Heritage Railway Issue 240

THERE are many themed events from galas to railtours being held this year to mark half a century since the last steam-hauled passenger train under British Rail, 1T57, the legendary‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ on August 11, 1968 marked the end of a great era in British history. As we know, that train brought the curtain down on 166 years of steam traction, beginning with Richard Trevithick’s experimental locomotive in 1802. For me, however, a far more important and hugely positive occasion to celebrate 50 years on is the opening of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway on June 29, 1968. Ironically, on that date, the entire modernised UK network had ground to a halt because of a national rail strike, and only the KWVR’s steam trains were running. However, that date…

A £275,000 appeal to save the Severn Valley Railway’s Falling Sands Viaduct has been launched – and is being backed by Heritage Railway and our sister title The Railway Magazine. As we reported last month, the Heritage Lottery Fund has given the railway £71,800 to firm up a scheme to carry out repairs to the 141-year-old landmark viaduct which spans the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal half a mile from Kidderminster. However, the railway must raise £275,000 by itself in order to secure the full Lottery grant of £1 million needed to carry out essential repairs to the spectacular 132-yard red-brick structure. Water over many years has gradually seeped into the viaduct’s seven arches, causing the brickwork to crack and erode and the mortar joints to crumble. The viaduct’s condition has…

SIR William McAlpine Bt, FRSE, FCILT – one of the most important figures in the history of railway preservation, and certainly one of the most loved – took his final journey behind steam. The man, known at work as‘Mr Bill’ and to so many as just Bill, has long been hailed a national hero for rescuing Flying Scotsman from the United States, for founding the Railway Heritage Trust and for helping countless heritage lines and preservation groups. He lost a three-month battle against sepsis in the Royal Berkshire Hospital at Reading on March 4. His funeral was held at the 12th century parish church of St Mary the Virgin in Fawley, Buckinghamshire, near his home at Fawley Hill, on the afternoon of Saturday, March 24. The funeral was limited to…

THE three-part documentary series The Yorkshire Steam Railway: All Aboard, featuring the North Yorkshire Moors Railway has been well received by both the viewing public and the railway’s staff and volunteers. The episode of the week commencing March 11 had the highest viewing figures of any Channel 5 programme that week, beating both the Jayne McDonald show and the Flying Scotsman documentary. Although sometimes irritating to the enthusiast in its desire to make every drama a crisis, the railway was always shown to work its way through the problems calmly, professionally and ultimately with minimal interruptions to the service. The continuity left a lot to be desired at times, but the producers have explained that this was a consequence of having just two camera crews to do all the filming.…

IN a move which took many by surprise, Locomotive Services (TOC) Limited operated its first passenger train – albeit a private charter – on Saturday, March 24. Hauled by a pair of the company’s Class 47 diesels, the charter departed Crewe and travelling north, crossed the border at Berwick heading for the Highland Line and Kingussie. It is understood that the train was organised for Jeremy Hosking and a party of friends. Turning to Saphos Trains, Jeremy has said that the new venture is part of the expanding Locomotive Services group. On Saturday, April 14, Saphos launches the first of its new series of 12 trains offering steam-hauled trips using the theme ‘Classic Steam’ departing mainly from local stations in the North West and the South West. Crew training runs…

THREE of the six perpetrators of the vandalism inflicted on the LNER Coach Association’s teak carriages on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway last July have now been prosecuted and pleaded guilty. They were sentenced to receive Youth Offending Panel contracts of between six and 12 months and fines ranging from £35-£350. Although the fines may seem trivial compared to the cost of the damage done, from the individual’s point of view it is much more significant that all now have criminal records. Prosecution of the remaining three is due to follow shortly. From the NYMR’s point of view, a significant outcome is that all the culprits were identified by CCTV footage, and it is now well known that the cameras are there, hence they are acting as a strong deterrent…