Sommaire pour Issue 281 de Heritage Railway

MAY 14sawtheTalyllynRailwaymark70years sinceitwas takenoverbyvolunteers,marking thestartof theworld’soperational heritage railwaymovement.Here in 2021, ourarmiesof staffand volunteersarehaving todoit allover againbecause of theCovidpandemic, thebiggest threattothesector in sevendecadesof ground-breaking history–andtheyare doingitmagnificently. In thedaysbeforegoingto press,myinboxbecame atreasuretroveof stunningpictures fromBritain’s top tracksidephotographers, with notonly heritage railways butmainline tours starting togofull steamaheadonce more. That alone justified our decision to increaseour sizeto arecord116pagesasweaim to presentreaders withthe biggestandbestcoverageof the preservationscene,which despitethesetbacks of the pandemic, isgivingaclear impression ofbeing as vibrantasever. Theresponseofourheritage lines tothewartime situation presentedbycoronavirusandthenecessary lockdowncontinues tobeutterlycommendable,withthe innovativeimplementations of social distancingmeasures settingashiningexampleto all.While lineshavebeen closed,volunteershavebeenhardatworkcompleting ancillaryprojects forthefuturebettermentoftheir line. Ithasbeensaid thatthe1953EalingcomedyThe TitfieldThunderbolt drewontheexperienceof the Talyllynpioneersandbroadcast theconcept of ordinary peoplesaving“their”railwaytoaworldwideaudience, therebywideningthefoundations of thepreservation movement. Itwas17years later, inacountrywhich hadbeendevoid ofmainlinesteamfortwoyears, that TheRailwayChildrenhadarguablyagreaterimpact in enlighteningthegeneral public to thesuccess of preservationandmaking the Keighley&WorthValley Railwayahouseholdname,which it still enjoys to thisday. Welookforwardtothesequel to thehugely-acclaimed 1970movienowbeingfilmedonthesameline,with JennyAgutter returning to playthesamecharacter. “The…

ANEWexhibition titledTheRails Which CircledTheWorld,about the importanceof therailway industry inWestCumbria, hasopenedin Workingtonrailway station with support fromtheCommunity Rail Network. Iron and steelmaking in and aroundWorkington employ thousands of people, producing industry-leading rails that still circumnavigate theglobe to this day. TheCumbriaCountyCouncil exhibition highlights the hard shifts in local mines whereboth children and adultsworked in extremely challenging conditions, and the locations whereships docked to be loaded for transporting Cumbrian steel rails all over the world. It also tells howlocalwomenstepped in at Workington steelworks during the war, and howthe innovative BessemerConvertor enables production 24 hoursaday. While passengers wait for their train, theycan also watchashort film screened in the waiting rooms on both platforms. The film portrays personal stories of what lifewas likewhen the townwasa world leader in rail technology, and those who contributed to Henry Bessemer’suniqueprocess.…

ASPECIAL exhibition andamixedtractiongala areplannedto celebrate the 40th anniversaryof the Gloucestershire WarwickshireRailway. TheOctober 23/24 gala will feature resident GWR 42XXNo. 4270,WR 4-6-0 No. 7820 DinmoreManor, Modified Hall No. 7903 Foremarke Hall, and SR Merchant Navy Pacific No. 35006 Peninsular&Oriental S.N. Co. – together with diesel locomotives to be announced andaDMU. It will follow a three-month exhibition in the line’s TimMitchell building at Winchcombe, opening on July 17 and running until October, to which all of the railway’s departments have contributed a visual story of its development. Volunteers who have beenwith the railway since the beginning will receive commemorative badges at a special private event. The scheme to reopen the Stratfordupon-Avon to Cheltenham line began in 1981 when the GWSR plc first occupied the derelict Toddington station, the route having closed in…

SOUTHERNRailwayWestCountry4-6-2 No.34028Eddystone hasreturnedto steamat theSwanageRailway following a£350,000overhaul. The rebuilt Bulleid Light Pacific, owned by Southern Locomotives Ltd (SLL), underwent initial test steamings during the first week of May before venturing out onto the‘Purbeck Line’ for its first light engine running-in trials on May 10. Loaded test runs followedonMay 18, with No. 34028 hauling a train of five Bulleid and BR Mk 1 coaches plus a Class 33 diesel before it worked its first revenue-earning train on May 24, the 10.30am from Swanage to Norden (see centre spread). SLL chairman Simon Troy described it as“prettymuch perfect”– its replacement by visiting BR Standard 2MTNo. 78018 the following day being the result of its boiler being over-filled with water, meaning that one of its injector clack valves required attention. Shareholder support The locomotive…

THE NorthYorkshireMoors Railway has announced the start of an overhaul of WD2-10-0No. 3672DameVera Lynn, costingmorethan £600,000. The start of the overhaul at Grosmont was announced ahead of the first anniversary of the passing of the‘Forces’Sweetheart’at the age of 103. An appeal to raise the funds launched in 2013 has so far raised £175,000, but it is estimated that another £450,000 is still required. The NYMR’smotive power department aims to have the overhaul completed by 2024/2025, to tie in with the locomotive’s 80th birthday and the 80th anniversary of VE Day. The restoration of the tender will be undertaken by Riley & Son, based in Heywood, and involves the renewal of the water tank, new springs, new axlebox bearings and an overhaul of the brake gear. Designed by Robert Riddles, No.…

THE sole-surviving SouthernRegion Class71electric locomotivehas been cosmetically restored by a teamof staff and volunteers at theLocomotion museumin Shildon. Themixed-traffic Bo-Bo locomotive was one of 24 built at Doncaster Works in 1958 for the Kent Coast third-rail electrified main lines as part of BR’s Modernisation Plan. The engine remained in service for almost two decades before being withdrawn in 1977. Prestigious services including the heavy London-to-Paris overnight ‘Night Ferry’ and the ‘Golden Arrow’ Pullman wereamainstay of the class for many years. However, they were ousted from large parts of the system by EMUs and were hindered by the fact they could not haul night freights when power was turned off for track maintenancework. Background By the late 1960s therewas less work for the class, and several members were placed in store.…

THESwanage Railway’s £65,000 appeal towardsanewcarriage shedatHerston hasnowtopped £40,000. It is hoped to build the carriage shed during the coming winter months and keep up to 10 bogie coaches – including the line’s wooden framed Southern Railway coaches – undercover all year round, substantially reducemaintenance costs and enabling. Anyone who wishes to donate to the project is invited to visit www.swanagerailwaytrust.org/carriage-shed-appeal…

YORKSHIREWolds Railway volunteers pulled out all the stops to reopen their line on Sunday,May 30, aftermissing the whole of 2020 due to the pandemicwitharesulting loss of income. The Fimber Halt site closed at the end of September 2019. As soon as Government guidelines allowed, Covid-secure working practises were set up and willing volunteers returned. Membership secretaryMatthew Brown said:“Our amazing volunteers have pulled out all the stops to give the public a muchimproved experiencewhen visiting us at Fimber Halt, the biggest changes being a completely rebuilt platform and tripling the length of our track to around 1000ft! “Having listened to customer feedback and thanks to a very generous donation, we have also just taken delivery of a newlyconstructed toilet block which is fully access-compliant.” Creating a Covid-secure environment for the visitor has…

Great reasons to subscribe >> Free UK delivery to your door or instant download to your digital device >> Save money on shop prices >> Never miss an issue >> Receive your issue before it goes on sale in the shops FIVE GREAT OPTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM… PRINT ONLY 1 year direct debit for £42 1 year credit/debit card for £45 2 years credit/debit card for £85 DIGITAL ONLY 6 issues credit/debit card for £15.99 12 issues credit/debit card for £28.99 In its first full season in service for more than 80 years, large England 0-4-0STT No. 5 Welsh Pony Welsh Pony – which, as reported in our last issue, won the Heritage Railway Association’s John Coiley Locomotive Award 2021 for the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways – is seen heading the…

ANEWrecruitment and retention officerhas been appointedto attract volunteers to theSwanage Railway along with theWareham andWool main line station support groups, thanks toagrant fromSouth Western Railway’s Customer and Communities Improvement Fund. Based at Swanage station, the two-year full-time paid appointmentwill see Jonathan Evans working with the Purbeck CommunityRail Partnership (PCRP) and SouthWestern Railway (SWR) in setting upanew support group forMoreton stationon the London toWeymouth line. Born in Dorchester, Jonathan has returned to live inDorset’s county town after travelling andworking in France, Switzerlandand South America for several years. While in Argentina, Jonathan helped run an after-hours school club as a volunteer. The 49-yearold also set up and ran a free city walking tour in Buenos Aires for four years thatwas ranked the best tour onTripadvisor, the world’s largest travel platform. Jonathan said:“The Swanage…

ANEWvolunteer grouphasbeenformed bythe BalaLakeRailway (BLR)Society tomaintainandimprovefacilities at the line’s picturesquemidway station at Llangower. Meeting for the first time on April 25, the volunteers immediately got stuck in, improving the overall appearance of the station by repairing and repainting, improving fencing and planting, and carrying out work to complete the GWR-style signalbox The new group’s activities have a strong emphasis on retaining the rural charm, simplicity and character of the station, while improving the facilities on offer. Llangower includes the railway’s only passing loop and a single platform. The station is positioned by one of the fewpublicly accessible beaches on the lake and has stunning views across the water to the summit of Arenig Fawr. The beach is popular with both locals and tourists, offering access to the lake and a…

TRIBUTES havebeenpaid to Paul Walkinshaw, the drivingforcebehindthe restoration of LincolnshireCoast Light Railway (LCLR) flagship Peckett 0-6-0ST No.1008 of 1903, Jurassic, thetreasurerof the line’s charitable HistoricVehiclesTrust (HVT),andowner ofHeywoodreplica 0-4-0 Effieonthe CleethorpesCoast LightRailway(CCLR).HediedonMay7 aged59. Paul was born inGrimsby, the younger son of Jack and Jill Walkinshaw. Jack wasamarine engineer and a keen model engineer, and a founder member of the Grimsby Model Engineering Society. Paul, soon learning from his father, produced his first steam model, a 3½ingauge locomotive of the type known as Tich, while still in the sixth form of Wintringham School in Grimsby. He becameamember of the Saracen’s Headgroup of model engineers and exhibited at the SpaldingModel Show. Paul’s father had a boat at the Humber Mouth Yacht Club and as a sweetener to get Paul to help crew it,…

TWOformer SouthernRegion Class 205 ‘Thumper’diesel-electric multiple units aremoving fromthe DartmoorRailway to the Caledonian Railway at Brechin. A group of CR members have acquired No. 205032, while a private individual has bought No. 205028. Both were sold by RMS Locotec after the Dartmoor Railway Community Interest Companywent into receivership in February 2020. Bogiework is needed on No. 205032 but it is expected to be operational within 12 months, while No. 205028 is a longer-term project. The CR, which carried out biodiesel experiments in partnership with Robert Gordon University Aberdeen in the early 1990s, plans to use the units for trials of battery and hydrogen fuel cell power. Jon Gill, chairman of Caledonian Railway Brechin Ltd, said:“Obviously we’re a heritage railway but we do need to contribute to the future. “The‘Thumpers’made sense…

WORK on buildingadiversionary bypass for the LeightonBuzzardRailway, to makeway for the town’s majornew link road, has begun. The Leighton Buzzard Eastern Link Road forms part of a wider plan to provide homes, retail and community facilities and a new school in the eastern area of Leighton Buzzard. However, it has been necessary to divert part of the 2ft gauge railway a short distance away from its original route alongsideVandyke Road, so it can run under a bridge carrying the new link road. Project The diversion is being funded by link road developer the Arnold White Group and the work is being undertaken by Fox (Owmby) Limited as main contractor, supported by Ross-on-Wye-based Alan Keef Ltd, and is due for completion later this year. The line’s general manager Joe Horsley said:…

THE restorationof the 90-year-old Stobcross Crane,which oncehoisted steamlocomotives built in Glasgow fromthe quayside on to ships for worldwide export, has taken a significant stepforward thanks to a transfer ofownership of the historic structure tothe heritage-focused Big Cran Company. Cranes are known as ‘crans’ in Glaswegian patois. Owners Peel L&P have donated the crane to the community benefit company charged with restoring the structure to its former glory. The Scottish Government has weighed in with a £452,000 grant from its Clyde Mission fund, to help the £7-million restoration, which includesamuseumand visitor centre, telling the story of the riverside crane, as well as a restaurant at the base of the 152ft tall steel titan. Constructed by Cowans & Sheldon and the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company in 1931, the crane, which dominates…

THE Mid-Norfolk Railway completed itswork to refurbish theB1108 level crossing at KimberleyPark station afteronlyaweek. Theproject used the same technology as the railway’s Yaxham Road level crossing in Dereham, with a systemdeveloped by the Dutch railway infrastructure company EdilonSedra. Once again, it was conducted byamixtureof the railway’s staff, volunteers and contractors from Sonic Rail Services, togetherwith a team of technicians fromTrack Engineering Construction Ltd. Thenext stage will see the installation of signalling at the station as part of the overall resignalling plan for the railway. However, this stage will have no impact on residents or the road-travellingpublic. The crossing has had speciallyprefabricated concrete slabs installed, beforenew hard-wearing high manganese content steel rails were fitted. The rails were then encased in a special resin developed by Edilon Sedraby the TECS technicians. As a…

THE Class43High SpeedTrainpowercar whichholds theworldspeed record for adiesel train has been donatedtothe National RailwayMuseum. No. 43102wasdelivered to LocomotioninShildononthe evening onMay25after beinggiftedbyrolling stockownerandassetmanager Porterbrook. Itwas unloaded and movedtopublicdisplayoutside the museum’s entrancethe following day beforevisitors arrived. The148.5mphrecordwasset while No. 43102wasdescendingStoke Bank onNovember1, 1987, withatest run foranewtype ofbogiefor useonMk. 4 coachesonthe EastCoastMain Line.The HST setwas trailed byNo. 43159. Other records ItwasonStoke Bank that themuseum’s LNERA4PacificNo. 4468 Mallard set the worldspeed record forasteamrailway locomotiveonJuly3, 1938.TheNRM alsoowns prototype HighSpeedTrain powercarNo. 41001 (43000) which set the thenworldspeed record fordiesel traction at 143.2mphonJune 12, 1973. WhileNo. 41002, whichwasalsoon that run,wasscrapped atBooths in Rotherham,No. 41001wasclaimedfor theNationalCollection. AClass 125HSTalsoholds theworld speed record foradiesel train carrying passengers.OnSeptember 27, 1985, aspecial press run for the launch of a newTees-Tyne Pullman servicefrom NewcastletoKing’s Cross brieflyreached 144mphnorth ofYork. Porterbrook chief executiveofficer Mary Grant…

MOSTof the towns that hosted Britain’s great railwayworkshops have something tangible to remind present and futuregenerations of their past. Swindon has its STEAMMuseum; Crewe its Heritage Centre; Darlington is still turning out new steam locomotives in the form of A1 Tornado and P2 Prince ofWales; and the flame is kept alive at Eastleigh with the overhaul of Merchant Navy 4-6-2 No. 35005 Canadian Pacific. Even Horwich hopes to honour its Lancashire &Yorkshire Railway heritage by displaying 2-4-2T No. 1008 and 18in gauge shunter Wren on the site of its former works. But Doncaster – birthplace of arguably the most famous steam locomotives in the world, A3 Flying Scotsman and record-breaking A4 Mallard– has had no such monument to its railway history, until now. Opening its doors for the first time…

DESPITE seeingmany items of rolling stock, plant andmachinery sold at auction onMay12after the Llangollen Railway enteredadministration with £350,000 of debt, officials of the line’s newregimearenowlooking towardsa potential July reopening. The line’s operations director, Mike Williams, said:“Our railway is nowours again! Our stations, yards, infrastructure and sufficient rolling stock are ready to rise back like a phoenix. “Setting up Llangollen station for the sale of assets took two full days of shunting, as the 10 coaches to be included had to be in asset Lot No. 1 as required by the auction catalogue. “Unfortunately, the departure of the coaches purchased in the auction was dictated by the new owners and the availability of suitable transport, so it became verymessy with the coaches having to be shunted time and time again to…

THE Hythe Pier Heritage Association (HPHA)placed 99-year-old restored carriageNo.4back on the track, running along Hythe Pier during a brief ceremonyonMay 29. With support fromBlue Funnel Ferries engineers, the HPHA has been restoring the carriage, the first of twoordered in October 1921 by theowners of Hythe Pier and despatched from the constructor on May 26, 1922, maybe arriving 99 years to theday prior to theBack OnTrack ceremony. Carriage No. 1, which arrived a month later, has been withdrawn from service for the next restoration project. Extensive restoration Therestoration atTheShed at the pier includednewside frames, built using Irokohardwood with marine grade plywood panelling.Newsafety glass and period electric lighting units have been installed but the seatingwas insuch good condition thatonly restainingwas required. Funding for the project came from a sizable grant fromthe Beaulieu…

AFORMERLake District station is due to reopen in August asacaféand tourist destination, completewith a full-sizereplica steamlocomotiveand luxurycarriages, followingamajor environmentally-friendlyand job creation projectbycoupleDi and Simon Parums. Bassenthwaite Lake was opened by the Cockermouth Keswick & Penrith Railway in January 1865 and closed by BR in April 1966. The Up eastbound platformand goods yard have disappeared under the A66 Cockermouth-Keswick road, but the Down platform, station building, stationmaster’s house and signalmen’s cottage, have survived, and are now owned by Di and Simon. Eighteen months ago the couple acquired a replica 4-8-2 continentalstyle steam locomotive and three carriages that played a central role in the 2017 multi-million dollar blockbuster film Murder On The Orient Express, based on the 1934 Agatha Christie novel, and had them transported to the station site. The full-size steel…

HUNDREDSofwell-wishers turnedout whenthe Groudle Glen Railway stageda ceremonyonMay 23 tomark125 years to the exact daythat itopened. The 2ft gauge line was opened in 1896 following the completion of the Manx Electric Railway, running threequarters ofamile fromthe upper part of the glen, Lhen Coan, to a zoo at Sea Lion Rocks. It closed in 1962 but the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters’ Association launched a plan to restore the line, reopening a short first section in December 1983, with the final stretch reopening on July 23, 1992. The Isle of Man’s Lieutenant Governor, Sir RichardGozney, said the longevity of the railway was“quite something”and the dedication of the volunteers was“admirable”. Also in attendancewere the railway’s patrons, Steve Rodan OBE, the president on Tynwald, and Charles GuardOBE, and other distinguished guests. During…

OPTICAL Express tycoonDavid Moulsdale hasbought the former St RolloxCaledonian Railwayworks for an undisclosed sum. MrMoulsdale has set upaholding company, Springburn Depot SPV, and according to former Springburn MPand CaleyCampaign Group chairman Paul Sweeney, he is considering using part of the building to house his vintage car collection. The rail-connectedsitehas been sold by Dutchproperty group Mileway, andMr Sweeneywants the Scottish Government tobecome actively involved in reviving railway engineering on the historic former Caledonian Railway-built works. Abid made in 2019 by Jeremy Hosking’s LocomotiveServices Limited (LSL), which planned to create jobs by housing and maintaining heritage trains at the works, was rejectedby its owners, Hansteen, in 2020. NowMr Sweeneybelieves thatMr Moulsdale should be encouraged by theScottishGovernment to talk to LSL. Mr Sweeney said:“The newowner hasagreat opportunity for the works to become involved in railway…

INamajor first foraheritageline, the SwanageRailway has installed digital screens providing passengers with constantlyupdatedlivetrain information. However, far from imposing a typical trapping of the modernnational network on a classic SouthernRailway branch line, the screens are housed in traditional 1950s noticeboard-style frames. Not only do they provide times, but they also show information about the locomotive hauling the train and the facilities in its carriages in a visual ‘KnowYour Train’ form. The screens have been provided by the RealtimeTrains company and the Purbeck Line’s £223,200 grant from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund For Heritage, which was awarded last autumn. Real-time information Sofar, theyhavebeeninstalledat SwanageandCorfeCastle stations, withmoretofollowatNordenand Harman’s Cross. In another national first for the preservation sector, the live Swanage Railway train information will also be available on the Realtime Trains website at…

THE Ravenglass&Eskdale Railway is to hostacelebratorygala on July 11/12 to mark60years sincethe line was saved frombeing closed and scrapped in 1960. The event has been held over from 2020when the pandemic forced lockdown and the cessation of all activities on the railway. Although scheduled to take place beyond the date when lockdown restrictions were scheduled to be lifted, the event has been designed to run in a Covidsecureway, in a similar manner to last autumn’s Mid-Hants Railway steam gala, a runner-up in the Heritage Railway Association’s Annual Award 2020 Most Innovative Fundraising Idea category, as reported last issue. “Passengers can buy‘a seat for the day and sit back and relax, taking in three round trips of the spectacular Lakeland line while the railway works hard to bring the locomotives to…

BEFORE jet travelwascommonplaceand holidays in farawayandoftenobscure locationsbecamethe norm,longdistancetravelonasteamtrain to the WestCountrywas eagerlyanticipatedby many–especiallyifoneof the familywas atrainspotter. The romance and joy for Londoners was enhancedby the names of many of theWesternRegion expresses, such as‘The MerchantVenturer,’‘Torbay Express,’‘The Royal Duchy’and the iconic‘Cornish Riviera Express,’or‘The Cornishman’ for those travelling from the Midlands. Often, the final leg of the journey was a change of trains from a King or Castle at the head of at least a dozen carriages onto a single-line branch, with a tank engine pulling just three or four coaches. Somehow that added to the excitement, as though the majesty of an express locomotive being replaced by a seaside resort engine wasmore in keeping with the surroundings. Thememories of those days six or more decades ago will reverberate around the internet on…

ANEWshedfor diesel locomotives at the Caledonian Railway (CR) will also permit the line to keep its carriages under cover for the first time. Currently nearing completion at the CR’s Bridge of Dun terminus, it is 110 metres long with three roads, and is large enough to house 12 main line diesel locomotives. Costing an estimated £380,000 by the time it is complete, it has been paid for by a combination of railway funds, donations, and support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to reinstate locomotive lifting facilities. It will allow the existing diesel storage shed to be repurposed for storing carriages and the maintenance shed to be used for permanent way vehicles, thus providing the first covered accommodation for the line’s main carriage fleet. “The new shed is wind and…

A£40,000 APPEAL hasbeen launched to returnLMS‘Jinty’No. 47324 to steam on theEast LancashireRailway in2023. The Fowler 3F 0-6-0T is owned by a group of four ELR members but is operated and maintained by the railway under a ‘repair and run’ arrangement. It last steamed in 2014 when its previous 10-year boiler certificate expired but a lack of funds during the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that little work has been undertaken on its overhaul recently. Most of the repairs to its frames are complete, with the tyres having been reprofiled, and ELR fitter Callum Porter said that it is hoped to rewheel the frames in September. The boiler overhaul is about 50% complete, with copper welding carried out on the firebox and a new foundation ring made. The £40,000 target of the…

PROPOSALSto createanewcharity-led organisation to runtheWestSomerset Railway(WSR) will notbegiventhe greenlightat thepresent time. TheWSR plc boardof directors has decided not to create a new incorporated charity toown the physical assets of the railway, with a controlled subsidiary tooperate the line. The draft proposal was developed in detail following the completion last May of a hard-hitting independent report, compiled by John Bailey on behalf of the Heritage Railway Association, into conflicts and acrimonious disputes between different groups within theWSR umbrella. At a full board meeting on March 30, directors ratified an earlier decision made at an informal seminar and“concluded that it is not appropriate to continue with this far-reaching proposal at the present time.”The boardwas supportedby lawyer and former HRA chairman David Morgan, who is also president and a former chairman of the…

TWOlocomotives frommanufacturer Clayton Equipment, best remembered in the railway world for the Class 17 Bo-Bos it constructed for BR in the 1960s, have been running on Midland heritage lines. The sole surviving Class 17, Chinnor & Risborough Railwaybased D8568, has just been repainted into BR blue with yellowwarning panels – a first in preservation – during overhaul at the Severn Valley Railway, where it made its debut in the new guise at the May 13-16 spring diesel bash. It was the first time that one of the Paxman-powered 900hp Type 1s had been seen in blue since the last examples were withdrawn in 1971. Most of the short-lived class of 117, built between 1962-65 by Clayton and its sub-contractor Beyer Peacock, were scrapped still wearing their original BR green paintwork.…

GWRlargeprairieNo. 4144 is tomake its first visit to the NeneValley Railway this summer. The Collett 5101 class 2-6-2T, based at Didcot Railway Centre, will run on the line from mid-June until late August. It is expected that this will give the NVR a pair of working ex-BR locomotives for the summer, with the return of SR Battle of Britain No. 34081 92 Squadron following firebox repairs. The air-smoothed Bulleid Pacific failed in April with wastage of the firebox crownsheet, and has been sent to LocomotiveMaintenance Services of Loughborough for a replacement section of plate to be welded in. Its owners, the Battle of Britain Locomotive Society, hope to have it back in steam during early June. Also available for traffic at Wansford are Polish TKp 0-8-0T No. 5485 and the…

BOTH pony trucks for new-build BR 3MT 2-6-2T No. 82045 were almost complete at the Severn ValleyRailway in May. Their frames were placed onto thewheelsets, and the springs installed, before they were turned the rightway round in preparation for fitting under the locomotive. Theoutstanding jobs aremakingand fitting the dust shields over the axleboxes, shapingand fitting the guard irons in front of the wheels, and completing both trucks’ lubrication systems. Other work on the Riddles locomotive is currently focused on the slidebars and support brackets for the sanding gear. Engineering staff at the SVR’s Bridgnorth headquarters have starteddrilling rivet and stayholes in the platework for No. 82045’s firebox, with the throatplate having been the first section to be tackled.…

RESIDENTSand councillors havewon their fight to save the historicWycombe Railway bridge inHorspath, Oxfordshire, whichthey fearedwasat risk of demolitionbyHighways England. As reported in issue 278, villagers gathered on top of the bridge to peacefully protest against its potential demolition on February 24 following an emergency closure of Cuddesdon Road two days before, which was implemented to allowa dangerous parapet to be removed. As outlined in issue 276, the bridge remains on the Highways England (HE) list for future demolition or infilling. HE has responsibility for the bridge as it is part of the Department for Transport’s Historical Railways Estate (HRE) collection of about 3,800 bridges, tunnels and viaducts that are no longer needed for the national network. In a strategic report in 2016, HE indicated its preference to reduce its liability…

FORTY-SEVENyears afterBulleid WestCountryLightPacificNo.34023 BlackmoreValehauled the Padstow portion of the last‘AtlanticCoast Express’onSeptember5, 1964, the famous-namedtrain has returned to thewesternmostextremityof the SouthernRailway. The 21st-century Atlantic Coast Express is to be found at Penquean Quarry, midway betweenWadebridge and Padstow on the hugely-popular Camel Trail, which was laidon the former LSWR trackbed between the towns – and is housed in a renovated cattle wagon bought fromaprivate owner in Wisbech. Open-air dining The converted van is the focal point of an open-air dining space offering the same views of the Camel Estuary that would have greeted generations of rail passengers making the trip fromWaterloo. The owners of today’s‘ACE’have traded on the Camel Trail for 12 years under the banner of Treats OnTrikes. Four years ago they converted the wagon into a full kitchen, which mostly…

FOR any other locomotive-owning group, turning out a gleaming, freshly overhauled Bulleid Pacific would be a historic milestone. But for Southern Locomotives Ltd it’s almost routine. This rebuiltWest Country, No. 34028 Eddystone, which returned to steamon the Swanage Railway inMay, is only the latest in a long line of Bulleid overhauls and restorations the teamhas completed over a period of more than 30 years. If you had to sumup this organisation in just one word, it would be ‘prolific’. It won’t stop with Eddystone. By the end of this year, Southern Locomotives Ltd (SLL) expect to have outshopped yet another Bulleid – this time an original air-smoothed version, Battle of BritainNo. 34070 Manston – giving them, for a time, four working examples in total. After that, the to-do list consists…

ARISAIG, themost westerly station on thenational network, has become a regular crossing point for steamhauled trains for the first time since the 1960s. Aneed to meet demand andadesire to offer an earlier andmore attractive itineraryprompted‘Jacobite’operator West Coast Railways to review its timetable and strengthen both trains to seven coaches–making them too long for the previous passing point at Glenfinnan, where the loop can only accommodate a six-coach train. The afternoon train is nowretimed to depart from Fort William earlier, at 12.45pm, meaning it arrives back before7pmand thatmoreof the return journey will run in daylight towards the end of the season. Saturdays unchanged However, the Saturday afternoon trains currently remain at six-coach length to cross at Glenfinnan, because the presenceof the‘Royal Scotsman’tour train on the Mallaig line prevents use of the…

JOHN Cameron’s LNER A4No. 60009 UnionofSouth Africa has returned to service for the first time in overayear, at the East LancashireRailway. The streamlined Gresley Pacific emerged from storage at Buckley Wells shed on April 24, for test runs and crew training. Although these were originally intended to be light engine movements, in the event, the locomotivewas given a suitable load with an 18-wagon goods train – recalling the regular use of the ‘Streaks’on express goods work from King’s Cross, and their latterday downgrading to freight duties towards the end of their BR service. It then returned to passenger traffic on May 29-31, including a dining train on the Friday evening, and was also rostered for a further three days of operation on June 2-4. It is booked to appear at…

LMS JUBILEENo. 45690 Leander returned to the main line in styleon June1withanon-stop run up the West CoastMainLine fromCarlisle to Carnforth. The outward leg of the West Coast Railways ‘Dalesman’, diesel-hauled from Chester, ran over the Settle & Carlisle line, with the Stanier 4-6-0 – crewed by driver Chris Cubitt and fireman Martyn Soames – taking over the tour at Hellifield. On the return run from the Border City, a loss of power to the overhead wires blocked theWCML between Lockerbie and Motherwell.With no service trains needing to overtake the steam charter, this left a clear road for Leander and its 11-coach train to run non-stop back over Shap to Carnforth. Early arrival Nowwith driver David Blair at the regulator and fireman Craig Todd on the shovel, the Jubilee was able…

NORFOLK’SWells Harbour Railway is facing closureafter landowner Holkham Estate has declinedto renew the lease. Gary and Alison Brecknell, who took over in 2000 and are only the third proprietors of the 10¼in gauge line at Wells-next-the-Sea in its 45-year history, were told that another 10-year lease would not be granted after indicating that they wanted to sell the line in the next two years so they could pursue news interests and spend more time with their family. The 1200-yard diesel-operated line runs between Wells Harbour and Pinewoods, which serves a caravan park and the beach, and where the engine shed is located. A trademark attraction for the town in its own right, it serves a public 'green' transport function, taking passengers from the town to the sands and removing cars…

LBSCR‘Terrier’0-6-0T No. 2678 Knowle crossed the Solent onMay27 in readiness for the Isle ofWight Steam Railway’s June4-6 50th anniversarygala. Nowbased on the Kent & East Sussex Railway, the locomotive worked on the Island between 1929 and 1936 where it was named Bembridge following the tradition of naming locomotives after local towns and villages. Arriving on the Wightlink ferry at Fishbourne after an absence of 85 years, Knowle travelled on to Havenstreet and will spendamonth visiting the steam railway. Its arrival was captured onMeridian TV’s 6pm news that evening. Railway general manager Steve Backhouse said: “It’s great to welcome this magnificent piece of Island railway heritage back for our 50th anniversary gala.” Earlier, on April 12, resident LSWR O2 0-4-4T No. W24 Calbourne featured in a series of trains to mark the…

THEWest LancashireLightRailway has been awarded £10,000 from the National LotteryHeritageFund for improvementsat its Hesketh Bank headquarters. Thegrant will help make the 2ft gauge railway more accessible to visitors and staff with disabilities by providing an access ramp for its newwheelchair-friendly carriage, new gardening tools for use by volunteers with additional requirements, and a site accessibility surveybyadisabled persons’advocate. Education and training Themoneywill also boost its work with schools by providing information packs for teachers and pupils, and financenewstoryboard interpretation panels and improved welcomesignage. As part of its post-Covid restart programme, the grant will provide for competency and asset management training for volunteers, food hygiene courses and digital membership records training. It will also provide finance to extend and improvewi-fi coverage, with live streaming to its website, and contribute towards professional help for…

FORTY years after the last BRtrain left Brechin, the Caledonian Railway (CR) has startedrebuilding the station’s canopy. The last train over the freight-only line on May 2, 1981 was a farewell railtour from Edinburgh, including Class 122‘Bubble Car’No. 55000, now based at the South DevonRailway. By this time the Brechin Railway Preservation Society, formed in 1979, was already established in the goods yard – but BR had removedmost of the glass and lead from the canopy to prevent theft and vandalism by the time the group took over the line. Reconstruction The first section of the canopyaround the station building is nowbeing reconstructed, and the railway hopes to complete this by thetime it reopens in the summer. The £40,000 cost of this initial stage of the project was partially met…

ACOMMEMORATIVE specialmarked the 70th anniversaryof theworld’s first heritagetrain to be run by volunteers. Friday, May 14was exactly 70 years to the day that what is deemed to be the world’s first-ever operational preservation era train departed from TywynWharf station for the short trip to Rhydyronen. Five of the original members from 1951 – John Bate, Olwyn Bate, and David Mitchell, Phil Sayers and John Smallwood – joined the commemorative train, operated by the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society. In 1951, the first train was sent off after a ribbon-cutting ceremony performed by Bill Trinder, chairman of both the Talyllyn Railway Company and the newly-formed Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society. In 2001, on the 50th anniversary, a similar ceremonywas performed using the same ribbon – and again on the 70th anniversary. Ceremony On…

WHEREAS this summermany Midlanders will be heading for the beaches of sunnyCornwall, and prices forholidayaccommodation at a premium, one steamlocomotivewill be making the trip in the oppositedirection for the first time in45years. Berwyn Engineering 0-6-0 Muffin, which has been based at the Lappa Valley Railway since 1976, will be the star guest at the EveshamVale Light Railway’s annual railway gala and historic transport showon July 10/11. Muffin was designed by David Curwen and built in 1969 for the Longleat Safari Park, where it stayed until 1975. It will be reunited with 1970-built Severn Lamb 0-6-2T No. 3 Dougal for the first time since they were together at Longleat. Theweekend will feature an intensive servicewith trains every 20 minutes from 10.30am until 4.30pm, with double heading and a triple header with…

FOLLOWING their £335,000 restoration fromnear-derelict condition, twoPullman cars alongsidethe Ravenglass&Eskdale Railway arenowavailable as staycation accommodation. Originally built in 1917 as part of a FirstWorldWar ambulance train, cars Elmira and Maid of Kent are the UK’s oldest railway camping coaches still in their original location, and easily accessible for the Cumbrian CoastalWay. Funded by £250,000 fromThe National LotteryHeritage Fund and aprivate investment of £85,000, the innovative transformation of these twohistorically-important vehicles into newaccommodation for up to six people has painstakingly preservedmanyof the carriages’ original highly-crafted features. Anew sensorygarden will also support the natural ecosystem and enhance visitors’stays. As the roadmap out of lockdown progresses, the coaches will also be opened up at selected times for pre-booked socially distanced visits, giving peopleanew perspective into their unique heritage and helping to share stories and memories of the so-called‘carriages off the…

NENEValley Railway volunteers have begun overhaulingHudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST DerekCrouch, the locomotive whichhauledthe line’s first train. The NVR’s Small Loco Group is raising funds to return it to steam by 2024 tomark the 50th anniversary of its starring role on April 9, 1974, at the head of the Peterborough Railway Society’s official first train from Longueville Junction to its Wansford headquarters (it had also hauled a test train two days earlier). It will also be the centenary of the engine’s construction asWorks No. 1539 in 1924. Significance The locomotivewas suppliednewto Sir RobertMcAlpine&Sons. It is unknown whenit last steamed; although the NVR’swebsitestates1982, it is now believed that itmay have beenearlier, as its last boiler records that can be found date from1975/76.TheNVR’s official reopening fromWansfordtoOrtonMere took place in1977. Work on its overhaul commenced…

THE first pair of coupledwheels for new-buildGWR4-4-0No. 3840 County ofMontgomeryhave been cast. The Churchward County Trust (CCT) placed the order for the four 6ft 8½in coupled wheels with Trefoil Steel in Sheffield in March, and the first two wheels for the rear wheelset were castamonth later using the pattern loaned by the Great Western Society at Didcot. The pattern had previously been used to cast the wheels for GWR Saint 4-6-0 No. 2999 Lady of Legend. Before the second pair of wheels are cast, Trefoil Steel will modify the pattern to increase the size of the centre boss. The original Churchward Counties had two different designs of wheel; the leading driven wheels having a 5¾in centre boss and the rear wheels a 4¾in centre boss. The pattern as loaned has…

ITWOULDhave been easy forusEast Londontrainspotters in the 1950s to have an inferiority complex.Named locomotiveswereat the core of our hobby, and those spotters frequenting the lines running north outof the capital enjoyedsuch locomotives as Princess Coronations, PrincessRoyals, Royal Scots and Gresley Pacifics. Those in the west had Kings, Castles,Granges and Halls, and those south of theThames savoured BulleidPacifics, King Arthurs, Schools and LordNelsons. For the spotters on the lines out of Liverpool Street, therewere just the B17s, Britannias and the occasional oddly-named B1, a triumviratewhich, with the greatest of respect to Nigel Gresley, Robert Riddles and Edward Thompson, was hardly the stuff of dreams. However, we had two aces up our sleeves, thanks to the B17s. Firstly, these were our locos, built specifically for our route and thus mainly confined to…

ATHREE-POINT strategy for the future of the SevernValleyRailway(SVR) has beenoutlined bygeneralmanager Helen Smith. She said:“The SVR is a heritage attraction, and I ammindful of the importance of celebrating and preserving the past and presenting this in a format that all our visitors can appreciate. “While being able to enjoy our yesterdays, it is also important toplan for our tomorrows and to be able to continue to adapt our organisation to 21st-century legislation and business practices. For this reason, I have decided to focus on three key areas in the strategy: safety, people and heritage. Safety first “Safetymust be central toeverything wedo.Wewanteveryone to recognise thatweareaprofessionally-run railway. “Wemust take advantage of 21stcentury safeworking practices to protect our teams and visitors, and allowus to operate inwhat is often a fluid and complex environment.”…

LBSCR‘Terrier’0-6-0TNo. 672 Fenchurch is being overhauledat the Statfold Barn Railway nearTamworth with theaim of having it back running on the Bluebell Railway in time for its 150th anniversary in 2022. Fenchurch, the chassis ofwhich left the Bluebell on April 14, is undergoinga 10-yearly overhaul involving both mechanical attention and a thorough boiler repair. Acontractor stripped and removed the cylinder block from the frames so its condition can be assessed andadecision taken as to whether to repair or replace it. In the event of the latter, a replacement set of cylinders has gone to Statfold with the frames. It is intended tohave the frames back at Sheffield Park by next Easter, in time for the locomotive to be reassembled for the summer. Theboiler overhaul requires a substantial replacement of material, including that of the inner…

SOUTH Ayrshirecouncillors have heard that the Ayr-Dalmellington railway, closed to passenger traffic in1964, could be reopenedtoregular services,with heritagesteamtrains included to boost local tourism. Theproposal is one of a short list of options being siftedbyTransport Scotland todetermine strategic spending over the next 20 years. Reopening theDalmellington line with heritage steamtrains is included in a range of railway improvements. These include reopening the line between Ayr and Cumnock, opening new stations at AyrHospital and Pinwherry, and restoring Ayr station and Station Hotel. Campaigners for the restoration of the Ayr Station Hotel previously proposed its importanceasarailway heritage survivor and its suitabilityasa background forheritage steamtrains running fromAyr toboth Dalmellington and Stranraer. Theheritagesteamtrains proposal is partofaboiled-downlist of an original 138 transportoptions for roadand rail. It has survived a rigorous evaluation process andwaspresented inearlyMay to South…

June 12 ‘The Cotswold Venturer’ Paddington,Worcester Shrub Hill & return. Steam-hauled throughout. Loco: No. 60103 Flying Scotsman. RTC 16 ‘Portsmouth Harbour Express’ Wolverhampton, Portsmouth & return. Steam-hauled fromBristol. Loco: No. 45231 or No. 46100 Royal Scot. ST 17 ‘Cathedrals Express’ King’s Cross, Cambridge & return. Steam-hauled throughout. Loco: No. 60103 Flying Scotsman. SD 17 ‘East AnglianAfternoon Tour’ Cambridge, Norwich & return. Steam-hauled throughout. Loco: No. 60103 Flying Scotsman. SD 19 ‘The Edinburgh Flyer’ York, Edinburgh & return. Steam-hauled throughout. Loco: No. 60163 Tornado. RTC 19 ‘The White Rose’ King’s Cross, York & return. Steam-hauled: King’s Cross, York. Loco: No. 60103 Flying Scotsman. RTC 19 ‘Settle&Carlisle Circular’ Worcester Shrub Hill, Carlisle & return. Diesel-hauled throughout. Loco: TBA. SR 20 ‘Cathedrals Express’ Paddington, Portsmouth Harbour & return. Steam-hauled throughout. Loco: No. 61306…