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OUR cover picture depicts a BR Standard 4MT tank back at Midsomer Norton and is a classic and quite wonderful example of the heritage movement thumbing its nose at the inevitable march of time, for it is 50 years since the closure of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway system. This year we have also seen other major half centenaries, all with a negative slant; the others being 50 years since the withdrawal of the A4 Pacifics as well as the closure of the Great Central as a through route, as marked by a mini gala at Loughborough in early September. And there’s more to come in abundance, as we recall the rapid demise of both steam and so much of the rail network in the aftermath of the Beeching…
A ROMNEY, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway driver was hailed a hero after leaping from his cab seconds before his locomotive smashed into a tractor on a level crossing. Zak Clarke, who is in his early 20s, immediately picked himself up and went to help passengers from the train, which was derailed by the force of the impact. The crash happened around 2.30pm on Saturday, September 10, as a train headed by the line’s first locomotive, 1925-built Davey Paxman Pacific No. 1 Green Goddess, was heading through Dymchurch towards Hythe when a tractor hauling a trailer fully loaded with hay pulled on to the level crossing in front. Zak sounded his whistle to alert him but when he realised that the tractor was not going to stop, he slammed the brakes…
THE GREAT Central Railway has named the chief operating officer of the Royal Institute of British Architects as the man to spearhead its drive to become one of Britain’s leading tourist attractions. Andy Munro, 54, has taken over in time to lead both the project to build a bridge over the Midland Main Line at Loughborough and create the world’s first inter-city heritage line, as well as the scheme to build a national-standard railway museum at Leicester North. Andy, who first rode in a locomotive cab at the age of nine in his native Essex, has been appointed as GCR managing director Bill Ford retired at the age of 78. After studying law and accountancy, Andy worked for blue chip companies including Ford, Anglian Water and AXA Sun Life where…
THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s September 30-October 2 autumn steam gala will see steam trains run through an historic tunnel previously used only by horse traction. Rocket designer George Stephenson employed retro-technology when he designed the Whitby & Pickering Railway. Seven years after Rocket won the Rainhill Trials, his latest venture started out with horse-drawn trains. The original Grosmont tunnel was built in 1836, but when the line was converted for steam locomotives later in the 19th century it was replaced by the larger, two-track tunnel still in use, while the original tunnel became a footpath. During the gala, a length of 2ft track will be laid through the original tunnel, with trains hauled by Quarry Hunslet 0-4-0ST Britomart from the Ffestiniog Railway, with passengers carried in one of its…
THE film adaptation of Arthur Ransome’s classic children’s novel Swallows and Amazons – partly filmed on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway – will build on the area’s historic tourist boom generated by the 1970s film The Railway Children. Oakworth station was used in footage during Swallows and Amazons showing the children arriving in the ‘Lake District’ while Keighley station represents Portsmouth. The film was released in August. Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive, Sir Gary Verity, said: “Film tourism is continuing to grow in Yorkshire with visitors enjoying exploring the fantastic locations where their favourite movies and TV shows were made.”…
WITH progress on its new western terminus now well underway, the Llangollen Railway is set to launch a fresh appeal for funding to allow trains to work into its new Corwen Central station at the start of the 2018 season. Due for launch in mid-October, 370,000 shares are being made available to fund the work and a new share prospectus is currently in production outlining progress to date and its plans for the new terminus. The money raised will be used to complete the basic station infrastructure, including the subway and steps, island platform, run-round loop and ground frame. Having secured an extension for the use of the temporary Corwen East platform to the end of the 2017 season, it will be imperative that work is completed in time for…
