Innehållsförteckning för Issue 306 från Heritage Railway

LIKE many followers of the heritage sector, and fully aware of the multiple benefits it brings to many a local community and their economies, I was astonished at the decision by Snowdonia National Park Authority to refuse permission for Bala Lake Railway’s well-advanced plan to extend into the town centre. The primary reason appears to be the potential rise in phosphate levels in the River Dee, resulting from the increase in sewage generated by many more visitors to the town and using toilets. For many years, I have been concerned by reports of discharges of effluent of all types into the UK’s rivers and seas. However, we do have the technology to deal with it, but so often it appears that water companies fall short of their responsibilities in this…

A SOS appeal for £1.5 million to prevent the SevernValley Railway from closing due to soaring overheads has produced a massive response from a supportive public. After we closed for press last issue, the line launched its survival appeal with a stark warning that a viable future for the railway will be at risk unless there is an urgent injection of cash. Writing to more than 25,000 shareholders, members and donors to explain its current predicament, the SVR said that the past three years have seen it profoundly affected by changes in the financial climate. “These have come about as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, post-Brexit supply chain issues and the cost-of-living crisis,” said a statement. The appeal produced a swift response, with more than…

TWO Victorian 0-6-0s built just three years apart from one another will meet for the first time at the SpaValley Railway during its June 17/18 Summer Steam Up. The 2022 Scottish Steam Up event – which brought together the Caledonian Railway pairing of McIntosh‘Jumbo’812 class No. 828 and Class 439 0-4-4T No. 419 for the first time outside Scotland and only the second time in the heritage era – was the railway’s most successful enthusiast event to date. The Spa Valley has now secured a visit from SECR O1 No. 65 for its second-ever visit away from its base at the Bluebell Railway since arriving there in 1999. Built at Ashford Works in 1896 for the South Eastern Railway, No. 65 has local connections to Tunbridge Wells, having operated on…

THE West Somerset Railway’s spring steam gala took place over the May Day bank holiday weekend and once again drew the crowds with a line-up that saw threeWR Manors present on the line and resident Hawksworth pannier tank No. 9466 return to public service. Visiting from the Severn Valley, No. 7812 Erlestoke Manor will now take up residency on the WSR throughout the summer months before heading back to Shropshire in the autumn to take up Christmas duties there. The opportunity was present to witness three Manors together as No. 7812 joined WSR resident classmates Nos. 7828 Odney Manor and 7822 Foxcote Manor, although the latter was not in service as it was still undergoing repairs but was on static display at Minehead over the weekend. Also travelling over from…

A NAMEPLATE from what was arguably the most controversial express locomotive in the 25-year history of the LNER will go under the hammer on July 15 – coincidentally, a year after one of the Pacific’s worksplates was sold by the same auction house. The plate, Great Northern, is from No. 60113, whose history illustrates what many railway historians claim was deep animosity between its designer, Nigel Gresley, and his successor, Edward Thompson. The claim has polarised opinion within the steam railway movement for decades and will doubtless continue for many more years. No. 60113 was built at Doncaster in April 1922 (work No. 1536) as the prototype of what became the LNER A1 (later A3) class. Numbered 1470 by the Great Northern Railway and subsequently 4470 by the LNER, it…

A NEWLY-discovered treasure trove of historically priceless documents from largely forgotten Stockton & Darlington Railway pioneer Leonard Raisbeck has been digitised by the National Railway Museum and made available online to the general public. Born in Stockton-on-Tees in 1773, Raisbeck was a solicitor, and it was his suggestion that the town’s proposed link with Darlington to carry coal to market should be a railway, a new form of transport technology at the time, as opposed to a canal. He worked closely with the line’s chief financial backer, Edward Pease, and engineer George Stephenson, but unlike them, he disappeared into obscurity with the passage of time. First for the NRM The collection of 258 documents, which the museum acquired from a booksellers two years ago, had always been in private hands…

THE Nene Valley Railway has begun restoration work on Wansford signal box to safeguard its future. The ’box, which sits along the River Nene, was built in 1907 to replace three other smaller ones at Wansford and is believed to be the largest signalbox in preservation still in its original location. Over the last decade, the LNWRstyle ’box has suffered from a lack of maintenance or investment in the external fabric of the structure. Following the recent renewal of the level crossing gates on the adjacent Old Great North Road, which are controlled from the ’box, the NVR station and buildings team at the NVR has begun work to see it returned to its former glory. The programme of works will see every external surface receive attention, with timbers replaced…

THE EMU-oriented Clacton Express Preservation Group has reached agreement in principle to receive a donation of a complete fourcar Class 321 unit. It will be the first complete Mk.3 EMU to be preserved in the UK. The set will be placed on static display in Harwich, where it will serve as a community cafe, events space and museum. A section of track for it has also been donated. All proceeds are being reinvested back into the CEPG to help fund the upkeep of its heritage vehicles, including Lavender Line-based Class 309 No. 309624, a project from which the primary benefactor pulled out earlier this year, leaving the group to seek financial assistance elsewhere.…

THE visit of LNER A4 Pacific No. 60007Sir Nigel Gresley to the Nene Valley Railway during the Easter period has been heralded as a major success, with visitors flocking to glimpse the locomotive making its first visit to a heritage line fresh from the paintshop and back in BR Express Blue livery. The locomotive’s landmark visit was made possible by an heroic all-out effort by the railway’s civil repairs team to complete track upgrades on the 1/5-mile Fletton Loop connection to the East Coast Main Line in time. The A4 arrived at the NVR from its base at Crewe on April 5 and was in steam the next day for a Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Trust members’ day. This event saw No. 60007 coupled to my freshly repainted BR Standard…

Fly-past: Thompson B1 class No. 61205 approaches Ilford station with the 10.10am Liverpool Street to Norwich express on April 21, 1951. The Stratford-based (30A) 4-6-0, which is passing under a flyover that opened in October 1947 to carry local trains over the through lines, was one of 290 members of the 410-strong class built by North British of Glasgow. It entered traffic in June 1947, and after withdrawal in November 1963 was taken into departmental stock as a stationary boiler for train heating, a role it fulfilled until being scrapped in February 1965. Ilford station, which was opened in June 1839 and currently handles nearly five million passengers a year, was in the spotlight in a railway conference held at Essex Record Office in Chelmsford on April 1. THE railwaysofEssex…

BEAMISH Colliery and its ‘pitvillage’ form an integral part of the Beamish Open Air Museum which, over April 1/2, held its annual steam gala. Visiting Beamish to work on its colliery line during the event was Barclay 0-4-0ST No.1219 of 1910 Caledonia Works from another ‘pit’ railway – the Pontypool & Blaenavon in South Wales. Visiting courtesy of Ryan Pope, No.1219 was scheduled to move from Blaenavon by road on March 27, but there were problems with the low loader. As a result, No.1219 did not arrive at Beamish until 10pm on March 29, leaving the venue’s transport collection manager Matt Pickering and steam collection manager Antony Walker still working at 11pm – a long shift indeed. The following day, Antony had to supervise the engine being unloaded and carry…

A SECOND BR Standard was added to the roster for the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s May 12-14 Cotswold Festival of Steam, before a fifth and final visitor was also announced. BR 2MT 2-6-0 No. 78019 from the Great Central Railway will run alongside previously announced visitors BR 4MT 4-6-0 No. 75014 Braveheart from the Dartmouth Steam Railway, GWR 4-6-0 No. 4079 Pendennis Castle from the Great Western Society at Didcot Railway Centre, and Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway‘Pug’0-4-0ST from the East Lancashire Railway. The final guest is 97-year-old BR (SR) Maunsell 2-6-0 U class No. 31806, which will appear courtesy of JMB Locomotive Services and the Swanage Railway. The visit ensures that resident rebuilt Merchant Navy 4-6-2 No. 35006 Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co. has Southern Region company once again for…

THE Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway will welcome a special and significant guest to its May 13/14 steam and diesel gala – Bassett Lowke 4-4-2 Count Louis, which was built in 1924 for racing driver and automobile engineer Count Louis Zborowski. The count and fellow racing driver Captain John Edwards Presgrave Howey went on to dream up the RHDR, with Zborowski agreeing to donate rolling stock from a railway he had constructed at his Higham Park home. Sadly, the count died on October 19, 1924, before construction of the new line had even begun, but he was nonetheless instrumental in the 14-mile line’s establishment. Following his death, the locomotive was sold to the Fairbourne Railway, where it resided until 1980. It passed into the hands of the Little Giant Trust…

With its variety of veteran locomotives and exquisite pre-Grouping carriages, the Bluebell Railway has often played this to its advantage over the years at its branch line weekends, where the smaller engines of preservation take centre stage to recreate scenes long confined to the past. After a four-year hiatus (for obvious and well-documented reasons), over April 21-23, the Sussex heritage line pulled out all the stops to lay on another impressive branch line weekend that saw six locomotives in steam. Where some lines are scaling back on hiring in guest locomotives, the Bluebell did the opposite and hired three for the occasion. Built at Horwich in 1910, 0-4-0ST ‘Pug’ (previously Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway No. 19 but now turned out as LMS No. 11243) has been a crowd-puller at its…

HASTINGS Diesels Limited is to run a tour of the Jurassic Coast on Saturday, June 3 – its fourth offering of the year. The excursion will start from Hastings and pick up additional passengers at St. Leonards Warrior Square, Battle, Etchingham, Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Redhill, Guildford, and Reading, before running non-stop via Basingstoke to Bournemouth for the first set-down point. Customers will then have the option of alighting at Bournemouth or staying on the train to Wareham for the Swanage Railway, which is the next stop for the tour. Those making the choice to spend time in Bournemouth will have about five-and-a-half hours in the seaside resort or those opting for Swanage Railway will have about four-and-a-half hours to explore the heritage railway, Corfe Castle, or the seaside resort. The…

HERITAGE DMU services are now running from Wareham’s main line station and via the Swanage Railway to the Purbeck resort. As reported last issue, the heritage line is running its three-car Class 117 DMU (which can have a Class 121 railcar added at busy periods) over a mile of the national network to Worgret Junction before heading over the LSWR branch to the coast. The trial service operates on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until September 10. With the first train departing Wareham at 11.19am and the last train leaving Swanage for Wareham at 4.20pm, visitors have the ability to spend up to four hours in Swanage or Corfe Castle. The timetable is subject to change on special event days at Swanage Railway. The trains, operated by West Coast Railways,…

I was among more than 5000 people who turned up to travel on the Severn Valley Railway during its eagerly-expected Spring Steam Gala. I joined the first train south from Highley at 9.20am on April 14 and it was already packed: riding later trains, it appeared there was no reduction in passenger numbers. There was a tremendous lead-up to the gala that had all departments working flat-out to ensure its success. Organising a gala with visiting engines is no easy task and it fell on the shoulders of the Bridgnorth Shed staff to ensure that all locomotives performed to the highest standards. The star of the event was undoubtedly GWR 4-6-0 No. 4079 Pendennis Castle, appearing on service trains for the first time on a heritage line away from its…

NORTH Eastern modellers will no doubt be celebrating the announcement that the iconic Quad-Art carriages will soon be available – following confirmation by Ellis Clark Trains that it is producing the articulated sets in OO gauge. The firm has worked closely with the Midland & Great Northern Society and the North Norfolk Railway during the research and design process, and countless trips to study the sole surviving example have been made to ensure the models are as true to the originals as possible. The Quad- Arts will be EC’s first venture in OO gauge, having produced exclusives in O gauge, and there is no compromise being made in scaling down. The carriages will boast bogies with brass bearings, fine detail including brake rigging, and sprung fixings to enable prototypically close…

Just to say how much I’m enjoying issue 305, particularly the in-depth articles on the Dartmouth Steam and Bodmin & Wenford railways. I was lucky enough to travel over the Dartmouth ‘branch’ in 1959 and see GWR 4-6-0 No. 6018 King Henry IV pull the last official Up ‘Torbay Express.’ Is it really a branch, though, or the final part of a main line railway to Torbay – and one that should never have closed? I’m also pleased to see the good coverage of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway spring gala, with a very good selection of photographs from a wide variety of locations, although you only covered eight of the nine participating locomotives. I took this photograph of the ninth, BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0 No. 75078, after double-heading…

IN its centenary year, LNER A3 Pacific No. 60103 FlyingScotsman made history again by becoming the first steam locomotive to use the newlyrefurbished 65ft turntable at St Blazey depot in Cornwall – opening the door for a resumption of steam-hauled tours into the duchy. On April 30, No. 60103 headed the Railway Touring Company’s ‘The Royal Duchy’ from Bristol Temple Meads to Par and back, and was turned at St Blazey midway. It was originally thought that the A3 would be able to haul the tour only as far as Plymouth, with a diesel taking it on to Par. However, on April 22, a successful trial run saw Class 66 No. 66131 turned at the nearby depot, the turntable’s first use since 2018, paving the way for Scotsman to follow.…

IN what is believed to be a first of its kind in heritage railway circles, the EcclesbourneValley Railway and Peak Rail ran a joint diesel gala over April 15/16. It that saw up to nine different locomotives and units operating between the two lines, with a connecting vintage bus service. The title of the gala was derived from Peak Rail’s location in the Derbyshire Peak District and the EVR’s position in the White Peak area of the Derbyshire Dales. Bars were open at both venues, with the Heritage Shunters Trust shed at Rowsley on the EVR open for viewing, while at Peak Rail the LMS 10000 Project Shed could also be accessed to witness the progress of the new-build project. Double-heading and top-andtailed formations presented plenty of opportunity for travel…

THE Mid-Hants Railway Spring Steam Gala took place over the bank holiday weekend of April 29-May 1 and welcomed a pair of Great Western locomotives for the occasion. Headline in the centenary year for its class was 4-6-0 No. 4079 Pendennis Castle, fresh from its visit to the Severn Valley Railway’s own gala (see pages 68-71). The Castle proved to be a draw but on day one was briefly stopped after a gasket on pipework around one of its injectors required replacing; a quick fix, the end of its first trip was worked by Class 47 No. 47579 between Ropley and Arlesford while the repair was made, resuming its booked duty after the‘Spoon’arrived back at Ropley with the second Up working. However, the discovery of leaking small tubes that same…

THEWelshpool & Llanfair Light Railway is to stage a treble celebration at its June 17/18 gala weekend. It was 60 years ago that the 2ft 6in gauge line was reopened by volunteers on April 6, 1963. Sixty years before that, on April 4, 1903, it opened for the first time with much pomp and ceremony in both Welshpool and Llanfair Careinion. The highlight of the gala, however, will be the return to traffic of 1944-built Société Franco-Belge 0-8-0T No. 699.01 Sir Drefaldwyn following the conclusion of a long overhaul that was delayed by issues including the Covid-19 pandemic. Built in 1944 in France for the occupying German military, it never saw service before the supply depot it was stored in was captured by Allied forces. Sent to work in Austria,…

BRITISH-BUILT Decauville Type 1 0-4-0T replica Edgar has been officially launched into traffic on the Tacot des Lacs Railway in the forest of Fontaine Bleau, near Bourron-Marlotte, in France. In 2018, Edgar became the second new steam locomotive to be built by North Bay Railway Engineering Services of Darlington. It was based on measurements taken from 1910 Decauville 0-4-0T Balhalla at Sandstone Estates, in South Africa, and was rebuilt after being retrieved from Angola. Edgar was named after the enthusiast father of John Sutton, who first based it at the Apedale Valley Light Railway and later sold it to Tacot des Lacs owner Patrick Mouret. His 600mm line opened in 1985 on the trackbed of a former industrial line that was built in 1901 to serve sand quarries in and…

REPRESENTATIVES of model manufacturer Bachmann Europe Plc visited the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group at its Hopetown workshop in Darlington on April 18 to present models of the firm’s LNER J72 0-6-0T – specifically thegroup’s sole-surviving example No. 69023 Joem – and a cheque for £504 to help with the completion of the locomotive’s overhaul. Released in 2020 as a Bachmann Collector’s Club exclusive, the OO scale model of No. 69023 was a produced in a limited run of just 504 models, and £1 from each sale has been donated to its overhaul. Joem is being returned to steam in time for the 200th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 2025, as reported. The cheque was presented by Richard Proudman, Bachmann’s rail brand manager, to NELPG chairman John…

THE 16thSteamEngineFestivalin Dresden, which took place over the weekend of April 14-16, saw plans quickly altered when an unexploded bomb was discovered close to the city’s museum on the first day – resulting in the main line being closed and a nearby area evacuated. A steam-hauled morning departure scheduled to depart from Dresden Central station on April 15 was cancelled after the 250kg American air bomb was found on Friday afternoon by construction workers on a site near Dresden Railway Museum. An exclusion zone was in force from 9am on the Saturday morning, which saw 15,000 civilians evacuated and the adjacent railway lines closed until roughly 3pm while the bomb was disarmed. A photographic event on the evening of April 14, along with a special trip to Nossen and RoBwein,…

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A NEW railway heritage centre based around newly cosmetically-restored 3ft gauge Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0ST No. 633 of 1902 Lord Granby is being established near Melton Mowbray. The purpose-built centre is being set up by Eastwell History Group at Crossroads Farm following the transfer of Lord Granby from its restoration workshop at the end of April. It will showcase the history of the Eastwell and Waltham Ironstone Company’s quarries in the county in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rail operations commenced in 1885, made possible by the opening of the GNR and LNWR joint line between Bottesford Junction and Melton Mowbray in 1879, which provided an outward transportation route for iron ore. A narrow-gauge incline linked the quarries at the top of the escarpment, with the standard-gauge joint line…

THE winner of a Heritage Railway sponsored research competition commemorating the centenary of the opening of the entire 22-mile length of the Welsh Highland Railway from Dinas to Porthmadog via Rhyd Ddu has been chosen after the two judges faced a ‘challenge’ reaching their decision due to the high standard of the three entries that made it into the final. The trio had reached the final after deliberations by the two judges, eminent historians Dr Dafydd Gwyn, a trustee of the Ffestiniog Railway who advised Gwynedd Council on its successful bid for UNESCO World Heritage status for the slate landscape of North West Wales, and Gareth Haulfryn Williams, archivist of the WHR Society and former county archivist of Merioneth. Entrants were invited to submit original research on the history of…

WHEN Lawrie Rose launched his appeal to purchase 4WDM Ruston 48DS No. 393303 from scrap, few would have imagined that it would achieve the £4000 target the same evening, let alone double it within 24 hours. To the surprise of all, that is exactly what happened. Lawrie, who owns former Fawley Hill resident and fellow 48DS No. 294266 on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway and whose YouTube channel is being sponsored by the Foxfield Railway during 2023 (as reported in issue 305), came across No. 393303 in a scrapyard where it has stood for nearly 40 years after Wagon Repairs Ltd. in Wellingborough closed in 1983. While it appeared to be a nohoper, it still had a good set of wheels with which to swap out those on his locomotive which…

NEW state-of-the-art driver controls and a ‘support a sleeper’ fundraising campaign have been unveiled by Mail Rail, one of the world’s most innovative railway revival projects that in its first year of operation carried 165,000 passengers. The line, in Clerkenwell, near King’s Cross station, is a restored stretch of the former 2ft gauge Post Office Underground Railway that opened in 1927 and ran 70 feet beneath the capital’s streets for 6½ miles from west to east London, carrying millions of letters and parcels a day on driverless electric trains. It became known as London’s‘secret railway’due to most residents and tourists being unaware of its existence, but closure came in 2003 and its role was taken over by lorries and vans. Instead of being sealed up, it was mothballed and a…

THE Bluebell Railway’s privately-owned Class 73 electro diesel E6040 emerged from the paintshop at Eastleigh Works to be officially unveiled at a renaming ceremony on April 5. Following months of speculation and rumour as to what livery the locomotive would be turned out in – a detail that was kept a closely guarded secret – and following completion of bodywork repairs undertaken by Arlington Fleet Services at Eastleigh, E6040 (TOPs No. 73133) was revealed to have been painted in early BR blue (often referred to as ‘electric blue’) with half yellow ends. The ceremony saw the locomotive officially readopting the name of its new home line, which it carried between 1990 and 2004. The Bluebell Railway name had previously been adorned by classmate No. 73004, which was scrapped in 2003…

THE boiler for the SpaValley Railway’s LMS 0-6-0T 3F‘Jinty’ No. 47493 was returned to the frames on January 16 as the overhaul takes another major step forward. The new front tubeplate, which was fitted at Weybourne while the boiler was overhauled under contract there, requires drilling to accept the smokebox, which is ready and waiting in the yard to be lifted into place. Once the railway’s winter maintenance has been completed on the operating locomotives, the boiler will be cleaned and heat resistant paint applied, enabling the refitting of the pipework to commence, and to be followed by the crinolines, lagging and cladding. Overhauling of the motion is also nearing completion, after which attention will then turn to the brake gear. Meanwhile, volunteers continue to clean, repair and paint the…

A NEW trust set up to acquire the late Adrian Shooter CBE’s 1889-built Sharp Stewart Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 0-4-0STT ‘B’ class No. 19B at auction is aiming to base it at the Statfold Barn Railway. As reported last issue, the Darjeeling Tank Locomotive Trust, which has applied for charitable status, aims to buy No. 19B at an auction on June 21 and has made plans to begin its 10-yearly overhaul next February. Chiltern Railways founder Adrian, who had motor neurone disease, died on December 13 aged 74, as reported in issue 301. Aside from his professional railway career, he had a lifelong voluntary and professional main line and narrow-gauge steam involvement in the heritage sector. Volunteering at the Ffestiniog Railway from 1963 and elected to its board of directors aged…

UK Railtours completed a tour that it had been hoping to achieve for many years, with Hastings Class 201 DEMU No. 1001 visiting 13 terminus stations around the nation’s capital in one excursion. Departing from Liverpool Street at 7.40am, the DEMU first ran to Stratford before reversing to access Fenchurch Street on the former London Tilbury & Southend Railway route. From here, it returned to Stratford via Bow Junction and on to King’s Cross, after which it ran to Hornsey Down reversing sidings to then run into Euston station. The tour then ran to St Pancras International, West Ruislip, Marylebone, Paddington, Waterloo, Blackfriars, Victoria and Charing Cross before making its way to its final destination at London Bridge, where the trip terminated at 9.20pm. Booking for the tour sold out…

The Railway Touring Company ran its 15th ‘Great Britain’ tour across the UK network from April 15-23. As reported in Main Line News, pages 56-57, the Scottish leg of the tour to Edinburgh was being worked by LMS Royal Scot No. 46115 Scots Guardsman, when it ran a tender hotbox owas replaced by Jubilee No. 45596 Bahamas, which had never worked in Scotland since being preserved. Running 47 minutes late on April 19, Bahamas is seen passing the new Freight Facility at Blackford, Perthshire, two minutes before the sun set behind the mountains to the north west, working 1Z29 from Aberdeen to Edinburgh Waverley. May 11 ‘The Jurassic Crompton’ Eastleigh to Swanage only. Loco: 33012 Lt. Jenny Lewis RN + 2x class 73 TBC. BLS 12 Golden Age of Travel…

Between April 7-10, the 10-mile line ran its most intensive timetable for many years, showing itself to be much more than a railway running a one-steam service that has been its recent main operating stance. It was an event of doubles and triples, with two rakes of freight and passenger stock hauled in rotation by two steam locomotives, with three diesel shunting locomotives and ex-main line diesel locomotives also getting in on the action, presenting plenty of opportunity for maximum mileage travelled and almost always something on the go. Originally planned to be a diesel gala, logistical issues prevented planned guest locomotives from travelling to Aviemore (as reported in issue 304), so it was decided to make the best of what was already on site. Steam traction was provided by…

GREAT Central’s first-ever auction of model trains on Thursday, May 18, has attracted so many entries that boss Dave Jones is thinking of extending it into a second day. By the end of April it comprised approaching 1000 lots, which would represent a challenge in a single day for Mike Soden and Martin Quartermain, who will be sharing the auctioneering. The sale will feature a variety of gauges, from OO and HO to O gauge and live steam garden scale, and also a broad range of model manufacturers, including such familiar names as Hornby, Bachmann, Wrenn, and Trix, as well as scratch-built examples. There will also be American models, rolling stock that includes a flat truck with NATO identification carrying a rocket, and a large single collection of O gauge…

GWR No. 7800 TorquayManor rolled out of SwindonWorks in 1938, but the history of the locomotive extends back to the turn of the century.To understand the origins of the Manors, it’s important to consider their position in the development of GreatWestern locomotive design under the leadership of George Jackson Churchward. Churchward was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the GWR between 1902 and 1922, and perhaps defined the direction of the railway for more than half a century. The Great Western had always pushed hard for the use of standard parts throughout its various designs, but under Churchward this would become a defining characteristic. From a range of predefined parts such as boilers, cylinders, wheels and valve gear, Churchward developed the concept for a locomotive fleet that would encompass everything from 2-6-2Ts…

A GROUP of youngsters placed wooden sleepers across the Wells & Walsingham Light Railway in a bid to detail a train at about 3.30pm on April 24 and set fire to sleepers under a Victorian brick bridge. Managing director Nick Champion said: “We are grateful to the community for its help and would like to make it clear that the parents have been shocked by the incident and have been proactively in contact with us.”…

THE Talyllyn Railway stepped into relatively new ground on April 22 when it ran its first diesel-centric event to mark the 40th birthday of its two Baguley Drewery shunting locomotives, Nos. 11 Trecwnand 12 St Cadfan, before bidding farewell to Kerr Stuart 0-4-2ST No.4 Edward Thomas two days later as it departed for overhaul at Aberystwyth. Built in 1983 for RNAD Trecwn, the two Baguleys arrived on the TR in 2008 but initially lay out of use for some years as they required regauging from 2ft 6in to 2ft 3in. Running trials commenced in 2013, with both starting regular use from the following year. No. 12 was named after a local church in Tywyn and blessed in 2016 by the Bishop of Bangor, despite No. 11 being the prototype for…

SUCCESSFUL hydraulic and steam tests on the boiler of Swanage Railway-based LSWRT3 4-4-0 No. 563 were carried out at the Flour Mill workshop at Bream in the Forest of Dean at the end of April. Steaming for the first time in 75 years, the out-of-frames steam test took place on April 25, five days after the hydraulic test was passed at the same workshop. A group spokesman said: “This brings us ever closer to returning 563 to steam and it’s a huge credit to the team at the Flour Mill for all the work they’ve undertaken to get the boiler this far!” The tender tank was moved to the Flour Mill earlier in the year due a shortage of labour causing delays in the original schedule for the necessary platework…

BODMIN & Wenford Railway volunteer Will Dingle was passed out as a fireman on Easter Monday, his 18th birthday, the earliest permitted age that anyone in the heritage sector can achieve this. Will, who lives in nearby Par, started volunteering at Bodmin when he was 14. For the last year he has been employed by the railway as an apprentice fitter, and proved to be a keen and useful member of the steam locomotive department team. He is also an accomplished amateur photographer. The BWR has established a good record in recruiting and nurturing young talent. In 2012, Ashley Helleur from St Austell was also passed out as fireman on his 18th birthday. He is a steam driver at Bodmin and also works on the main line driving Intercity Express…

A SURVIVING example of the oldest EMUs in service on the national network is being offered to a good home. Under statutory powers, the Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board has designated dual-voltage three-car Class 313 No. 313121 – last used as Network Rail’s dedicated European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Class 313 test unit – for preservation. It has invited applications from institutions that can guarantee its long-term survival. The 64 Class 313s were built by British Rail Engineering Limited’s Holgate Road carriage works between February 1976 and April 1977, and were the first production units derived from BR’s 1971 prototype suburban EMU design. They were the first BR units equipped with both a pantograph for 25kV 50Hz AC overhead lines and contact shoe equipment for 750DC third-rail supply. The…

THE construction of the new Corris Railway Falcon 0-4-2ST No. 10 has continued to progress at Alan Keef’s workshops, with the locomotive now sporting its brand-new buffers. It has also been decided to fit sanding gear to the locomotive, a feature that was absent from the original 1878 Loughborough Works-built trio. The locomotives arrived at Maespoeth Junction without the equipment fitted and this arrangement never changed throughout their working lives, not even when the best components of each were cannibalised and reassembled to become No. 3 at the end of the 1920s, nor when the GWR took the merged engine to Swindon for workshop attention. Given the curves and gradients of the Corris route, wet weather could cause slipping, which was combatted by the fireman or guard perching above the…

DESPITE the ravages of warin Eastern Ukraine and the Russian attempts to cripple the economy with missile strikes on infrastructure, Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsya) continues to perform an essential service in uniting the country. It enjoys immense local support and respect, despite having a previous reputation for being run on very old-fashioned lines. It is the world’s sixth largest passenger carrier and seventh largest freight carrier – or it was, before the war started. In stark contrast to Britain, where the state railway washed its hands of steam engines as soon as it could, several steam locomotives belonging to Ukrainan Railways survive, some of which are maintained in operable or near-operable condition. One is a narrow-gauge 0-8-0 tender locomotive, 1950 Babelsberg, Potsdam-built No. Gr-280. It is based in Haivoron, roughly halfway…

TYSELEY Locomotive Works has been awarded a £168,369 European Regional Development Fund grant to expand facilities and generate further employment to meet growing demand for heritage engineering design, manufacture and repair skills. The works, owned by Vintage Trains Charitable Trust and based at the original GWR locomotive depot at Tyseley, is experiencing unprecedented demand for its services in heritage railway engineering, design, manufacture, repair and maintenance. Thriving It has a full order book until the end of 2024, and has embarked on a staged and significant expansion of facilities and growth in recruitment to meet the increased demand. Tyseley is the last remaining steam-era depot of significant size by locomotive allocation. It was a catalyst for the development of the Tyseley district, with more than 1000 employees in its heyday.…

EASTER services on the Gwili Railway proved a double success – as the line officially began operating its new terminus station at Abergwili Junction while celebrating 45 years of running trains. Healthy passenger numbers were recorded for the weekend, them making use of the newly-opened car park that was built adjacent to the station over the winter months, the railway now starting and finishing its operations at this improved station that was once a brownfield site. On April 7, visiting GWR 0-6-0PT No. 6430 had the honour of being the locomotive to start the line’s new timetable. Saturday, April 8 was also the 45th anniversary of the heritage line commencing operations, which saw the new station car park officially opened by longstanding supporters Brian Jones and Caroline Langsdale. They were…

A CAMPAIGN to save the popular 1950ft-long Rugeley Miniature Railway in Staffordshire from being cut in half or relocated is underway. The landscaped and fully-signalled 3½in/5in raised level track, which can also accommodate smaller 7¼in gauge locomotives, is operated and maintained by the Rugeley Power Station Society of Model Engineers. It has been on its current site for over 35 years, but has never been accessible to the general public. It is located within the grounds of what was the now-demolished power station. The land is currently being redeveloped, with 2300 houses earmarked for its former golf courses, open spaces and a large sports field. The railway – which runs through trees, a tunnel, two stations and past a pool that hosts an abundance of wildlife, nature and birds –…

PASSENGER figures on the North Norfolk Railway during the Easter holiday period soared by 13% compared to last year. The busy weekend was followed by yet more glorious sunshine over the successful April 14-16 Spring Steam Gala, both featuring visiting West Country light Pacific No. 34028 Eddystone from the Swanage Railway. Powerful Bagnall 0-6-0ST No. 401 of 1951 Vulcan was the line’s second gala visitor and also performed well, impressing crews and visitors alike as it tackled the Poppy Line’s demanding 1-in-80 gradient with a variety of train formations. Unusually for an industrial design, No. 401 boasts outside cylinders and Walschaerts valve gear, as well as several features that were relatively modern at the time of construction, such as roller bearings, hopper ashpans and rocking grates, which contributed to the…

IT’S about much more than just turning an example of modern traction into a museum piece. That’s the message from Dr Becky Peacock, director of the Museum of Scottish Railways, who spoke to Hertiage Railways’ Hugh Dougherty about taking delivery of its newest and most modern acquisition, Class 91 131. Becky is proud of the latest addition to the vast locomotive and rolling stock collection at the museum in Bo’ness.“The 91 arrived on 9 March,” she said, leaning on the front buffer of the loco, temporarily parked in yard sidings a few days before it was due to be moved into the museum building for permanent display. “Some people have asked us what we’re doing acquiring such a modern piece of traction and there’s been some flak from the Crewe…

THIS year’s RailwayTouring‘Great Britain XV’nine-day tour of the UK was hailed as an outstanding success, despite the failure of two locomotives. On day four, LMS 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman failed with a tender hotbox at Lockerbie, having taken over at Carnforth for the run to Edinburgh. It was replaced by train operator West Coast Railways’ Class 47 No. 47802, which took the train on to Edinburgh, and the next day, LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 45596 Bahamas stood in for No. 46115 for the leg to Aberdeen. RTC managing director Kelly Osborne praised both West Coast and Network Rail for their prompt actions to ensure that the tour continued as planned. Day five saw Jubilee No. 45699 Galatea fail with a tender hotbox at Preston while bringing the empty coaching…

THE success of West Coast Railways over the last 25 years since becoming a Train Operating Company was based not only on a lot of hard expensive behind the scenes work, but also the policy of attracting time-served railway professionals. A quarter of a century ago, retirement in the rail industry was 99% mandatory at 65 years old and WCR challenged these unwritten rules by taking on operational staff who had decades of experience and still lots to offer the industry, including a wide route knowledge and traction and rolling stock experience. A belated Covid-19-delayed retirement gathering was held at Rugby on March 21 when three WCR steam drivers were presented with retirement certificates by operations manager Andy Taylor and DJ Les Ross, who owns Class 86 No. 86259 that…

IN a surprise move, Class 55 Deltic No. 55022/D9000 Royal Scots Greyran a special Intercity one-way journey from King’s Cross to Edinburgh, complete with the traditional thistle and wings headboard, on April 21. It hauled six ScotRail carriages, two support coaches and Class 90 No. 90001 Royal Scot seen with the pantograph down. The cost was a bargain for First Class at £75 and Second Class £50. It departed King’s Cross on time at 11.15pm, but timings started to slip after Oakleigh Park, getting progressively worse as the journey continued. Travelling down the East Coast Main Line, Peterborough was reached 24 minutes down, York 89 down and Newcastle 97 down, but time was made up to Edinburgh, with arrival at 9.08pm, 66 minutes late. For future tours, visit https://intercity.co.uk/ As…

One of my first encounters with freights was as a young lad on King’s Cross Underground station’s Circle line platform awaiting a train to Paddington. The unrecognisable sound of a steam locomotive was heard in the tunnel, and it burst into the station engulfing passengers in steam, who were unable to move because it was impossible to see anything. It was hauled by a pannier tank heading one of London Underground’s rubbish or engineering trains; its origin or destination was completely unknown, but it was definitely somewhere around 1963 and 1964. Being a steam enthusiast, it made an incredible impression on me – so much so that I had to be there to see the last steam on the Underground on June 6, 1971, when the then London Transport ran…

ALTHOUGH a huge single collection of OO gauge model trains was at its heart, three railwayana items from the same deceased’s estate topped the realisations of a sale held on April 13 by Mitchells Auctioneers of Cockermouth, Cumbria. The trio was headed by a BR(M) Cockermouth totem at £4500, with second place going to an LMS hawkeye from the same station (£3300), which was opened by the Cockermouth Keswick & Penrith Railway in January 1865 and was able to celebrate its centenary before being closed by BR in April 1966. In third place was a Brigham- Cockermouth single line brass key token that sold for £470, ahead of the highest priced model, a Bachmann Western Pullman set (£380). Prices exclude buyer’s premium of 25% (+ VAT). David Lomas, Mitchells’ valuer…