Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 323 i Heritage Railway

OPINION I CANNOT but wholeheartedly agree with VisitEngland's 94% rating (News, page 18) it gave to the new £27 million Hopetown Darlington railway venue under its Quality Assured Visitor Attraction Scheme, as featured last issue. Making unrivalled use of 21st-century digital technology to highlight the worldchanging nuts-and-bolts achievements of the steam era, Hopetown has ushered in a bright new dawn for popular museum culture. The raison d’être for heritage railway venues from the outset was the burning desire of enthusiasts to preserve the rich legacies of our transport past – at least, for like-minded fellows. Hopetown, however, offers a far wider-ranging public appeal, with education and enlightenment through fascination and entertainment for all. In August, I visited the Great Central Railway's Railways at Work gala, which recreated scenes from the…

THE planned August bank holiday weekend visit of Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado to the Nene Valley Railway was cancelled and will now take place in October, it was announced. The two-and-a-half year overhaul of the locomotive had been due to be completed in time for it to be moved from Loughborough on the Great Central Railway to Wansford on August 19. However, a statement issued by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust issued on that date said: “Following a hopeful start to last week, with a warming fire lit, it has become apparent that we no longer have the time required to confidently meet our August bank holiday heritage line commitments and operate reliably. “We had hoped to expedite the running-in process by having a boiler inspector visit the…

WITH London Transport Museum's 1938TS unit having recently been gracing parts of the Underground network, many have wondered where another of the heritage icons of the capital had been hiding. That question was answered on August 5 when Metropolitan Railway Bo-Bo No.12 Sarah Siddons emerged from Eastleigh Works, where it had been since 2022 for contract repair work. In need of replacement wheelsets, No. 12 had been under the care of Arlington Fleet Services, which also carried out a repaint of the 102-year-old locomotive. The repaint was completed last July; however, conscious that the required work to jack the locomotive up to access the running gear would be lengthy, the bodywork was wrapped up to protect the paintwork. Since then, extensive research was undertaken in order to acquire the correct…

THE Keighley & Worth Valley Railway has long been famous as the setting for the TV and movie versions of Edith A Nesbitt's classic The Railway Children – but the Helston Railway has now attracted rave reviews with its own production, staged in partnership with a Cornish theatre company during five nights in midAugust. To watch the Helston Theatre Company's play, the audience had to travel aboard a steam train in the company of cast members dressed in Edwardian costumes. The train ran from Prospidnick to Truthall Halt, from where passengers walked to a nearby marquee to watch Mike Kenny's version of the novel. Jenny Agutter, who starred in the 1970 big screen version, shared her well wishes for the production in a social media video (www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1669398487214586). Grace Benney, Hollie…

BULLEID West Country light Pacific No. 34067 Eddystone has been added to the guest list for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway's Annual Steam Gala on September 26-29. Owned by Southern Locomotives Ltd and based on the Swanage Railway, Eddystone, which was outshopped from Brighton Works in 1946 and went straight into traffic from Ramsgate, last visited the NYMR in 2006. It will join fellow guests GWR 4-6-0 No. 4079 Pendennis Castle, from Didcot Railway Centre, and Peter Best's USATC S160 No. 2253 Omaha, which is returning from the Dartmouth Steam Railway (News, page 46). NYMR CEO Laura Strangeway said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Eddystone to our Annual Steam Gala. This locomotive has a storied history and a unique charm that we know our visitors will love. “Alongside Pendennis…

THE Downpatrick& County Down Railway has joined forces with legendary Belfast shipbuilder Harland& Wolffto restoreaunique Victorian railway carriage. The project will serve as a pivotal training opportunity for Harland & Wolff apprentices, immersing them in the heritage skills essential to fabrication and engineering – and it also revives a long connection between the shipbuilder and Northern Ireland's railways. In the 1930s, Harland & Wolff diversified its manufacturing expertise beyond shipbuilding to produce diesel locomotives that were used locally at Downpatrick and Ballynahinch, and also as far afield as Canada. This rich legacy is now being revitalised with the first railway vehicle to be built by the shipyard since the Second World War. Built in 1862, carriage No. 33 is the sole survivor from Northern Ireland's first railway company, the Ulster…

THE annual charity fundraising open day at David and Patricia Buck's private Fifield Railway proved another big draw for the public on August 4. Organised by the Oakley Green and Fifield Community Association, the fun day first held in 2006 – which also had a Punch and Judy show, a coconut shy and plant stalls – took place in the paddock of David and Patricia Buck's home. David, the former owner of Steam Dreams and Thompson B1 4-6-0 No. 1306 Mayflower, has a standard gauge line in the couple's paddock. Motive power this year was provided by two locomotives now in David's care, both of which began their preservation story at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Northfleet Coal and Ballast company: Barclay 0-4-0ST No. 699 of 1891 Swanscombe, carrying Metropolitan Railway…

A FRUITY Queen Victoria and her colourful entourage boarded the ‘Pershore Plum’ express from Broadway to Cheltenham, on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, on August 18. The occasion marked the Augustlong Pershore Plum Festival, which culminated in the town during the bank holiday weekend. As highlighted last issue, running the special train was entirely appropriate given that in the past the railway over which the present-day volunteer-run G/WR operates once carried thousands of tons of Vale of Evesham fruit (including plums) and vegetables to markets all over the UK from a special fruit packing and transfer shed at Toddington station. The Pershore Plum itself was discovered growing wild in 1827 and was cultivated to provide the varieties we know today, an early purple and a late yellow. Its importance to Pershore…

THE group which is restoring former Barry scrapyard GWR Churchward heavy freight 2-8-0 No. 2874 at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway has been awarded a £151,200 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to train and develop volunteers’ heritage engineering skills. No. 2874 was built at Swindon in 1918 and first allocated to Old Oak Common, where it worked coal trains between London and South Wales. Prior to Nationalisation, it was based at Reading, Leamington Spa, Tyseley, Neath, Cardiff and Banbury, and later at Stourbridge, Ebbw Junction, Cardiff Canton, Aberdare and Neath. It was withdrawn in May 1963 and sold to the Woodham Brothers scrapyard. It remained at Barry until 1987, when it was bought by Tony Rippingale and moved to the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway. Last survivor Bought by the…

DONEGAL Railway Heritage Museum has chosen County Donegal Railways diesel tractor No. 11 Phoenix for its limited-edition badge for 2024. Built in 1929 for the Clogher Valley Railway as an Atkinson-Walker steam tractor, the unit was unsuccessful on the CVR and was bought for £100 by Donegal manager Henry Forbes, who saw its potential and had it fitted with a Gardner 6L2 diesel engine. In 1932, after being converted at the Great Northern Railway of Ireland Dundalk works, and named Phoenix by Forbes, as it had arisen from the ashes, the CDR's new No. 11 worked until the closure of the system in 1959. Most of its career was spent shunting at Strabane with occasional runs up the Finn Valley section to Stranorlar. The chain-driven tractor proved very successful in…

PULSAR, Britain's leading supplier of personal protection equipment to the rail industry, has donated clothing worth £2500 to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's infrastructure team. The donation followed an approach by Jonathan Taylor, a member of the railway's lineside drainage team, to Pulsar at its stand at the recent RailLive rail industry event at nearby Long Marston. The clothing, comprising hi-visibility certified long-sleeved polo shirts, shell jackets and certified stretch combat trousers, was handed over by Pulsar's sales director David Simth in a ceremony at Winchcombe station. Jonathan said: “In the past we provided our own high-visibility clothing, but this new kit really gives a professional edge to the team. “Given that we work in all weathers, it is important that we are safe, dry and comfortable – and can be…

THREE Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways young volunteers have just clocked up 25 years’ service each. Oliver Bennett, Stephen Greig and Chris Harrison first became involved with the F&WHR in their early teens when they took part in Young Volunteers Week, known then as Kids’ Week. On their exact anniversary of joining, August 4, the trio teamed up to run the 10.40am ‘Mountain Spirit’ departure from Porthmadog Harbour station, with Stephen as guard, Chris as a volunteer driver and Oliver as on-train steward. Stephen, now the F&WHR's visitor experience manager, said: “The team working on the then Kids'Week were passionate about making the railway as inclusive and open as possible to volunteers. Group leader Eileen Clayton MBE encouraged and engaged people at a level that was suitable and safe for…

A SMALL but significant railway heritage collection has been added to Ballyshannon and District Museum's displays, recalling that the days when Ballyshannon was served by the County Donegal Railways and Great Northern Railway of Ireland, both of which have separate stations in the town. On show are a series of artefacts, all collected from the community by museum volunteers, with a rare GNR(I) driver's journal charting his goods train journey from Bundoran through Ballyshannon to Clones, on December 2, 1926, showing arrival and departure times at stations, shunting miles, and the number of wagons added and detached at each station taking pride of place. The engine recorded is AL class 0-6-0 goods No. 56, built by the GNR(I) at Dundalk in 1896 and scrapped by the Ulster Transport Authority in…

ENGLAND'S most northerly steam railway has welcomed its first visiting locomotive in his 35-year history. Katie, an 0-4-0T built in 1896 by Sir Arthur Heywood in 1896 for the Duke of Westminster's private Eaton Hall Railway, made a guest appearance at the 15in gauge Heatherslaw Light Railway on August 1-4. A member of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway fleet from 1916 to 1919 after it was bought to run works trains, it was sold to run at Llewellyn's Miniature Railway, Southport, and then on the Fairbourne Railway, before being dismantled in 1929. In 1992, the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Heritage Group formed to restore what remained of Katie to original condition. The remains were donated by the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum at Tywyn and returned to Ravenglass. In 2016, Katie…

PETER Best's USATC S160 2-8-0 No. 2253 Omaha is to be converted from coal to oil burning at its new North Yorkshire Moors Railway home. It is said to be the first full-sized steam locomotive oil conversion in Britain since the end of steam, and it is a crucial step forward in futureproofing the busiest heritage line in the country. No. 2253 has been on loan to the Dartmouth Steam Railway where it headed special trains to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, as reported in Heritage Railway issue 321. It was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works and shipped to Britain in May 1943 in support of the war effort to work on the LNER from its base at Neville Hill depot at Leeds. One of 800 S160s, after the…

THE Railway Preservation Society of Ireland's flagship GNR(I) 4-4-0 No. 171 Slieve Gullion moved under its own power for the first time in 22 years at the group's Whitehead base on July 27. However, several small but expensive jobs remain to be done before No. 171 can return to the main line, said a RPSI statement. “We have made a big step towards getting Slieve Gullion back in steam, something which is only becoming more urgent as the clock continues to tick down the boiler life of No.85. The pandemic constrained the time and finances available to work on No.171, but we are gearing up for the last big push!”the statement read. Renewing the 171 Appeal, donations are invited at www.steamtrainsireland.com/appeals Meanwhile, the RPSI at Whitehead has appointed Yvonne McIlree…

FOLLOWING its successful main line comeback trip to York following its rededication at King's Cross station on July 13, as highlighted last issue, Peppercorn A2 Pacific No. 6052 Blue Peter has been undergoing unspecified adjustments at Locomotive Services Limited's Crewe base. As previously reported, the A2 had been scheduled to move to Bishops Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway for a series of Saphos Trains’‘English Riviera Express’ trips, steam-hauled from Taunton to Kingswear on August 3, 10, 17 and 24. However, its place has been taken by LSL'S LNER B1 4-6-0 No. 61306 Mayflower. As this issue of Heritage Railway closed for press, the next trip for which Blue Peter is rostered is the Saphos ‘Welsh Marches Express’ from Bournemouth to Shrewsbury (diesel-hauled from Bournemouth to Bristol Temple Meads) on…

THE closed Grade II-listed signalbox at Par, in Cornwall, is to become a training facility, giving it a new lease of life for decades to come. The ‘box was finally closed on March 4 when a new digital signal system was launched in mid-Cornwall. A ceremony was held to hand over the keys to the 1878-built structure, one of the oldest ‘boxes still standing, from Network Rail's operations team to the maintenance team. Network Rail Western section manager Paul Gardiner said:“We were honoured when asked to help preserve our railway history and bring Par signalbox back to life. “It will now become a valuable training base and help educate railway workers for years to come.” Mechanical signalling is still in use in west Cornwall; boxes at St Erth, St Blazey,…

IN OUR post-Covid worldalmost everything seems to have changed, whether forbetter or worse beingdown to personal opinion, and therailwayana movement is no different. With the exception of Talisman, whose July 13 auction is reported in this month's column, saleroom auctions are an endangered species, and so too printed colour catalogues, although Talisman (again) and GW Railwayana are bucking that trend. Some are also feeling uncomfortable with the arrival of a new IT-savvy, and invariably younger and thus diesel-orientated, audience, although others regard sucha change, which has infused the movement with new blood, as being inevitable and even desirable. One central element of railwayana, however, that has remained unstirred during the turmoil of the past few years has been the ability of nameplates to concentrate minds and demand attention. They are,…

A LIVE music concert in aid of the Swanage Railway Trust's Save Your Railway £450,000 appeal and also the Isle of Purbeck cancer support group Cancare is to be held in the resort on August 31. Music By The Sea will be staged in the natural amphitheatre of the Prince Albert Gardens, overlooking Swanage and the bay. Now in its fourth year, the annual memorial concert is organised by Swanage couple Vicki and Jonathan Searle, whose 25-year-old son Henry died of a brain tumour in April 2021 after a seven-year battle against the illness. It features music from across the decades thanks to more than 20 local bands and singers, who are performing free of charge in a nineand-a-half-hour concert hosted by Brian Travers. Vicki, who works in the line's…

NEWS THE latest member of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway's operational fleet was officially launched into traffic at a ceremony held at Woody Bay on August 13. WG Bagnall 4-4-0T No. 2819 of 1945, formerly known as Charles Wytock, was renamed Sir George Newnes, after the founding chairman of the L&BR Company who contributed most of the money to build the line in 1898, by Christopher Newnes, his great nephew. Built for the Tongaat Sugar Company of South Africa for £2775, the locomotive entered service there in 1946 and was named Charles Wytock after a company director. By 1963, the Bagnall was in use as a stationary boiler and was subsequently plinthed. Bought for preservation along with sister Sinembe in about 1993, the pair were stored at the Gelert's Farm…

GWR heavy freight 2-8-0 No. 3850 has moved under its own power following a nine-year overhaul at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. The 1942-built locomotive was first allocated to Bristol St Philips Marsh depot, and was later based at Westbury, Severn Tunnel Junction, Aberdare, Banbury and Oswestry, before being withdrawn from Croes Newydd (Wrexham) in August 1965. It was moved to Dai Woodham's scrapyard in Barry in October that year. It spent more than 18 years in the scrapyard before it became the 151st locomotive to be preserved from there, moving to the West Somerset Railway in March 1984 as the first engine to be purchased by the group which became Dinmore Manor Locomotive Ltd. It returned to steam in 2006 and was taken out of service for overhaul in 2015…

A MINIATURE railway has been awarded a £17,634 Government grant to boost its facilities. The 7 ¼in/5in gauge Evergreens Miniature Railway at Keal Cotes, near Spilsby, Lincolnshire, successfully bid for one of the final GRASSroots awards, part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Having worked hard to establish the railway on its new site at Dawn Bank over the last few years, the railway's management saw that more could be done to make it an experience available to people with a wider range of abilities by installing a new wheelchair-friendly path and a disabled access toilet, station shelter improvements and ground reinforcement. There will be a new carriage for the 7¼in gauge track designed and constructed to take the majority of wheelchairs and young children in buggies. Treasurer Richard Barnes…

NEWS DINTING Railway Centre at Glossop, a heritage railway haven for a third of a century and which closed 34 years ago, was ‘reborn’ at Peak Rail on August 11. The volunteer Bahamas Locomotive Society was formed in 1967 to purchase LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 45596 Bahamas. Once saved, Bahamas was moved to Bury sheds, now occupied by the East Lancashire Railway. However, a permanent home for the locomotive was sought, and within less than a year the former Great Central Railway shed at Dinting near Glossop was ‘discovered.’ No. 45596 moved there on November 15, 1968, to great fanfare and paved the way for the venue become one of the major steam centres of the late 1960s and 1970s, like Steamport at Southport and Steamtown at Carnforth. Major icons…

A WEEKEND of living history on August 10/11 saw the Great Central Railway step back in time by six decades for its popular Railways At Work gala. Re-enactors descended on Leicestershire en masse to recreate the earlier years of football hooliganism and the dying days of many goods yards across the network. The event, which won the Heritage Railway magazine-sponsored Interpretation accolade at this year's Heritage Railway Association awards for its 1963-Beeching Axe themed weekend last summer, has become one of the GCR's annual highlights and is regularly praised for what is essentiallya weekend of theatrical entertainment, giving as close a flavour as possible to scenes once commonplace on the UK network. Delivering the goods With a broad selection of restored freight wagons residing on the line, one of the…

THE centre of attention on January 27 when it returned to Waterloo for the first time in nearly two decades, now Class 423 VEP No. 3417 Gordon Pettit will leap into the spotlight once again when it carries its first passengers in 11 years at the Bluebell Railway's September 6-8 diesel gala. Built in 1967, in 2004 No. 3417 was chosen by South West Trains to be refurbished and repainted into as near delivery condition as possible, a project overseen by Wimbledon Park-based fleet production manager Chris Buckland. He chose the unit as it was the freshest from overhaul, had suffered few mechanical failures, and its overall condition was found to be very good. Chris and a small group of fitters continued to tend to No. 3417 after its withdrawal,…

A NEW miniature railway has been officially opened at the Scottish Deer Centre and Wildlife Park near Cupar in Fife – using a locomotive from the closed Kerr's Miniature Railway at Arbroath. Class 25-based No. 25179 Loch Lee has been loaned to the new 273-yard 10¼in gauge line and hauled its opening train following a ribboncutting ceremony accompanies by a Scottish piper on August 7. The new line has a tunnel and runs under one of the wings of a former RAF Blackburn Buccaneer attack jet XW530, which is displayed on a replica runway. The 55-acre centre, which opened in 1988, is located on the estate of Over Rankeilour, at the former Over Rankeilour Farm close to the hamlet of the Bow of Fife. The centre was sold to Edinburgh…

IT has billed its conversion of the GWR locomotive shed at Aberystwyth as a multi-functional display space, and on July 24 the Vale of Rheidol Railway showed why when it welcomed Welsh musicians into the venue for not one – but five – world premieres from as many up-and-coming composers. While primarily used as a museum space to display locomotives and rolling stock from its extensive collection, the set-up of the 1938-built shed allows exhibits to be shuffled and removed as required to open up floorspace for external hires including musical performances, food festivals and model railway exhibitions. A small number of exhibits were temporarily removed from one end of the shed to open up space for Aberystwyth-based choir Philomusica and Welsh orchestral group Sinfonia Cymru, an ensemble of young…

FOUR articulated South African Railways Garretts will be in service for the Welsh Highland Railway's Super Power Weekend on September 14/15 – and NG15 No. 2-8-2 No. 134 will be in steam at Dinas following its lengthy restoration. No. 134 was built by Society AngloFranco Belge in 1952 for SAR, and after becoming redundant there was imported with sister No. 133 for an abortive heritage railway project at Robin Hood's Bay in Yorkshire. The were sold to the WHR in 1998, and the railway also acquired NGG16s Nos. 87 and 130 from the same project. The overhauled boiler of No. 134 was returned in January 2023 and placed in the frames, along with a new ash pan. Volunteers and staff proceeded to complete and install fittings and pipework, and on…

CELEBRATIONS to mark the 40th anniversary of the Severn Valley Railway's Kidderminster Town terminus were held on July 27/28. Senior railway figures paid tribute to the volunteers who saw the potential and importance of creating a southern terminus for heritage line (as featured in issue 391). SVR managing director Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster said: “We are celebrating the vision of those involved with the railway all those years ago who understood how transformational bringing the SVR to Kidderminster would be. They knew the positive impact it would have, with access to the national rail network and close proximity to major roads and motorway networks. It is therefore unsurprising that nowadays just over 80% of visitors to the railway begin their SVR experience at Kidderminster. “Also, we are celebrating the vision of…

THRELKELD Quarry & Mining Museum held its eagerly-anticipated annual steam gala on July 26/27, which saw four visiting locomotives line up in the beautiful Lakeland setting a few miles from Keswick, in the shadow of Blencathra (Saddleback). The museum's 2ft gauge quarry railway includes a section of 1-in-20 up to the ‘inner quarry’. The original line is about half a mile long: however, work on building a new quarter-mile extension is nearing completion and will eventually link the existing route with the new museum development taking place on the ‘lower level,’ which has just received a major funding boost. A museum statement said: “We are delighted to announce that the museum has been awarded a grant of £120,000 from Cumberland Council as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. We…

A SURPRISE announcement by the Epping Ongar Railway on August 12 saw its resident Class 37 D6729 offered for sale. Outshopped by English Electric from Vulcan Foundry in March 1961, this particular ‘Tractor’ was first allocated to Stratford, a depot with which the EOR's route is all too familiar with, as the shed at Epping was officially designated a sub-shed for 30A. In the early days of the Ongar branch, services would have run on to Stratford and beyond. While the line remained predominantly steam-operated by LNER class F5 2-4-2Ts even beyond the first stage of electrification, diesel locomotives were recorded to have occasionally ventured towards North Weald and Ongar. Although these were believed to be primarily Class 15 or 16 types, the local connection of D6729 on what is…

UK Railtours is offering the unique experience of visiting the former Ministry of Defence site at Eastriggs on Saturday, September 14. Under the title of ‘The Eastriggs Eloper’ as a nod to the nearby Gretna Green, UK Railtours has been supported by Rail Sidings Limited in providing a tour to the site. Closed for 14 years, the site has been transferred to civilian use and is expected to serve as a secure location for aggregate trains. Starting out from Watford Junction, the tour is planned to head north on the West Coast Main Line for further passenger pick-ups at Milton Keynes Central, Northampton, Nuneaton, Tamworth, and Stafford. Out of the ordinary After Stafford, there is a plan to take in some track that is rare for a passenger train, with…

AT Barrow Hill on July 30, after years of hard graft by Deltic Preservation Society volunteers, Class 55 Deltic D9015 Tulyar was started up for the first time in more than 25 years. However, despite an initial celebration of the landmark occasion, a further fault arising means that its return to service will still be a little while yet. D9015 last ran in public service in March 1997 at a ‘Three Deltics’ event the East Lancashire Railway, after which it returned to its then base at the Midland Railway – Butterley the following month, where it was shut down for a major bodywork overhaul. It has been a long, arduous project that has seen the bodywork reskinned, a full mechanical overhaul undertaken, and a complete rewire, but there is hope…

A YEAR-LONG project to strengthen the iconic High Level Bridge which provides a vital road and railway link over the River Tyne is now complete, with £5.2 million having recently been invested by Network Rail to overhaul the underside of the Victorian structure which connects Gateshead and Newcastle. The landmark structure, designed by railway pioneer Robert Stephenson and completed in 1849, is the world's first double-decker road and railway bridge. Being 175 years old, it is recognised by NR that the bridge needs regular maintenance. This latest overhaul by NR and contractor AmcoGiffen has seen the structure grit-blasted and repainted, with repairs made to the wrought ironwork across the bridge and waterproofing of the road deck. The project has also seen the roadway resurfaced to provide a smoother ride for…

August 31 Settle & Carlisle Steam Special Hull, Carlisle and return. Steam-hauled between Carnforth (outward) and Preston (return). Loco: TBA. NB 31 ‘The Lakelander’ Hereford, Carlisle and return. Steam-hauled between Preston and Carlisle. Loco: TBA. ST September 1 ‘The Royal Duchy’ Bristol Temple Meads, Par and return. Steam-hauled throughout. Loco: TBA. RTC 1 ‘Shakespeare Express’ Birmingham Moor Street, Stratford-upon-Avon and return. Loco: 4079 Clun Castle or 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe. VT 3 ‘The Pendle Dalesman’ Lancaster, Carlisle and return. Steam-hauled throughout. Loco: TBA. WCR 4 ‘The Kentish Belle’ London Victoria, Faversham and return. Loco: 45596 Bahamas. RTC 4 ‘Welsh Marches Express’ Bournemouth, Shrewsbury and return. Steam-hauled between Bristol Temple Meads and Shrewsbury. Loco: TBA. ST 5 ‘Cambrian Coast Express’ Bristol Temple Meads, Pwllheli and return. Locos: Class 67 TBC,…

BIG Four-era name and worksplates made the running in Talisman's saleroom sale at Newark on July 13, although a piece of history froma Deltic diesel ensured heritage modern traction at least got a foot in the door and totem platform signs made their customary bid for a place at the top table. Heading the nameplate contenders was Shirenewton Hall from GWR No. 4967, which went under the hammer for £4400, followed by one of its cabside numberplates for £800, its smokebox numberplate for £560, and its pair of whistles for £380, while within touching distance was Hogue from LMS Jubilee No. 45683 that went for £4300. The LNER then got in the act with Blair Athol from A3 No. 60058, although the plate's £4000 was trumped by one of its…

ATLANTIC House has not remained empty since Beachy Head vacated it in March, as another Atlantic was immediately moved in. LSWR Adams radial 4-4-2T No. 488 is one of the next locomotives being tackled by the group alongside B4 0-4-0T No. 96 Normandy, the latter of which is already well-stripped for work to commence. The overhaul of Normandy is being carried out on behalf of the Bulleid Society, which owns the locomotive, and is perfectly poised to bring back a steam shunting turn for which the railway once had the only regularly rostered duty for it until its withdrawal for overhaul in 2006. No. 488, meanwhile, is set to be a lengthy project, but its Atlantic wheel arrangement has ensured that Atlantic House does not need to be renamed. Keith…

LITTLE over a year after moving to Essex from its previous home at the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway, BR Drewry Class 04 No. 11103 has emerged from the workshops on the Mangapps Railway Museum at Burnham-on-Crouch in a guise not seen for nearly 60 years. Built in 1952 at the Vulcan Foundry under contract from the Drewry Car Co, No. 11103 was one of three class members allocated to working the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway. Originally operated by GER Class C53/LNER J70 0-6-0 tram locomotives, their displacement by the newly-constructed trio in 1952 saw the branch become the first line in Britain to be wholly operated by diesel traction under BR, with the line lasting up until closure under the Beeching axe in 1966. Much like the steam trams,…

THE Dean Forest Railway's Royal Forest of Steam weekend will have two classes of locomotive that have never visited the line before – and it was additionally poised to host two main line locomotives at its diesel gala too! The latter event, which will run on September 14/15, will see resident Class 08 No. 08769, recently reliveried into BR blue, and Class 14 D9521 joined by a pair of Rail Operations Group's Class 37s, the numbers of which were yet to be confirmed as we went to press. The line-up also includes the previously announced Class 73 E6003 (appearing courtesy of the Electro-Diesel Group and the Swindon & Cricklade Railway) and Class 25 No. 25262, which has also been freshly turned out in BR blue by South Devon Diesel Traction,…

WHILE it cancelled its July 13/14 steam weekend owing to a haulier's tractor unit breakdown delaying locomotive movements, the Spa Valley Railway's August 2-4 summer diesel gala successfully welcomed three visiting classes. Appearing courtesy of Paul Spacklen and recently repainted into BR large logo blue, Class 50 No. 50021 Rodney was undoubtedly the star of the event for many, while Class 03 No. 03063 Paul A Mobbs (from the Mid-Norfolk Railway) made history by becoming the first of its class to run between Tunbridge Wells West and Eridge in the heritage era – and possibly even ever! The iconic shunting locomotive ran in top-and-tail formation with Class 08 No. 089022, sandwiching resident Class 207 DEMU No. 1317 on shuttles between the main line interchange and Groombridge station. The final guest,…

THE footbridge linking the centre of the Hopetown site to The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust's new Darlington Locomotive Works was completed after we closed for press last issue and has since proved highly popular with visitors – who can see full-time steam locomotives under construction and being maintained from the viewing gallery. The works is being linked to the Bishop Auckland branch which runs alongside Hopetown. Once the connection is completed, the likes of A1 Peppercorn Pacific No. 60163 Tornado and under-construction Gresley P2 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales will be able to access it for servicing. Support for both ballast-laying and track-laying is being provided by the Army's 507 Special Team Royal Engineers unit, which comprises Reserves, many of whom are professional railway workers in their day jobs…

THE Severn Valley Railway has arranged a mini enthusiast event for Saturday, August 31, to celebrate its “particularly superb line-up” of locomotives in current service. LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 45596 Bahamas and GWR Saint 4-6-0 No. 2999 Lady of Legend – two of the four visitors booked for the eagerlyawaited September 19-22 Autumn Steam Gala – will run alongside homebased and newly-overhauled LMS Stanier mogul No. 13268 and Class 42 D821 Greyhound, which is making its first runs of 2024 following extensive remedial work. “We could not resist calling this our Super Saturday,” said Lewis Maddox, the SVR's visitor engagement manager, “and it's going to be a great opportunity to see an interesting and somewhat unusual variety of locomotives on the railway. Standard fares apply, and we are looking forward…

AS the Isle of Man Transport Festival neared its end, the cosmetic restoration of IOM Steam Railway Beyer Peacock 2-4-0T No. 9 Douglas took a significant step forward when the boiler was returned to the frames for the first time in four years. As part of a scheme to decontaminate stored locomotives of asbestos, Douglas was moved in June 2020 to the goods shed at Port St Mary, where the boiler was lifted off. It had since remained stored as a kit of parts until the IOMSR Supporter's Association announced in January 2023 that it would undertake the cosmetic restoration in hopes of completing it in time for this year's festival. While it may have missed that target, this significant step will now expedite volunteer efforts to reassemble the locomotive.…

AFTER two unsuccessful collaborations with other local miniature railways, the Saffron Walden and District Society of Model Engineers, which left Audley End in 2020 following the death of Audley End Miniature Railway founder Lord Braybrooke, relocated to Down Farm near Elsenham, Stansted, in Essex. A 7¼in/5in dual gauge ground level loop track has been constructed and finishing touches are being applied to the site before it opens to the public later this year.…

NEWS A NEW home is being sought for a 111-year-old LNWR plaque commemorating a visit by King George V and Queen Mary to the company's Crewe Works. The visit took place on April 21, 1913, and among the dignitaries who welcomed the royal party was Frederick Manning, the Mayor of Crewe, who was an LNWR signalman at Basford Hall Junction ‘box south of the town's station. During the visit, the monarch and queen toured the works on a custom-made train and met staff ranging from managers to shopfloor workers. The two carriages, hauled by 0-4-0T No. 3001, were constructed from wagons specifically for the occasion. Following the high-profile and eagerly-anticipated visit, a plaque was erected in Frederick's signalbox bearing the LNWR coat-of-arms and stating that Frederick received their majesties on…

THE Doon Valley Railway has issued an urgent appeal for volunteers to come forward to keep the wheels turning at Scotland's only industrial heritage railway. The move comes after some Sunday operating days in July and August had to be cancelled because of lack of volunteers, leading to public disappointment and a loss in vital revenue for the line. Chairman Archie Thom said: “We are in the same position as heritage lines everywhere, especially as our age profile is concerned, and we have lost catering staff, for example, because of illness and retirements, while there has been a delay in finding a qualified assessor to pass me out on our steam loco. We do have other volunteers in the queue for steam training, and we already had qualified diesel drivers,…

THE Wensleydale Railway recently hosted members of the Northallerton & District ME/CFS Support Group, whose secretary Sue Hill is one of line's volunteers and living history interpreters at Leeming Bar station. The group joined the railway for a tour of Leeming Bar Station House and then enjoyed sandwiches and hot drinks before a train journey to Leyburn. The visit was rounded off with cakes and more tea and coffee, back at Leeming Bar. Home baking was provided by Sue and Mo Park, the railway's catering manager. The group was founded more than 20 years ago to help people with myalgic encephalomyelitis, commonly known ME, a lifechanging and indiscriminate neurological condition leading to long-term disability, chronic fatigue syndrome, non-restorative sleep, cognitive difficulties and a lower quality of life, for which there…

A GREAT Northern Railway building from Skegness is being given a new lease of life after being returned to railway use after 77 years – as another heritage line gets a new station! The Old Coal Office, built at the resort's station in the late 1800s or early 1900s, is being renovated and moved to the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway as part of a new terminus under construction at the line's South Loop in Skegness Water Leisure Park There it will also become an interpretation centre showcasing the history of the world's first heritage railway to be built by enthusiasts, and it will also tell the story of Ellis Bros (Contractors) Ltd, owner of the Water Leisure Park, and Waterford and Greenacres holiday parks in the Skegness area, and which…

Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST No. 1700 of 1938 Wissington returned to the North Norfolk Railway this year after two seasons in Mid-Suffolk Light Railway service. Wissington was the last steam locomotive in commercial ownership in East Anglia and donated by British Sugar Corporation to the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Society in 1978, and for this season the Poppy Line's management looked at how to make the best use of the diminutive engine. The result was a small increase in the use of the line's magnificently restored train of Victorian carriages, which includes the unique Wisbech & Upwell Tramcar and an M&GNJR picnic saloon. The vintage set has run on bank holidays and at some special events, including Vintage Week in early July and Victorian Sundays through August. “The train…

In addition to the expected Pecketts, Bagnalls and Kerr Stuarts both in service and in storage, the railway houses a few less common locomotives currently undergoing or awaiting restoration. The Knotty Coach Trust acquired Robert Heath & Sons Ltd No. 6, a diminutive 1886 locomotive thought to be one of dozen locomotives built as a copy of the Falcon Engine Company's Heath's No 8. A rare Dübs and Company locomotive, No. 4101 Dubs, is the only industrial Dübs locomotive in the UK. Built in 1901, this Crane locomotive returned to steam in 2010 after a major restoration that won it the Heritage Railway Association's John Coiley Award for locomotive restoration. It is hoped that No. 4101 will return to steam in 2024. Barclay/Drewry 0-4-0DM No. 2157 of 1941 No. WD30…

THE Old Ticket Office at Culham station on the Cherwell Valley Line between Didcot Parkway and Banbury will be opening to the public free of charge between 9am and 5pm on September 14/15 to mark Heritage Open Days, which this year celebrates routes, networks and connections. It will provide a rare opportunity to see inside an original Isambard Kingdom Brunel-designed broad gauge station building, which opened on June 12, 1844. The Grade II*-listed ticket office on Platform 2 at Culham is one of the best-preserved of Brunel's characteristic small country station buildings and is the only survivor of this particular Tudor Revival design. It retains many of its original features, including a large fireplace, glass ticket window, unique architectural details and 1844-dated worktops. On display will be original signalbox equipment,…

BY the time this issue is published, the 18-mile section of the former Varsity Line between Bletchley, Verney Junction and Bicester will have joined the national network after being rebuilt in a £1 billion project. The final passenger train to operate between Claydon, Verney Junction and Bletchley flyover was a Branch Line Society sponsored three-car Class 117 DMU on May 31, 1993. The final steam movement over the line came after the Wolverton 150 event, when LMS Princess Royal Pacific No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth went from Wolverton westwards via Bicester at dusk on October 2, 1988. In October 1993, that 12-mile section was officially mothballed in accordance with railway parlance, awaiting future developments. The six-mile section west of Claydon remained open for freight traffic. The 18-mile rebuild commenced in February…

TABLE ONE: BASINGSTOKE TO SALISBURY JULY 9, 1967, is remembered as the day that the world ended for many Southern steam fans. It was the end of steam-hauled trains on the region, and so for many of us, after a frantic few years trying to cover every aspect of the last UK steam-worked main line. The anniversary is commemorated by a steam-hauled excursion on the South Western main line, and I have been present on many of these; fewer recently as diesel locomotives have intruded, but not in 2012, when the train ran unassisted. I was not on this year's train as the use of air-conditioned ‘closed’ stock with the inevitable diesel locomotive made it unattractive to me. As it happened, the steam crews did their very best to run…

FROM SEND-OFF TO SPECTACLE “When the Class 14s 50th anniversary event at the East Lancashire Railway finished in July 2014, I said I'd never do it again. But what was meant to be a simple send-off for D9537 Eric grew and became something much bigger than we had initially considered.” Planning a gala on any railway is a challenge, but with something as special as the 60th anniversary of the Class 14 0-6-0 dieselhydraulic locomotives, it is little wonder that its organiser and co-owner of classmates D9525 and D9537, Chris Baily, started work on this particular event two years ago. The 2014 event to which he referred marked the class's half-centenary and was something of a record-setter, with 10 examples descending on Lancashire for a highly successful weekend of celebrations…