Heritage Railway Issue 289

IN this issue, we are delighted to report on the phenomenal success experienced by several heritage lines with the public response to their festive season trains, coming a year after many of them curtailed or did not run at all due to the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. These seasonal services provide a vital financial lifeline to heritage lines that still rely, to a large extent, on an army of volunteer workers. The third wave of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports’ Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage grants are certainly welcome, not least of all the £1 million handed to the Severn Valley Railway… but how long can such benevolence continue? Every indication is that the Government must now seek to claw back much of the pandemic…

THE Heritage Railway Association, the umbrella group for Britain’s preservation sector, is commemorating its 60th anniversary. January 6 was 60 years to the day since the Railway Preservation Association, the group that evolved into the HRA, met for the first time. A wider celebration of this milestone is planned to take place later in the year, if or when coronavirus restrictions in all parts of Britain allow. That first meeting of the organisation had Captain Bill Smith as chairman. In 1959, he became the first private individual to buy a steam locomotive from BR, saving GNR J52 0-6-0ST No. 1247 from scrap and setting a precedent for many others to follow. Shortly afterwards, Bluebell Railway pioneer Captain Peter Manisty became chairman. Under him, the group became known as the Association…

FIFTEEN working machines from the National Railway Museum’s York workshop were moved to the Strathspey Railway before Christmas. The machines have become redundant as part of the museum’s plan to create its new £5 million Wonderlab gallery in the workshop space. Due to open in spring 2023, the family-friendly gallery will feature up to 20 interactive exhibits with a rail engineering theme. The machines gifted to the Strathspey include a vertical borer, a horizontal borer, a Holbrook lathe, a Lang lathe, toolcutter grinders, a shaper, a slotter, a planner, a milling machine, surface grinder, a radial arm drill, and a bench drill. An NRM statement said: “The Strathspey Railway workshop has progressed over the years to be able to undertake most machining jobs, in-house boiler overhauls and repairs, and heavy mechanical…

SUNDAY, January 23 will not only mark the 51st anniversary of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s watershed move from Newport to Havenstreet, but will also see the launch of the line’s restored Ryde Pier tram into service. In January 1971, the preservation society that set up the IoWSR was given just a few days’ notice by BR to move its locomotive, LSWR O2 0-4-4T No. W24 Calbourne, and its carriages and wagons, from Newport station. There were significant obstacles to overcome, as the line to Havenstreet had laid disused and overgrown for five years and a section of badly distorted track had to be negotiated at Wootton. Last trains On the day of the move, crowds lined the route, with a lucky few being able to travel aboard the…

PLANS for a new £5.9 million collection building at the Locomotion museum in Shildon have gone on display so that visitors and the general public can voice their opinions. The plans went on display at Locomotion from January 19-23, starting with a face-to-face open session with members of the project team on hand to answer questions. A further drop-in session will be held at Shildon Library from 11am to 3pm on January 24, and the plans can also be seen at www.locomotion.org.uk/new-building-locomotion until January 31, ahead of the formal application for planning permission. The 2000sq m collection building, housing up to 45 rail vehicles, is expected to open in 2023 ahead of celebrations to mark the Stockton & Darlington Railway bicentenary two years later. In addition to the 87 vehicles…

THE Severn Valley Railway is extending the closed period this year until April 2, when it starts the season with weekend running rather than at the usual half-term holiday in February. Two major projects are to take place during this extended shutdown, with the replacement of the footbridge at Kidderminster and rebuilding of the line at Sterns, which has caused problems for many years. Sterns is located between Hampton Loade and Bridgnorth, near milepost 147 at the foot of Eardington Bank, where Mor Brook meets the River Severn as it turns 90 degrees within 100 yards from the trackbed – which occasionally slips due to excessive rain running into the river. This location is notorious for its instability and has caused many problems over the years. During the winter of…