Heritage Railway Issue 337

NOW we have reached the climax of the Railway 200 programme, marvelling at the bicentenary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and what transpired in its wake changing the world forever, the time is apt for us to remember the multitude of volunteers who have made the protection of our legacy a phenomenon of which the entire country can be proud. Since the salvation of the Talyllyn Railway, the world’s first volunteer-led heritage line nearly 75 years ago, our sector has blossomed way, way beyond the wildest dreams of those early volunteers. How many of Tom Rolt’s team could have seriously foreseen the day when the heritage sector would build new main line standard gauge locomotives of the ilk of Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado, which on September 16,…

THE National Railway Museum in York, hailed as the greatest of its kind in the world, reopened its Grade II-listed Station Hall on September 26, before its 50th birthday weekend and following its £11 million renovation – a milestone moment in Railway 200. As the former goods station adjacent to York Station, Station Hall previously served as a depot and trade hub through which a vast range of goods passed on their way to destinations around the country. In 2023, following a £10.5m grant from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the building closed for a full refurbishment and reroof. A £577,000 refresh and reorganisation of the exhibition inside Station Hall has also taken place, supported by the Friends of the National Railway Museum. The building has undergone major…

WR Modified Hall 4-6-0 No. 6989 Wightwick Hall, which has been repainted in red livery for its role on the Hogwarts Express in the forthcoming Harry Potter television series, as pictured last issue, is to run at its Buckinghamshire Railway Centre home on two special steaming Sundays, October 5 and 19. Having completed its first filming session, it has briefly returned to Quainton Road and visitors will be able to ride in carriages behind it. No. 6889, which will return to the film set in 2026, remains on long-term loan to the Bluebell Railway, where it will be based in between filming over the next eight years. Meanwhile, the West Highland Line, which includes the Glenfinnan Viaduct featured in the Harry Potter films, is to undergo a £15 million programme…

GLOBAL attention is now focussing on the UK and in particular the route of the Stockton & Darlington Railway as the very extensive nationwide Railway 200 programme reaches its peak with celebrations to mark the bicentenary of the world’s first modern train – which broke new ground with passengers riding behind a steam locomotive. The replicas of Locomotion No. 1, carriage Experiment and three chaldron wagons, all of which have been approved for the main line following extensive testing, will between September 26-28 be cheered on by spectators from home and abroad as they traverse section of the original S&DR, also seen by millions of TV viewers around the world. On the ground, spectators will be able to see the train at designated locations but have been advised not to…

REBUILT Bulleid West Country light Pacific No. 34028 Eddystone has made its main line comeback more than 61 years after being withdrawn. Eddystone headed the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Swanage Belle’ day trip from London Victoria to the Isle of Purbeck resort, calling at Staines, Woking and Basingstoke, on September 10. It arrived in Swanage station at 1.33pm. The tour departed at 4.35pm and was hauled by West Coast Railways Class 47 No. 47812 as far as Southampton, from where the Bulleid took over again. The ex-Barry scrapyard locomotive, became the first rebuilt Bulleid light Pacific to be withdrawn in May 1964. Following its acquisition by current owner Southern Locomotives Ltd in 1995, it underwent the final stages of its restoration to running order at the Swanage Railway’s Herston Works in…

ONLINE entries for the Heritage Railway Association Annual Awards 2026 are now being invited, and there is a new Event of the Year category. Railways, tramways and rolling stock owning groups have until November 3 to finalise their submissions for the awards, which recognise excellence or innovation in almost every aspect of heritage railway and tramway restoration, preservation and operation. As highlighted in Heritage Railway issue 329, last year’s winners included Bluebell Railway-based new-build Atlantic No. 32424 Beachy Head, Lappa Valley Railway, the Vale of Rheidol Railway, the Downpatrick and County Down Railway and young Tanfield Railway volunteer Elise Campbell. The new Event of the Year category will see judges looking for an exciting and successful event that drew a new audience to a railway, tramway or museum. In a…