Heritage Railway

THE warmer and sunnier than expected weather produced a rich, ripe crop of stunning autumn galas and a welcome windfall for the lines that staged them. Attendances across the board have, in most cases, exceeded expectations, with the Great Central Ra

IT was a sight that until a few years ago nobody thought would ever be repeated – a double Fairlie named James Spooner running out of Porthmadog. However, on October 6, and seven years after the project was announced in March 2016, it became a realit

A FIRE was lit inside LMS Stanier mogul No. 2968 for the first time a decade on October 15 at Bridgnorth Shed on the Severn Valley Railway. The following day, it was slowly brought up to full pressure for the various steam tests to take place. With i

GWR Churchward heavy freight 2-8-0 No. 2807 returned to steam at Toddington depot at its Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway home on September 21 following a three-year overhaul. Owned by Cotswold Steam Preservation Ltd, which rescued it from Barry

MONEY saved from the Government’s controversial decision to scrap plans to extend the High Speed 2 rail link beyond Birmingham will be spent of restoring regular public services to several routes closed under the Beeching axe – including at two herit

THE overhaul of the Bluebell Railway’s Battle of Britain 4-6-2 No. 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair, which has been undertaken in partnership with the Bulleid Society, took a significant step forward on September 27 when the locomotive moved under its ow

A SPECIAL day at the Statfold Barn Railway – when Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 1889-built Sharp Stewart 0-4-0WT No. 19B made its last runs before its 10-yearly overhaul – has been declared a major success. As reported in issue 310, the event at the l

NEW research by the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and Historic England has‘rediscovered’the world’s oldest railway station. The Heighton & Aycliffe station building in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was long thought to date from the m

THE monobloc for new-build Gresley P2 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales has been unveiled inside the new £4.5 million Darlington LocomotiveWorks. The £250,000 component, manufactured at Howco, Irvine, and the first monobloc produced since the 1940s, was

EIGHT-YEAR-OLD Severn Valley Railway enthusiast Alfie Hewish has now ‘bagged’67 footplates and cabs in his quest to raise vital money for the line he loves. The youngster from Telford, in Shropshire, has so far raised nearly £800 for the SVR’s Surviv

THE North Norfolk Railway’s October 7/8 Annual Autumn Showcase proved a big winner, with almost 2000 passengers travelling over the weekend. Three steam locomotives, three diesels and the recently restored Class 104 DMU were rostered for the event, w

The artists have enjoyed their annual Guild of Railway Artists’ exhibition at Kidderminster Railway Museum, the public have flocked in to see the paintings on display, and the winner and runner-up of the prestigious Picture of the Year award, voted o

NATIONAL Highways has been ordered to restore a disused Midland & Great Northern Railway overbridge which it filled with concrete. Members of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council’s planning committee voted unanimously at its meeting on October

A BUSY start to autumn for the Spa Valley Railway’s steam department has seen two overhaul projects making substantial progress and quick responses required to deal with arising issues with the operational steam fleet. On October 1, the frames for Hu

GOING grey comes naturally with age – and now that will be the case even for the Talyllyn Railway’s 102-years-old 0-4-2ST Kerr Stuart No. 4 Edward Thomas. It was confirmed to members of the line’s preservation society at its September 30 annual gener

Having been away in the Highlands to assist with West Coast Railways’‘Jacobite’services, LMS ‘Black Five’No. 45212 returned to Haworth on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway late on October 3 -but will be home only for a brief spell before setting of

THE Severn Valley Railway’sWestern Region-themed Autumn Diesel Bash -The Magnificent Severn - on September 28 to October 1 proved a resounding success – with visitor numbers soaring by 28% compared to the corresponding event last year. More than 3660

AN appeal for £100,000 to restore a SevernValley Railway-based five-car DMU set to full working order has been launched. The DMU Group (West Midlands) needs the money to cover all planned works to return its Class 108 set to full working order, inclu

THE phase one contract for essential repairs to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s landmark 120-year-old Stanway Viaduct has been awarded toWalsh Construction. Funding for the contract has been provided the charitable Gloucestershire Warwicks

WHILE the timeless march of technological progress may have brought down the axe on steam in BR days, modern advancements will help bring the Bodmin &Wenford Railway and others to those who are not fit or able enough to visit in person – thanks to vi

TEAMWORK will make the dream work! On October 4, the Royal Deeside Railway’s 0-6-0ST Andrew Barclay No. 2139 Salmon departed for overhaul at the Strathspey Railway, the move coinciding with the return of 0-4-0ST No. 807 Bon Accord from Aviemore, wher

THE Keighley & Worth Valley Railway has been awarded £1 million from the Government’s Community Ownership Fund toward the costs of its biggest-ever heritage-era civil engineering project – the rebuild of Bridge 27. The bridge is vital to the ongoing

LOOSE-COUPLED freight charters have finally returned to the Severn Valley Railway after an absence of several years. There are now completely different rules for holding these photographic charters, but the door is open again. On September 25, SVR fl

THE Talyllyn Railway paid homage to its wide and varied history on September 23/24 with its first Heritage Weekend event. Operating an array of passenger, goods and mixed services, the event celebrated much of the past of the world’s first volunteer-

THE Ffestiniog &Welsh Highland Railways‘doubled up’to help make the Lynton and Barnstaple’s 125th anniversary September 23/24 autumn gala a success. As reported in issue 310, the Ff&WHR was due to send large England 0-4-0STT No. 5 Welsh Pony as a rep

CRICH Tramway Village was the setting for an emotional reunion of a former tram conductor and some of the vehicles on which he worked. Dennis Roberts was a conductor for Leeds Corporate Tramways, which ran the electric lines in and around the city ce

SINCE its inception, the pioneering Talyllyn Railway has always made provision for younger members to be actively involved in activities – a factor that is unarguably more important now than it ever was as the heritage sector struggles to recruit new

ALREADY boasting an impressive GWR/Western Region collection of locomotives in an authentic shed setting, Didcot Railway Centre’s September 22-24 steam gala could have easily been a snapshot of a BR day, with a line-up of express 4-6-0s dominating th

A UNIQUE ground-breaking partnership has been set up between the Severn Valley Railway and Network Rail – and could provide a blueprint for similar deals at other heritage lines. The agreement is the first of its kind between the national railway pro

THIRTY volunteers from Colas Rail UK, Network Rail and the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway joined forces to create a play area for local children and a seating area using recycled wooden sleepers at Winchcombe station. The team recycled the slee

THE Llangollen Railway has been in mourning for founding father Bill Shakespeare MBE, who died on September 22 at the age of 95. Born William Reginald Shakespeare in October 1927, he was involved in the heritage line since its inception as the Deesid

THE preservation of a complete Class 309 EMU is in jeopardy after negotiations with several heritage groups and individuals proved unsuccessful and the storage agreement between its custodian – the Clacton Express Preservation Group – and its current

FORMER steam and diesel railwaymen from a variety of depots joined a reunion of ex-Stratford drivers and firemen on a sweltering-hot Saturday, September 9 at Mangapps Railway Museum in Essex. Organiser Dave Brennand, who rose through the ranks from e

THE unique LMS Rewley Road swing bridge has been officially launched following the completion of its restoration by Oxford Preservation Trust. As reported in issue 301, the project won the Railway Heritage Trust Conservation Award for the best restor

FOR its first season operating out of its new southern terminus station at Abergwili Junction, the Gwili Railway has seen passenger revenue rise by 60% on 2022 figures. The line has had to add extra coaches to trains to cater for the increase, with p

A HERITAGE railway revival project that despite being close to the centre of London remains unknown to millions of the capital’s residents and visitors, ran a weekend of steam on September 16/17 that included the rarity of a steam double-header. The

FORMER Barry scrapyard BR Standard 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76077 could run on the GloucestershireWarwickshire Railway in three years’time, visitors to an open day at its restoration base at Locomotive Maintenance Services in Loughborough on September 10 heard.

SLAPSTICK comedy, magic and mayhem will entertain Spa Valley Railway passengers on the Trick or Treat weekend of October 29/30, when the mad Dr Frankenslime joins them on return trips from Tunbridge Wells West to Eridge. The fun will start at Tunbrid

HOT off the heels of the announcement that overhauls of its LSWR Adams radial tank No. 488 and B4 No. 96 Normandy were to go ahead, as reported in issue 311, the Bluebell Railway has decided that of flagship SECR P 0-6-0T namesake No. 323 Bluebell wi

WITH resident Light Pacific No. 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair soon to return to steam (see News, page 11), it seemed to be that Giants of Steam 2023 was focusing on Bulleid’s powerful mixed traffic locomotives. With Sir Archibald on static display in

One of Europe’s most popular heritage railways celebrated its 50th anniversary in fitting fashion, with a gala stretching over four days rather than the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s usual three. Double-headed BR Standard 9Fs, four visiting locomot

LNER A3 Pacific No. 60103 Flying Scotsman resumed its centenary year programme bookings – days after being involved in a low-speed shunting impact with Belmond’s stationary ‘Royal Scotsman’carriages as it was being coupled to them at Aviemore station

VINTAGETrains flagship WR 4-6-0 No. 7029 Clun Castle is to reprise its historic record-breaking trip running over the South Devon banks on May 9, 1964, 60 years and one day after the event. May 9, 1904, was the day when GWR 4-4-0 No. 3440 City of Tru

OPERATOR CrossCountry ran a special charity railtour from Leeds to Swanage to celebrate the retirement of its Class 125 Inter-City High Speed Train fleet after more than four decades. The tour on September 26 – which called atWakefield, Sheffield, De

STEAM Dreams is bringing its Santa Steam Express to London for a third season. Being promoted as the only festive steam train experience from the capital, the trips give families the chance to meet Santa Claus and his helpers on a 90-minute adventure

A GROUP of 20 respected architects has made a last-minute nationwide plea for the Ayr Station Hotel to be saved from demolition after it was severely damaged by fire on September 25. In a letter published in The Times on October 4, the architects and

28 ‘The Midland Venturer’ Ilkeston, London St Pancras and return. Loco: HST 43159/43089. BLS 28 Settle & Carlisle Steam Special Nottingham, Carlisle and return. Steamhauled between Carnforth (outward) and Preston (return). Loco: 34067 Tangmere. NB 28

LONDON’S eastern suburbs featured strongly in a 251-lot railwayana auction held by TW Gaze of Diss, Norfolk, on August 10. A 1947 LNER three-lever signal frame, believed to be ex-Stratford, sold for £1600, a BR(E) Wanstead Park totem fetched £1100, a

IN what is surely an unprecedented selection in such a narrow timeframe, no fewer than 29 main line steam nameplates will go under the hammer in three auctions within the space of three weeks in November and December. As reported in this column, GW R

The East Lancashire Railway’s autumn gala 12 months ago was praised for being a ‘show’ as Lancashire & Yorkshire railway ‘Pug’ No. 19 undertook shunting displays not only at Castlecroft Yard, but also at Ramsbottom sidings with a specially set-up vie

The Titfield Thunderbolt leapt onto screens in 1953 and has gone on to become synonymous with heritage railways, cementing itself in the heart of many an enthusiast with its dramatisation of the efforts to save a branch line connecting an idyllic vil

ENGLISH manufacturer Minerva Model Railways has partnered with Chrezo of Royan, France, to pool resources into a new joint project that will see the USATC S1000-6-0Ts produced in O gauge. Built by the United States Army Transportation Corps in 1943,

FOLLOWING the initial release of their 0-4-0ST forms last November, OO9 scale modellers have been eagerly anticipating the time when Bachmann would release the main line quarry Hunslets Linda and Blanche in their current as-preserved condition. On Oc

OO scale manufacturer Hornby has released its new tooled LNER P2 Mikado 2-8-2 model, including No. 2007 PrinceofWales, which is currently under construction at the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s Darlington workshops. Ahead of its release in the summer,

THE rise of 3D printing in recent years has facilitated many locomotive and rolling stock prototypes to be produced in miniature, a number of which may have never been produced before. With Rapdio’s Metropolitan E class locomotives fast approaching,