steam locomotive gaining its boiler certification and undertaking its first moves – and having its official launch date confirmed! The year 1958 was a dark time for many as the last Brighton H2 Atlantic 4-4-2 was finally withdrawn and scrapped by BR. No. 32424 had been built in 1911 as part of a batch of six locomotives which primarily used the LBSCR’s DE Marsh H1 specifications but incorporated a different superheater design and so were identified as the H2 class. The forerunners were withdrawn by 1951. One example of the improved locomotives, No. 32423, was withdrawn in May 1949 and a further four…

THE Severn Valley Railway-based 82045 Steam Locomotive Trust has announced a milestone in its project to create a new example of the BR Riddles Standard 3MT 2-6-2. On the morning of June 3, in what was described by the trust as a“very momentous occasion,”the boiler was lowered gently into place on the chassis to check its fit. The boiler fitted very well, needing only a little adjustment before being removed from the frames for further work including drilling and reaming rivet holes in preparation for riveting the boiler barrel to the firebox. There will be the front tubeplate to fit, main internal steam pipe, regulator assembly, tubes, and riveting of the smokebox to the barrel. All the tubes are on site, and they were intended to be fitted towards the…

THE Mainline Steam Builders Group held its fifth meeting at Darlington Locomotive Works in June, with representatives attending from the B17 Steam Locomotive Trust, Class G5 Locomotive Company, General Steam Navigation Locomotives Restoration Society, LMS-Patriot Company, King George V Locomotive Trust, P2 Steam Locomotive Company (The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust) and Standard Steam Locomotive Company(Clan No.72010 Hengist) Graham Nicholas, from the A1 Trust, gave an update on the process for identification of technical risks for running new-build steam locomotives on the main line, which is being developed with the group’s assessment body, Ricardo Rail. In line with the groups’aims, there was an information share on suppliers’capabilities, and the steps were taken to share supplier lists and rate them on a red, amber, green basis. Also discussed were methods of reverse…

IT might just be another run-ofthe-mill 2-6-0 to some, but for the volunteers behind the return to steam of Ivatt 2MT No. 46464, it was a moment of celebration as the locomotive’s overhaul finally drew to a close after it worked its first passenger trains on June 22. This particular Ivatt had hauled the very last passenger train from Arbroath to Forfar on August 2, 1952, along with the final working over the Carmyllie branch on May 19, 1965. The Carmyllie Railway was built in 1855 to enable the transportation of stone from the area to markets, at a time when the material was highly sought-after for urban developments. It covered 6 1/2 miles, joining the Dundee & Arbroath Railway at Elliot Junction station, with passenger services commencing in 1900.…

LOCOMOTIVE owner Peter Best has been awardeda British Empire Medal (BEM) in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours for his services to steam and heritage railways. Lifelong enthusiast Peter, 69, a grandfather who lives in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, and is a former chairman of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, has restored 11 steam engines using his own money, starting with a Garrrett traction engine in the 1980s. His USATC S160 2-8-0 No. 2253 Omaha is currently on loan to the Dartmouth Steam Railway, where it hauled a series of specials to mark D-Day, as highlighted on pages 84-87 of this issue. He has owned LMS‘Black Five’ No. 44806 for the past four years, after buying it from the NYMR, and also South African Railways 2ft gauge NG/G16 Class 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt No. 130.…