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OPINION THE Welsh Highland Railway’s Super-Power gala in mid-September witnessed the public appearance in steam debut of South African Railways NG15 2-8-2 No. 134 (see pages 70/71) following 25 years of hard graft to restore it to running order by the project team members who have given us the UK’s latest addition to its steam fleet.We are also seeing new-build LBSCR H2 Atlantic No. 32424 Beachy Head in regular public service on the Bluebell Railway and can now look forward to GWR 4-6-0 No. 6880 Betton Grange hauling festive trains on the Battlefield Line. Two or more decades ago, might we have believed that accomplishments like these could be forthcoming in such a short space of time? Yes, there has been disappointment from the cancellation of A1 Peppercorn Pacific No.…
THE extensive programme for the eagerly-awaited nine-month international Stockton & Darlington Railway 200 Festival marking the bicentenary of the world’s groundbreaking first steam-hauled passenger line was announced at the Darlington Hippodrome on September 19. The festival in County Durham and Teeside– set to be one of the biggest railway heritage events ever staged anywhere–opens with a large-scale visual spectacle in Bishop Auckland, including a light projection show on March 29, 2025, charting 200 years of rail travel and revealing the global impact that railways have had since 1825. The major highlight of the landmark celebration will be the recreation of the first journey on the S&DR on September 27, 1825, which will see the newly-overhauled replica of George & Robert Stephenson’s Locomotion No. 1 (originally called Active) travel from Shildon…
AHEAD of the S&DR200 festival, the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway has opened pre-orders on a new celebration of the pioneering line in its bicentenary year. The Stockton & Darlington Railway: A Pictorial Journey is a lavishly illustrated hardback book featuring photographs by Darlington photographer Peter Giroux, highlighting the remaining features of the railway and providing a unique record of it. The text is by archaeologist Caroline Hardie, who has spent more than a decade researching the railway and its surviving historic landscape. There are additional contributions by musicians, artists and poets to create visual and audio extras, some of which are accessible through QR codes. The limited print run is funded through pre-order subscriptions. Those received before the end of October will receive an individually numbered book…
A PROPOSAL to expand Darlington’s historic Northgate Conservation Area conservation area is now the subject of a six-week survey run by the borough council. Northgate is identified as a designated heritage asset of international significance due to its structures and associations linked to the founding of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. However, it has been on the national At Risk Register since 2010. A conservation area is “an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. ”The council is investing in the area ahead of the bicentennial celebrations, including the redevelopment of the Hopetown railway heritage quarter. To comment on the survey by November 1, visit www.darlington.gov.uk/consultations/current- consultations/?id=55…
PEPPERCORN A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado has undergone 60mph test running on the Great Central Railway since returning to steam at Loughborough. Outstanding jobs, however, led to its main line tours itinerary for the rest of 2024 being cancelled, including the planned ‘Ribblehead Rambler’trip on September 21. Tornado was due to be moved to Tyseley Locomotive Works on October 1, and from there it will undertake main line test runs before running by rail to Wansford for its rearranged visit to the Nene Valley Railway, where it will haul passenger trains on October 19/20 and 26/27, as well as‘The Fenman Tornado’ fish and chips service on the evening of the 19th. For more details, visit nvr.org.uk As pictured last issue, Tornado’s return to steam began on August 12 when a…
WEST Coast Railways has bought the Riviera Trains fleet of about 60 coaches, at a stroke strengthening its position in the charter trains industry. The sale, which takes effect on September 30, includes both of the operational central door locking-fitted blue and grey-liveried Mk.2 sets that are extensively used by a wide number of railtour promoters and other train operators The entire fleet will move from its current base at Burton-on-Trent to the West Coast base at Carnforth in due course. Future operations will handled out of the WCR depots at Carnforth and Southall. Riviera Trains owner Barry Cordell and his operations manager Charles Paget said they were pleased to secure the future of the vehicles, having played a pivotal role in the provision of locomotive-hauled coaching stock for ad…
