Heritage Railway

BRITAIN gave the railways to the world and changed the face of the globe, and the heritage sector has spent decades pulling out all the stops to ensure that its seminal landmarks and milestones do not disappear forever into the back pages of history.

EXCITEMENT around the return to operational condition of LSWR William Adams T3 4-4-0 No. 563 is continuing to mount, with another major landmark in its restoration passed as it turned a wheel under its own power for the first time since 1948. It was

FOR the first time in 41 years, timetabled trains will once again stop at the Severn Valley Railway’s Eardington station during the September 14-17 Autumn Steam Gala. Eardington, often referred to as the SVR’s hidden gem, will open for limited busine

ENTHUSIASTS who have a passion for steam and heritage modern traction are often lovers of real ale: it’s like strawberries and cream or fish and chips – anatural pairing to be enjoyed whenever the opportunity arises. The Spa Valley Railway is offerin

RAPID progress is being made on the restoration of former Sutton Miniature Railway 15in gauge Atlantic No.1 Sutton Belle, which is undergoing its first major service since 2002. The locomotive, which started life as a kit of parts bought from Basset

A MILESTONE in restoring Thrumster station in Caithness was passed on July 16whenitwasofficiallyswitchedbackon totheelectricalgridfollowing12yearsof restoration. The station was one of five on the 13-mile Wick & Lybster Railway, which opened on July

BLACKPOOL tramcar No. 645 has been acquired by the National Tramway Museum in Crich. Donated by Blackpool Transport Services, the museum intends to use No. 645 as a possible combined second access tram and one-person operation tram. The transport cos

A ‘TRANSATLANTIC’ flavour to the Strathspey Railway’s September 16/17steamgalamaywellevoke memories of a scenario more than half acenturyagowhenA3PacificFlying Scotsman undertook its ill-fated tour of North America. Gresley centenarian A3 No. 60103 w

AN all-new braking system is the latest stage in the construction of the replica of Richard Trevithick’s groundbreaking locomotive Catch Me Who Can at Bridgnorth. Designed by the Cornish mine captain, Catch Me Who Can was the last of four locomotives

UNRESTOREDWR 4-6-0 No. 7027 ThornburyCastle has been booked tohaveitsboilerliftedatTyseley LocomotiveWorkssoitcanbeusedon new-build GWR 47XX‘Night Owl’2-8-0 No. 4709. As reported, Richard Croucher, of the Great Western Society’s 4709 Project Group, h

THE Isle of Wight Steam Railway has completed the restoration of its 1860s Midland Railway five-ton crane. Bought by the Isle of Wight Central Railway in 1912, the crane, still with grease axleboxes, survived until the 1960s when it was acquired by t

THE Scottish Railway Preservation Society has been awarded £144,290 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund’s Covid-19 Response Fund to help complete the restoration of National Museums of Scotland-owned LNER 4-4-0 D49 No. 2712 Morayshire. Museum o

BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92214 will join LNER A4 Pacific No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley as the star guests at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway September 2124 steam gala, celebrating its 50 years as a heritage line. Appearing courtesy of the Great Cent

FFESTINIOG &Welsh Highland Railways director and general manager Paul Lewin is one of five people shortlisted in the heritage category of the outstanding individuals section of the 2023 National Lottery Awards. Paul, 59, first volunteered on the line

DARTMOOR Railway Association volunteers welcomed a team from Network Rail for a Community Rail Day at the Meldon Viaduct station site. Situated at what was the terminal point of the now defunct heritage Dartmoor Railway and adjacent to Meldon Quarry,

SANDSTONE Estates in South Africa, home of the world’s largest collection of 2ft gauge locomotives and stock, has welcomed international visitors for the firsttimeinfouryearssincetheCovid-19 outbreak. Two days were spent on a photographic charter, wh

DARJEELING Himalayan Railway Sharp Stewart 0-4-0SWTT No. 19B will be displayed by a second locomotive from an Indian mountain railway at its new home on the Statfold Barn Railway. As reported last issue, No. 19B has been saved for the UK heritage sec

POP mogul and locomotive owner Pete Water man added his weight to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s £1.5 million appeal to repair its landmark 15-arch Stanway Viaduct when he attendedtheline’ssuccessfulJuly7-9 Summer Heritage Diesel Gala. Vi

SEVERN Valley Railway-based LMS Stanier mogul No. 2968isoncourse to return to traffic later this year after its boiler, complete with lagging and cladding, was lifted back on to the chassisonJuly14forthefirsttimesince August 2014. With many refurbish

WELCOME breathing space has been given to the UK’s heritage railway sector by the Government after an amendment to the Energy Bill – which would have seen an outright ban on domestic coal mining – was removed during a debate. The Heritage Railway Ass

TWO tank engines from the Lambton, Hetton& Joicey Railway in County DurhamprovedtobethestarsofJuly 14-16 NorthTyneside Railway gala. Kitson 0-6-2T No. 4263 of 1904 No. 29, from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, was reunited with its former shedmate,

BOOSTING the appeal of the miniature seaside line in the 21st century, the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway held a two-day celebration marking its 75th anniversary on July 15/16. On July 15 – the exact anniversary to the day – the Mayor of North East

THE biggest-ever heritage era gathering ofWestern Region diesel hydraulics is planned forthe SevernValleyRailway’s September 28-October 1 Autumn Diesel Bash. Rounding off the line’s season celebrating 50 years of diesel preservation, Class 42 D821 Gr

DESPITE its location in the north of England, the East Lancashire Railway’s June 29-July 1 diesel gala had a distinct West Country flavour to it – along with a heritage era first. Class 42 D821 Greyhound, visiting from the Severn Valley Railway, was

THE 130-year-old Keighley station will not see heritage trains arriving and departing its platforms for two months after January 2, when the station undergoes a multi-million-pound renovation project by Network Rail. As reported last issue, NR had su

THE futureofanew£600,000boilerbuilt foroneoftheworld’sflagshippreserved steam locomotives but never used hangs inthebalanceamidplansforanew railway hub in Australia. The boiler was commissioned by the former Office of Rail Heritage and manufactured b

THE sole operational LWR locomotive –Webb 0-6-2T CoalTank No. 1054 – is to be the centrepiece of a new exhibition commemorating 180 years of CreweWorks. Furthermore, the 1888-built Keighley & Worth Valley-based locomotive will visit two other heritag

A CELEBRATION of the 140th anniversary of Brighton’sVolk’s Electric Railway is to be held on August 12/13. Brighton & Hove City Council and the Volk’s Electric Railway Association have arranged a series of events to commemorate the opening of the 2f

AN international appeal has been launched to buy a‘heritage’Soviet-built diesel to help with Ukraine’s survival effort in the conflict with Russia. Enthusiasts from the Baloži peat museum railway in Latvia have started raising funds to purchase a 750

THE recently preserved InterCity 125 set – including Class 43 power cars Nos. 43045 The Grammar School Doncaster AD1350 and 43060 County of Leicestershire – made its heritage era debut on the NeneValley Railway on July 8. In total, five HST vehicles

WORK by some of the world’s leading railway artists will be on display at Kidderminster Railway Museum from mid-August in a public exhibition that is an annual treat of colour, variety and pictorial skill. Railart 2023 is organised by the prestigious

TWO formerWar Department diesels from the 1940s will be reunited at the AvonValley Railway as its annual 1940s weekend pays tribute to the shunting locomotives that kept so many yards running smoothly. Taking on the title Salute To Shunters, the Sept

THE 25-yearprojecttoplugamajor gapintheUK’sheritagefleetwiththe constructionofanewGWRGrange4-6-0 isnearingaconclusion– withitsfirst steamingpencilled inforNovember. With the last of the pipework and cleating sheets fitted to No. 6880 Betton Grange at

THE Babbacombe Cliff Railway in Torquay reopened on Sunday, July 16 after being closed for 10 months following the death of an engineer. Services on the funicular railway, which first opened in 1926 to link Babbacombe Downs with Oddicombe Beach, had

THE surviving remains of a country station that last saw passenger trains in 1959 is on the market with a guide price of £650,000. Estate agent Savills is handling the sale of the site of Ryhall & Belmesthorpe station, the only intermediate station o

THERE will be a GWRH all 4-6-0 back on main line metals come September– however, it will not be hauling tours. Didcot Railway Centre confirmed that No. 4953 Pitchford Hall will be visiting from its home at the Epping Ongar Railway to headline its Sep

MEMORIES of trainspotting in the days of steam come in various forms to those fortunate enough to have experienced the era first-hand. Some may remember with fondness standing at their local station watching locomotives come and go, eyeing the driver

JULY 6 was a busy day for Devon-based overhaul contractor Leaky Finders Ltd, as one completed project departed to return home, only to be immediately replaced by another, all ready to begin. Since its arrival at the works in June 2021, the Bodmin & W

THE Ivatt Diesel Recreation Society is celebrating a year of progress in its ground-breaking aim to recreate the first main line diesel to haul passenger trains in the UK. LMS Nos. 10000 and 10001, the ancestors of all current British main line diese

THE Littlehampton Miniature Railway marked75yearsofrunningatitsJune 24/25 gala, welcoming two visitors fromotherlinesthatshareitsunusual track gauge. The 12¼ in gauge is rare in the UK, with only a handful of lines using it, of which the LMR is the o

THE Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway has been awarded a £24,250 grant from the Government’s Levelling Up UK Shared Prosperity Fund to build a station and interpretation centre at its southern terminus in the Skegness Water Leisure Park. Matched fundi

BETWEEN Friday, June 30 andTuesday, July 4, A3 Pacific No. 60103 Flying Scotsman hauled‘The Flying Scotsman Centenary Weekender’for the Railway Touring Company. This tour saw the world’s most famous locomotive head north from King’s Cross on the firs

The railway networks on the Isle of Man could perhaps be viewed as an oddity by some, for they rely entirely on heritage rolling stock to deliver an advertised commuter service – something mainland Britain has long since done away with. On the Southe

LNER A4 Pacific No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley has become the first steam locomotive to pass through the recently-opened £16 million Marsh Barton station in Exeter. The station, located in the city’s largest trading estate and near to the Riverside Vall

The Railway Touring Company’s ‘White Rose’tour brought about a rare sight for motive power in the nation’s capital on July 15. Originally advertised to be worked by LMS Princess Coronation Pacific No. 6233 Duchess of Sutherland, which has been tempor

A TWO-DAY specialist survey of the Glasgow & South Western Railway’s Ayr Station Hotel, which is threatened with the demolition of its south wing by South Ayrshire Council, may prove to be a lifeline. Ed Morton, the director of structural engineers w

LITTLE space is available on Saphos Trains tours until October. Full trains include the ‘Settle & Carlisle Fellsman’ on September 20, the ‘English Riviera Express’ on August 5, 12, 19 and October 18, and the ‘Golden Hind’ on August 24 and September 6

5 ‘English Riviera Express’ Northampton, Kingswear and return. Steam-hauled from Taunton. Loco: 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley. ST 5 ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’ London Euston, Carlisle and return. Steam-hauled from Carnforth (outward) to Preston (return).

The year 1972 was only the second year of the return of steam to the main line. Tours then seemed uncomplicated, and locomotives ran without all the extras now demanded which pile cost upon cost to the amount charged by the tour providers. On October