Heritage Railway Issue 291

WHAT Flying Scotsman was to the 20th century, new-build A1 No. 60163 Tornado has been to the 21st. Since its official launch in 2009, it has been a crowd-puller wherever it goes, on one run hitting a new heritage-era record of 101mph – a brilliant ambassador for the sector. Now, as a demonstration of heritage technological engineering excellence to invited guests at Darlington Locomotive Works showed on February 25, even its magnificence could be eclipsed by its builder. The demonstration – ‘wow factor’ was not the phrase – saw all eight coupled driving wheels of Gresley P2 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales turn for public gaze for the first time. Not only that, but its all-new boiler should be with us later this year. No. 2007 is the seventh…

WORK has begun on the construction of Darlington’s £35 million Railway Heritage Quarter, which will become a major magnet for international visitors as the centrepiece of the Stockton & Darlington Railway bicentennial celebrations in 2025. On March 3, Darlington Borough Council leader Coun Heather Scott cut the first turf to mark the start of construction of the project in the North Road area, in what is viewed a key ingredient in the economic growth of the town through heritage and culture. The project is being supported by £20 million of funding from the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority. Six days earlier, more railway history was made in the town when the wheels of new-build Gresley P2 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales – the seventh member of the most…

THE Swanage RailwayTrust was just £500 away from its £25,000 target to restore LSWR AdamsT3 4-4-0 No. 563 – but an additional £175,000 is needed to complete the overhaul of the engine. On March 3, the tank was craned off its chassis, ready to be moved into to the line’s heavy engineering facility at Herston Works. It is possibly the first time the tank has been separate since the T3 was built in 1893. The T3 is being restored at the Flour Mill workshop at Bream in the Forest of Dean, where attention is currently focused on the boiler and establishing how to fix the crown sling hanger arrangements to the top of the outer firebox. ➜ To donate to the overhaul appeal, email finance@swanagerailway.co.uk or write to: Swanage Railway…

THREE heritage lines have announced their intention to removed war-themed events from their 2022 calendars following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s April 23/24 War in the Cotswolds weekend has been axed. The G/WR announced in a statement that “the board are unanimously of the view that we should cancel the event this year” as it is intended “to be a joyful weekend and that conflicts deeply with what we now see happening.” The weekend has now reverted to standard operating days, while the line’s School Evacuation days have also been “suspended until the middle of the year, or until the situation in Ukraine settles down.” The Mid-Hants Railway’s annual 1940s War on the Line event has also been dropped until further notice. A MHR statement said:…

BRITAIN’S newest new-build steam locomotive – replica Sharp Stewart Southwold Railway 3ft gauge 2-4-0T No.3 Blyth – was steamed for the first time on March 7. The £300,000 locomotive is the latest to emerge from the production line at North Bay Railway Engineering Services at Darlington. The original No. 3 Blyth was one of three supplied to the legendary Suffolk railway when it opened in 1879 but was the only original locomotive that was in service throughout the line’s entire 50-year lifespan until it ceased operations in 1929, when it nearly became the world’s first heritage railway, more than two decades before the Talyllyn. The historic first steaming took place at a haulage yard on the outskirts of Darlington, prior to minor adjustments and a visit from the boiler inspector on…

THE Talyllyn Railway has scooped the Heritage Railway Association’s top Peter Manisty Award for Excellence 2022. The award is made occasionally by the HRA main board for an outstanding contribution to railway preservation and is only given to projects of the highest quality. It honours the line’s first 70 years of preservation since it became the world’s first volunteer-led operational heritage railway under the guidance of transport historian Tom Rolt in 1951. It was set to be presented at the HRA’s annual awards dinner at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham city centre on Saturday, March 19, for which railway historian and TV presenter Tim Dunn was booked as guest speaker. Delighted TR general manager Stuart Williams said: “The award is testament both to the original volunteers who had the vision to…