Innehållsförteckning för Issue 330 från Heritage Railway

MARCH 3 saw the Bluebell Railway sign a new agreement that will see redundant railway assets from Network Rail's Sussex route donated to the heritage line include rails and sleepers. With heritage railways like the Bluebell running passenger services at slower speeds, the materials can be safely reused and repurposed for a new lease of life, ensuring the line can continue to welcome about 150,000 visitors each year. Under the agreement, NR will also use the Bluebell's facilities as part of its community engagement activities, including hosting rail experience days to promote the role of rail to people considering a career in the industry. In return, the Bluebell will benefit from NR's in-kind expertise and time, with staff being able to use volunteering leave to support the maintenance and running of the…

AS summer gets underway this June, the Bluebell Railway will be celebrating Railway 200 at Horsted Keynes station – and Britain’s biggest train operator is offering free tickets on its services for students to help them attend the events. School visits to the heritage line will be available every Monday-Wednesday between June 2 and July 2, with a focus on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) learning, featuring workshops delivered by industry experts, displays of cutting-edge rail technology and more. In order to help those planning to take advantage of such educational visits, main line operator Govia Thameslink Railway is offering 9000 schoolchildren and college students from Surrey and Greater London free tickets aboard its services for the journey to East Grinstead. GTR chief executive officer Angie Doll said: “Two…

JANE Preece has taken over as chairman of the Erlestoke Manor Fund Trust Board. Jane was appointed fund secretary in September 2020 and elected as a trustee in 2021. She was the Severn Valley Railway's first human resources manager, also running the Heritage Skills Training Academy from 2016 until February 2020, when she became an SVR working member. Her career in the public, private, and not-for-profit sector has focused on human resources and governance, and she currently sits on a number of housing association boards. She became the fund's membership secretary in 2021, along with regularly running its sales coach at Bewdley station. Adrian Hassell, chairman since 2021, is staying on the trustee board. Young blood Chris Field, the youngest trustee within the fund, has become vice-chairman. Once old enough,…

AN 86-year-old who survived a heart attack has walked the 11-mile Bluebell Railway to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. John Deane, of East Hoathly, in Sussex, strode the full length of line from East Grinstead to Sheffield Park on March 4 in what is described as a “remarkable turnaround” in his health, having feared he may never enjoy his passion for walking again. Having retired to Spain, John worked as a mountain walk leader but in 2008 began to experience symptoms including fatigue and breathlessness, which he initially dismissed as caused bya virus. However, when they persisted he sought medical advice and was rushed to hospital when it was discovered that he had suffered a silent heart attack. “On the way there,I was able to see one of…

A DECADE after the reopening of the Borders Railway from Edinburgh to Tweedbank, the green light has been given to looking into extending it to Carlisle. Up to £5 million has been allocated by the Scottish and UK governments through the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal to appoint a project manager for work to assess the case for relaying the line beyond Tweedbank. UK Government Scotland Office Minister Kirsty McNeill said: “Growth is a priority mission for the UK Government and we’ve been clear that the £450 million Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal spanning southern Scotland and northern England is vital to achieving this. It’s great news that the UK Department for Transport has confirmed up to £5 million towards feasibility work to explore the potential to extend the Borders Railway from…

THREE museums with a heritage rail presence have been awarded Government grants as part of an Arts Everywhere Fund package of more than £270 million from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Hundreds of arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings will receive a share, with the aim of supporting jobs and creating opportunities for young people to learn creative skills, while also helping to boost people’s sense of pride in where they live. Announced by Labour’s Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy on February 20, the cash will be awarded to organisations in urgent need of financial support to keep them up and running, carry out vital infrastructure work, and improve long-term financial resilience. At an inaugural lecture marking the 60th anniversary of the first-ever arts white paper by former…

ONE visiting engine that has slipped under the radar in the early part of 2025 is that of the South Devon Railway’s Collett 1366 class pannier tank No. 1369 to the Bristol Harbour Railway. It was delivered on its way home from its appearance at the Battlefield Railway’s Winter Warmer Gala in January (as reported last issue), as part of an agreement that sees Peckett 0-6-0ST No. 1940 of 1937 Henbury pay a short visit to Buckfastleigh. It was the second time that No. 1369 has visited the harbour line, the first being 29 years ago in 1996, when it carried BR black livery. Given the class’s association with the line to Weymouth Harbour, No. 1367 being the first allocated there in 1935, being back in a dockside environment should…

CELEBRATING its 60th anniversary, the Severn Valley Railway has teamed up with Bewdley Festival’s Step into Stories event to launch a new children’s poetry competition, with family travel tickets on offer as prizes. The competition, open to children aged four to 16, invites them to enter a poem inspired by their experiences of visiting the railway and seeing steam trains. “This is a chance to get creative,” said the SVR’s visitor engagement manager, Lewis Maddox. “A trip on the SVR provides the perfect inspiration, with so many sights, sounds, smells, and exciting things happening all around. We are looking forward to receiving some amazing entries. “We have split the competition into three age categories and are looking for poems of up to 20 lines.” The winner of each category will…

“SEATS on top!” used to be the cry of Glasgow tram conductors when the lower deck was full, and it’s also the catchphrase of the 1245 group supremo Charlie McAloney, who is proud of the work that he and his team of volunteers have done in reseating their Glasgow Coronation No. 1245, tram’s upper deck at Coatbridge’s Summerlee Industrial Museum. “All the seats have now been r-upholstered and fitted,” said Charlie. “They look teriffic, and when you swing them over the seat squab angle changes with the direction of travel to add extra comfort for passengers. The Glasgow Corporation Transport designers really knew what they were doing in 1939, when the tram was built at Coplawhill Car Works in Glasgow. “We’ve also completed the superb Art Deco Alhambrinal ceiling as…

POLICE have issued an appeal for help to locate a former Avon Valley Railway employee in connection with an investigation into fraud. Humberside Police have issued a statement saying that 41-year-old Nathan Hudson is sought in connected with allegations of scam holidays, and not paying wages between 2015 and 2018. Case officer PC Adrian Wallace said: ‘’The victims of these fraud cases are from across the country, but Nathan Hudson has previously lived in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, and may have since travelled to the area of Wiltshire. It is also believed heuses the alias Matthew Smith. ‘’Officers continue extensive enquiries and country-wide searches, which have so far been unsuccessful, and so weare reappealing for help to locate him.’’ The volunteer-run Avon Valley Railway Heritage Trust has complained after…

On February 7, rail maintenance firm Wabtec announced that its operation at Doncaster Works, where Flying Scotsman was built in 1923, is to close. Wabtec (the Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation), which is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, employs about 300 people at its factory in Hexthorpe. A spokesman said that the decision was made following a “comprehensive review of the product lines and cost challenges” at the depot. Work at the Doncaster site would continue “well into 2026” to deliver its commitments to customers, and several options were being considered, including moving to another UK location or relocating to a nearby site. Consultations with staff over the proposed closure have begun. Speculation that the historic site could be given over to housing development is rife. Doncaster Works, known as The…

THE Scottish Railway Preservation Society has advertised a railtour featuring some lesser-visited locations by rail on Saturday, April 19, under the title of ‘The Grangemouth Growler.’ The tour is planned to start from Bo’ness, hauled by Class 37 No. 37403 and a GB Railfreight Class 66. Following a reversal at Manuel, the route is via Bo’ness Junction to pick up more passengers at Linlithgow, before taking the Linlithgow Up Passenger Loop for another passenger pick-up at Edinburgh. Heading to Tweedbank, a reverse move is then expected which will see the train move via the Edinburgh Suburban to Haymarket, then another reversal to Slateford, Mossend Down Reception No. 4, Whifflet South Junction, Sunnyside Junction, Shettleston Up and Down Goods Loop, City Union, Paisely Down Goods Loop, Paisely Gilmour Street, Elderslie Up…

HASTINGS Diesels' second railtour of the season will run on Saturday April 5 under the title of 'The East West DEMU.' For the first time, the train will be formed of nine coaches and comprise two DEMUs coupled together as six-and three-car sets. This arrangement follows the return to traffic of motor coach No. 60000 Hastings and also trailer cars Nos. 60501 and 60116. These three coaches will join the existing six already in regular use, but passengers in these coaches will not be able to access the rest of the train as there is no gangway through the motor coach. The tour is planned to start out from Hastings and then head north, picking up passengers at St Leonards Warrior Square, West St Leonards, Crowhurst, Battle, Etchingham, Tunbridge Wells,…

INTERCITY Tours is offering the chance to ride behind a pair of Class 20s on Sunday, May 4, under the title of 'Yr Wyl Fictoriadd (The Victorian Festival).' Starting from Birmingham International, the tour is planned to pick up additional passengers at Tame Bridge Parkway, Wolverhampton, Stafford and Crewe. From Crewe, the train is scheduled to take the North Wales Main Line towards Chester and then on to the destination of Llandudno. Passengers will then have three hours to explore the Victorian Festival, which is held in the town every May Bank Holiday Weekend. After leaving Llandudno, passengers will return to their joining stations as the train retraces the route of the outward journey. Tickets are available in First Class non-dining and Standard class for this tour. To book, visit…

A TWO-DAY sale of model trains held byVectis on January 29/30 proved to be a storming success for a 3½in gauge live steam model that sold for £10,000. Based on South African Railways Class 23 4-8-2 No. 2552, the 7ft 6in long model was built by Herbert Clarkson ofYork between 1979 and 1985 for a South African radio andTV presenter who later moved to the UK. The mixed traffic German-built Class 23 comprised 136 locomotives of 43,200lb-ft tractive effort that entered service in 1938/39. All had been withdrawn by 1983 and two survive in preservation. Some way behind was the runner-up, a Marklin of Germany O-gauge four-car express railcar which fetched £680, followed by 12 Hornby O-gauge tank locomotives, including clockwork examples, that sold as a single lot for £500,…

During the heritage era, Swithland Sidings has been developed extensively into what it is today – and the Great Central Railway has done a superb, sympathetic job. The original sidings were built in 1898 for granite trains from the nearby Mountsorrel quarries linked by an industrial branch line. At Swithland, wagons would be marshalled according to their destination for onward travel over the Great Central main line. Returning empties would be similarly dealt with. Swithland was originally to have an island platform in the same style as Rothley and Quorn & Woodhouse; despite the Up and Down main lines being spaced for this, it was never built. Opened in 1899, Rothley station is less than a mile away. It was local protests that persuaded the GC to build a station…

THE quarterly announcements for model manufacturer Bachmann took place on February 5 and as expected, there was plenty shown to whet the appetites of modellers of all eras, regions, and even scales. Through N to O, the announcement mainly concentrated on new liveries of existing tools. That it is not to say, of course, that the seasonal announcements were devoid of new tools. 1. SR Bulleid coaches These vehicles are no strangers to the Bachmann range and have often seen the tooling revived to offer new identities. These have now had a new suite created to keep up with modern standards which has also resulted in the introduction of two new designs to the range, diagram 2406 brake composite corridor and diagram 2017 third open, both of which have been…

FOLLOWING the author’s earlier book, Preserving the Kent & East Sussex Railway, which covered the railway’s tough early days from closure in 1961 to running a heritage line in 1974, this one follows in detail almost in a diary format the next 30 years. Nick Pallant covers rebuilding infrastructure as the line was extended, rolling stock acquisition, and famous visitors along the way; no stone is left unturned as Nick, using the headlines of railway’s members journal Tenterden Terrier (formerly known as The Farmers Line), outlines the major ups and downs from 1974, the year which saw the official opening of the line, running from Tenterden Town to Rolvenden station. The same year it was decided to set up a Colonel Stephens Museum, with just eight of the Colonel’s lines…

(Hardback, Railway Correspondence &Travel Society, www.rcts.org.uk 14pp, £25). THE name Michael Mensing is synonymous with his photographs in the Ian Allan ABC spotters’books of the 1950/60s, and also in the railway magazines of the day. Of course, those were virtually all published in black-and-white, so this publication gives an opportunity for his excellent material to be shown in colour. Based on the West Midlands during 1959 when Michael lived in Solihull, it is inevitable that almost (but not all) of the photographs were taken on the Western Region lines rather than the London Midland Region. Drawing from the collection of Michael Mensing images held in the RCTS photographic archive, these are very much ‘action’ pictures of trains in service and show the working environment of the railways at that time, an…

ALWAYS worth waiting for is this annual collection of footage of all steam locomotives that ran on one of the world’s great heritage lines in the previous year, both from the home fleet and visiting engines. February 2024 saw the testing of A2 Pacific No. 60532 Blue Peter, its first moves in 22 years, and the first appearance of LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 45596 Bahamas on the line in three decades. We also see new GWR Saint No. 2999 Lady of Legend, LBSCR A1 ‘Terrier’ No. 72 Fenchurch, Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway saddle tank No. 11456, Lambton tank No. 29, GWR 0-6-0PT No. 1369 and LMS ‘Black Five’ No. 44932 alongside the home fleet of flagship GWR No. 4930 Hagley Hall, West Country No. 21C127 Taw Valley, GWR No. 7812 Erlestoke…

CELEBRATIONS for both Railway 200 and the Stockton & Darlington Railway bicentenary are taking place around the UK, involving main lines operators, heritage lines, museums and local communities. Here’s a preview of some of those happening in the next few months. If you have an event, exhibition, talk, or other way of celebrating this anniversary planned and would like it to be included here, please email Owen Hayward at ohayward@mortons.co.uk with the details. ➜ For a full list of events taking place in 2025, visit railway200.co.uk and sdr200.co.uk Headline events August 1-3 – Alstom presents: The Greatest Gathering in Litchurch Lane Works, Derby (see News, page11). September 26-28 - Locomotion No. 1 on the Stockton & Darlington route March-September - Stockton & Darlington Railway Bicentenary Celebrations Extended celebrations National Railway Museum and Locomotion…

THE Severn Railway Valley has given the green light to its planned Spring Steam Gala at Easter on April 18-21 despite its Bridgnorth terminus being cut off by the landslip at Mor Bridge. Trains will operate between Kidderminster and Hampton Loade, with LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 5596 Bahamas booked and an announcement will be made about further guest locomotives. A timetable is being worked on. The January 29 slip, reported in the last issue of Heritage Railway, was the major feature on the BBC Midlands Today news programme soon after it happened. For those unfamiliar with the SVR, the bridge at Mor Brook is not to be confused with Sterns where much remedial work has been carried out. The SVR has never had any issues at Mor Brook bridge before,…

A SPECTACULAR open-air light and drone show with up to 100 live performers will bring two centuries of railway history to life to mark the start of the nine-month Stockton & Darlington 200 international festival on Saturday, March 29. All Change will be held at the 11Arches venue at Flatts Farm, Bishop Auckland, where Kynren: An Epic Tale of England, an open-air summer spectacular, is staged each year. The SDR200 event will speed through 200 years of railway history and major historical moments, from the Industrial Revolution and two world wars to the present day, celebrating the transformative power of rail travel on the landscape and our everyday lives. Inspired by conversations with local historians, the spectacle will bring history to life with large-scale set pieces, projection mapping, original music…

WEST Somerset Railway Association supporter Joe Rogers is to run the 2025TCS London Marathon to help raise funds for the restoration of BR Standard 4MT 2-6-4T No. 80064. Since 2018, Joe has been an active employee and then volunteer for the WSR. Six years ago, he became the first recorded person to have run the length of the railway, visiting all of its 10 stations. No. 80064 was built at Brighton in June 1953 and initially allocated to Watford in the LMR, before transferring to Dover Marine in the Southern Region in December 1959. It then transferred to Ashford depot in February 1960 and Tonbridge in May 1961, before it was transferred to Exmouth Junction in July 1962, following the electrification of the Kent Coast line. It was allocated to…

THE Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Association has issued a nationwide appeal for donations towards the completion of its new £500,000 traditional Wirksworth station building. Five years ago the volunteer-led registered charity completed the first phase of a major development of public areas, with a new museum containing an extensive collection of railwayana and a shop with one of the largest selections of second-hand railway and other transport books and related items in the East Midlands. A parallel phase saw the addition of toilets and an information room which will be incorporated into the overall final building. Late last year, the association embarked on its ambitious plan to complete the second and third phases of the new station building to meet increasing visitor numbers. When complete, the new facility will offer an…

WHILE BR Mk. 1 carriages are the backbone of many heritage lines’ passenger trains, those fortunate enough to house some of older vintage often report that such carriages regularly prove popular with visitors when in service. One of the most visually striking types are LNER teak-liveried vehicles, with lengthy rakes to be found on the Severn Valley and North Yorkshire Moors railways – with the Scottish Railway Preservation Society, which is based at the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, set to welcome three teak vehicles into service during 2025 and a further one to follow. With the overhauls of their bogies now authorised for work at external contractors, two Gresley and one Thomas-designed vehicles are now in the latter stages of restorations which have spanned multiple decades. The two Gresley-era vehicles…

Railway preservation on the Isle of Wight has a rather different tale compared to that on mainland Britain; while the majority of lines had swathes of BR Mk.1 coaching stock readily available to help start them off, such stock never made it over to the island, meaning it has developed something of a unique charm for its services that exclusively rely on pre-Grouping era vehicles. The sight of an authentic locomotive working services with matching stock is perhaps one of the main selling points for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. Yet, while three such locomotives are based at its Havenstreet sheds, that torch has been carried by only one for just over 12 months. Joyfully, that all changed as the IOWSR’s 2025 operating season got underway, with anyone arriving…

UK Railtours has announced a tour which will give customers the choice of five different attractions on Saturday, June 7, under the title of‘The Kent Coaster.’ Departing from East Midlands Parkway behind a Class 47, the route south is planned to be via the Midland Main Line, picking up additional passengers at Leicester, Kettering and Bedford. The train is then expected to head toward Bletchley for more passengers and then pick up the West Coast Main Line for the final passenger pick-up at Watford Junction. From here, the train is planned to continue south to Acton, where the 47 will be exchanged forapair of Class 33s. Crossing the River Thames and passing through the suburbs of South London and out into Kent, the first destination is Folkestone West. Here passengers have…

Don Benn covers the Hedge End to Salisbury part of No. 35028 Clan Line working the 7.35am Three Bridges to Bristol Temple Meads on December 14, 2024, and tells the story of 'Black Fives' Nos. 5407 and 4767 on the 'Cumbrian Mountain Express' in February 1981, plus No. 44767 in February 1984. OWING to having temporary restricted typing ability and being on light duties, my column is shorter than usual but with plenty of images. Continuing from last time, Table One shows No. 35028 Clan Line on the Hedge End to Salisbury section, where once again Bob Baines kept closely to booked times after leaving slightly late and with little or no help from the banking Class 47 No. 47848. The 1-in-189 after Chandlers Ford was topped at 42mph and…

WITH the country’s enthusiasts celebrating 200 years of train travel, a folder of items relating to the Stockton & Darlington Railway was appropriately in the limelight at Thirsk Railwayana’s online auction of 1005 lots on January 17-21 when it was first past the post with a hammer price of £1400. It was on this railway on September 27, 1825, that George Stephenson’s Locomotion No. 1 became the first steam locomotive to haul a passenger-carrying train on a public railway, a seminal moment in the history of the UK’s transport history, and one that reshaped the world. The runner-up was a North Eastern Railway gatehouse crossing enamel nameboard Low Marishes, from the Malton-Pickering line in North Yorkshire, which sold for £700. The two prices exclude buyer’s premium of 12% (+ VAT).…

"The miniature railway for pleasure is an accepted part of the leisure scene,” Anthony Coulls, senior curator of rail transport and technology at the National Railway Museum, wrote in 2003. “It has lasted through two world wars, and there is every sign that the lines at Rhyl and Southport will run to see their centenary in 2011, something their original builders never envisaged.” And indeed, both did: Rhyl Miniature Railway in Wales and Lakeside Miniature Railway in Southport (both opened in 1911) carried on, with the survival of these and others being due to, among other factors, passionate patrons and volunteers, constant renewal and, in some cases, wholesale rebuilding. Rhyl, for example, was rebuilt and re-laid at about the start of the current century, though it still runs round the…

LIKE many, my first association with Talyllyn was in the Railway Series books by the Rev W Awdry. Although the tales of Thomas and his standard gauge chums are arguably the more famous, it was always the narrow gauge stories of Skarloey, Sir Handel, Peter Sam and the rest which I held closest to my heart. Even as a child, I knew that Thomas wasn’t real, but I was fascinated to see that Talyllyn, Skarloey’s little old twin, was. When the Rev Awdry wrote his stories, he drew inspiration from real life. Actual incidents on railways were lifted wholesale (though I have yet to discover a real engine that refused to come out of a tunnel and was consequently bricked up). It was during his volunteer work on the Talyllyn…

ALTHOUGH he describes himself as a Southern man, Hector Maxwell, the compiler of this latest publication to laud Gresley’s A4 class, does not hold back in his admiration of these iconic locomotives, writes Geoff Courtney. To him, a clean A4 in BR green without the valances was“a joy to the eyes,” and the design, he says,“looks right.” He also describes his only sighting of an A4 in service, during a visit that led him to an East Coast Main Line embankment “somewhere out of King’s Cross” when he was aged about 10 and the class was close to ending its ECML days. The engine, he writes, was beautifully clean, and seen sideways on “it presented a sight I can still visualise decades later.” The A4 he remembers is in stark…

JOHN Scott Morgan has been writing railway books for more than 50 years, His books includeThe Light Railway Era, Branches & Byways,The East Kent Railway -The LineThatWent To Nowhere and Colonel Stephens’ Railways - A Pictorial Survey, so his latest volume promised to be another treat. Indeed, this is a superb journey supported by 216 black-and-white photographs that starts in Jersey, moves across mainland England before crossing into Scotland, then onto to Ireland, and finishing in the Isle of Man. The Light Railways Act of 1896 opened up the opportunity for many unusual and different railways to be built. This book will also please Colonel Stephens enthusiasts as it includes no less than 14 of his lines. Many of these railways’ rural communities and industries have long since gone. Favourites…

READERS’ LETTERS ATTHE HEART OF THE HERITAGE RAILWAY SCENE → Ballast is not freight I DO NOT wish to denigrate the Swanage Railway’s Winter Warm Up event in January and the report thereof in Heritage Railway issue 328. However, I have spent more than 50 years working professionally within BR rail freight/wagon preservation and the suggestion within the article that eight ballast wagons and a brake van (and with the brake van at the wrong end half the time), was a recreation of freight trains “reliably delivering goods and farm produce” is somewhat misleading. It’s clearly a ballast train, so why not describe it as such rather than make statements, for which younger people might not know the difference? There are many railways - such as the Great Central, Mid-Hants,…

THE Severn Valley Railway has been announced as the first stop for a unique train ona 12-month tour of Britain celebrating 200 years of the modern railway. The Railway 200 train, named Inspiration, is planned to call at 60 destinations up to summer 2026 as part of its journey to promote the past, present and future of the railway and inspire the next generation of workers. More than 200,000 people, including many schoolchildren, are expected to visit the one-of-a-kind train as it makes its way around the national rail network. It will be made up of four specially decorated carriages, each with its own theme and focus. Sporting an eye-catching livery, Inspiration will comprise four reconfigured Mk.3coaches procured by Network Rail. The mobile Railway 200 exhibition is designed to inspire…

OPERATION may have been restricted to the line between Grosmont and Goathland, but that did not stop the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from reopening its doors in time for the recent school half-term. The captive market that comes with the holidays was given a further boost by the accompanying visit of the unique NER autocar which was drafted in to work in between the steam-hauled services to the port town of Whitby. Two petrol-electric autocars were built by the NER in May 1903. They originally contained a 85hp Napier engine driving a dynamo to produce power for two electric motors, alhough the Napier equipment was later swapped for Wolseley engines after proving problematic. Numbered 3170 and 3171, they were put to use between Hartlepool and West Hartlepool (where they could…

THE Volks Electric Railway Association has announced a series of late-running evening services,starting at 5pm and stopped at all stations onthe Brighto nseaside line. On Saturday, May 17, the evening journey will commemorate the opening of the Shoreham to Brighton line as part of the Railway 200 celebrations. Evening services will also run on Sundays, June 22 and 27. On Saturday, September 20, illuminated trains will run after dusk, and other attractions will be staged to celebrate VERA’s 30th anniversary. The VER’s running season starts on April 5, after which trains will then run every day until September. As reported in issue 316, the VER carried off the Heritage Railway Association’s Railway of the Year 2024 Award at the annual awards ceremony in Brighton.…

WHILE the UK is celebrating Railway 200, plans have been drawn up to demolish part of the workshops of steam locomotive pioneers George and Robert Stephenson in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Three of the national amenity societies, the Victorian Society, the Georgian Group, and Historic Buildings & Places, which are all statutory commentators as part of the planning process, are objecting to a proposal to remove part of the globe-changing workshops – in the year of the 200th anniversary of the landmark run of George Stephenson’s Locomotion No.1. The former Machine Shop and Smiths Shop buildings are part of the Stephenson works in South Street, Forth Banks, in the eastern part of the site now known as the Stephenson Quarter. The site was acquired by Clouston Group in 2004 and subsequently sold to…

Broadcaster, journalist and former Defence Secretary Michael Portillo is to present a special two-part series, 200 Years of The Railways, which will air on BBC Two later this year. The one-hour episodes will see Michael travel by train to the northeast and northwest of England to investigate what the railways have achieved during the past 200 years since the world’s first steam passenger train on the Stockton & Darlington Railway. He will also explore what the railways’ role could be in the future. The special comes after two new series – Great Continental Railway Journeys and Great British Railway Journeys – also presented by Michael, returned to BBC Two from March 10. He said: “I am proud of having made new series of Great Continental Railway Journeys and Great British…

THE West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust has moved all nine of its unrestored carriages from locations on the WSR to their new home at Washford, where it is hoped to attract more volunteers with improved facilities. Washford, the former home of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust, has a two-track covered shed, two workshops and sufficient siding space to store all of the heritage carriages together. WSRHT chairman Mike Thompson said: “It has been a long time coming, but we finally have all of our unrestored carriages in one place, along with covered facilities and tools to help get these carriages restored to their former glory. We can even contemplate restoring more than one carriage at the same time, if we can find enough volunteers. “There are nine carriages in…

A PRIVATE charter run at the Great Central Railway on February 22 saw an astonishing turnout by diesel enthusiasts and charitable patrons who descended on Leicestershire to support Prostate Cancer UK. ‘The Charitable Vac’ was the result of a group of enthusiasts whose average age is just 21, combining with the GCR’s can-do attitude along with the desire by both parties to support a worthy cause. Six enthusiasts– Matthew Beard, Ben Taylor, Jack Summerfield, Peter Gregory, Jake Taylor and Charlie Dent – sought to hire a train and support two causes. The GCR was chosen as the venue following discussions and Class 50 No. 50017 Royal Oak requested as the motive power, the class being nicknamed ‘Hoovers.’ “About 200 passengers turned up for ‘The Charitable Vac,’ the fares from all…

STEAM Dreams is running a trip hauled by BR Standard Class 7 No. 70000 Britannia between London and York on Wednesday, July 23. Starting from King’s Cross, the train is scheduled to take the East Coast Main Line to pick up additional passengers at Potters Bar, Welwyn Garden City, Huntingdon and Peterborough. Heading north, the train will pass through Grantham, Newark and Doncaster, before finally arriving at York in the early afternoon. Customers will have three and a half hours to explore the city before the return journey. Tickets are available in Pullman Dining and First Class non-dining for this tour. For more details and to book, visit steamdreams.co.uk…

THE Grade II-listed bronze statue of engineer Robert Stephenson – whose firm built Locomotion No. 1 for the Stockton & Darlington Railway – is to be moved from Euston station to the Locomotion museum in Shildon. The move, which will see it located in County Durham for 10 years, has been made necessary by the remodelling of Euston for High Speed 2, and was approved by Durham County Council on February 24. The 8ft 8in tall statue, created in 1867 by Baron Carlo Marochetti, will rest on a combined bronze and concrete plinth. The council has stipulated that it must be installed by February 24, 2028, and adhere strictly to approved plans, including specific details about the location and fencing. Surviving element A memorial committee of the Institute of Civil…

A MAP of the London Underground that was issued free nearly 100 years ago sold for £510 at Paperchase Auctions’quarterly postal and email sale that ran from January 14-28. The map, dated June 1927, featured an advertising overprint for Hugh Stevenson & Sons boxmakers, and included a list of theatres and places of interest. Another map, of the Midland & Great Northern Railways Joint Committee lines, went for £330. The Railway Clearing House-style map, which was undated, was in leather-bound hardback covers with title in gold on the front. Both prices exclude buyer’s premium of 12½%. Railwayana Auction Calendar ■ Ends March 14 Great Central Railwayana (‘Bloxham’ auction) ■ March 15/16 GW Railwayana ■ March 25 Special Auction Services (model trains) ■ March 26/27 Vectis (model trains) ■ March 27…

AS A bridge from the interwar to postwar period, it would be remiss to not acknowledge the contribution of Butlin’s to the miniature seaside story. As Peter Scott explained in his 2001 A History of the Butlin’s Railways, though Butlin’s holiday camps are still a household name, “not so widely known is the fact that Butlin’s were operators of numerous miniature railways. These comprised 12 lines of no less than four different gauges. In all they ran for 58 years between 1938 and 1996.” The decline of these miniatures is in line with a broader decline of Butlin’s to competition from international package holiday options – something that started in earnest in the 1960s and was fanned by the rise of affordable air travel in the decades following. But the…

When compared to the likes of the Southern and Midland regions, the LNER and BR Eastern Region is somewhat lacking in preservation, making any such locomotives stand out among their once rival-owned counterparts. The flag is largely flown by three high-profile Pacifics on the main line – Nos. 60103 Flying Scotsman, 60532 Blue Peter and 60163 Tornado – although the last is, of course, a new build based on a LNER design. Then there is No. 61306 Mayflower, a Thompson-designed B1 4-6-0. For a time though, it shared the main line scene with a second example of the class – No. 61264. With the expiration of the BR-built Mayflower’s boiler ticket due in the next few years, the latter has started on the long journey towards its next return to…

LOCOMOTIVES were numerous - almost immeasurably so - and keeping tabs on their regularly changing allocations was a never-ending challenge, writes Owen Hayward.That is, of course, unless you are exceedingly dedicated and thorough with your record-keeping and research. Luckily, for some of us, this author is! Following his previous volumes which cover British Railways steam locomotives, DMUs and coaching stock, Hugh turns his focus to the swathes of diesel and electric locomotives, many of which were introduced under the modernisation scheme but some dating from even before then. Covering everything from the minute fleet that was the Class 41 prototype HST through to the seemingly endless identities of the Class 31, or the common Class 08 shunter to the sole English Electric Gas Turbine, near enough every class is covered…

HERE is a vivid portrait of the surviving network that serves the flatlands of East Anglia, still providing vital links to local communities. The volume focuses on the network as it is today, spanning Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk, with 180 colour images of modern traction which, in the 21st century, run by relics of past times, including manually-operated level crossings and semaphore signals. FASCINATING JOURNEYS THROUGH A UNIQUE LANDSCAPE…

HAVING just finished reading Robin Jones’ Beeching – 60 Years Since the Axeman book which my wife bought as a Christmas present, I have to say you produced the most readable and comprehensive insight into the saga of Beeching and his ‘famous’ or infamous tenure with British Railways! It has been a real revelation to read the whole story in such a readable and interesting way, with the illustrations and anecdotal observations by other notable people around that time. The Earnest Marples period was very revealing. I had no recollection of his undoing and exile, or his proroad feelings, obviously related to his connection with his company’s massive motorway construction contracts. It all makes sense now, after all this time! The Barbara Castle interlude was also very interesting as we,…

Beamish The Living Museum of the North, County Durham. Open: Daily. Tel: 0191 370 4000. Coleford GWR Museum Coleford, Gloucestershire. Open: Fris, Sats. Tel: 01594 832032/833569. Colonel Stephens Railway Museum Tenterden station, KESR. Open on KESR operating days. Tel: 01580 765155. Crewe Heritage Centre Vernon Way, Crewe. Reopens Mar 29. Tel: 01270 212130. Donegal Railway Heritage Centre Donegal. Open: Daily. Tel: 00353 (0) 749722655. Hopetown Darlington North Road Station, Darlington. Open: Tues-Suns. Tel: 01325 405060. Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Irchester, Northamptonshire. Open: Suns. Tel: 01604 675368. Leeds Industrial Museum Armley Mills, Leeds. Open: Tues-Suns. Tel: 0113 378 2097. Locomotion: The National Railway Museum, Shildon Co Durham. Open: Daily. Tel: 033 0058 0058. London Transport Museum Covent Garden. Open: Daily. Tel: 0343 222 5000. Manchester Museum of Science & Industry…