Sommaire pour Issue 222 de Heritage Railway

THE cramped facilities at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s carriage and wagon workshop have meant that in recent years the railway has been falling behind in its ability to outshop overhauled bogies, resulting at times in a shortage of coaches in traffic. In a bid to rectify this, the NYMR has arranged to lease an additional workshop at the former Slaters Transport yard at Kirby Misperton, just outside Pickering, which will be fully equipped to deal with bogies repair. It will develop to provide facilities that will include a wheel lathe suitable for handling both carriage and wagon wheels. It is hoped that once the NYMR’s backlog of repairs have been dealt with it will be possible to offer contract bogie overhauls to other heritage railways in similar need of…

HASTINGS Diesels is to run a special December 31‘Canterbury Belle’trip around Kent with its four-car DEMU set. Because of the short duration of daylight the trip will make a mid-morning start, returning home in time for tea. The trip starts from St Leonards Warrior Square at an estimated time of 11am picking up at Hastings, Rye, Ashford and then running nonstop toCanterbury East via Dover, the trip terminating at Faversham. Departing Faversham at around 3.30pm, the‘Belle’retraces its outward route arriving St Leonards at 5.40pm - well in time for an evening’s NewYear celebrations. As always, the set will have a well stocked buffet car selling hot and cold food and drink throughout the day. Club class passengers seated at tables receive a midday meal served with wine prior to arriving…

THE momentous occasion of celebrating 50 years of the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group as a volunteer society was duly marked in fine style over the last weekend of October, following a year of planning. Fifty years on, to the exact day in the exact same room at the Bridge Hotel in Newcastle where the group was formed, members gathered to celebrate; some by buying a pint of Newcastle‘Brooon’as they had done all those years ago. In a night full of nostalgia, a birthday cake was cut by six of the members who had been present at the first meeting. It was also appropriately announced that the two remaining founders of the society – Peter Proud and Kevin Gould were to be made vice-presidents of NELPG. On the North Yorkshire…

A MEMORIAL to London Transport chief executive officer Frank Pick’s iconic designs, which have influenced London travel since 1906, was unveiled at Piccadilly Circus station on November 7. BAFTA-winning and Turner Prize-nominated artist duo Ben Langlands and Nikki Bell were commissioned to produce the new large-scale contemporary artwork, called Beauty Immortality, by Art on the Underground (Transport for London’s official art programme) and the London Transport Museum. The display, which commemorates the 75th anniversary of Pick’s death, features a 4ft 6in diameter roundel and a 6ft 6in high text of solid bronze letters in Johnston font, which was commissioned by Pick in 1915 and is still used across the capital’s transport network today. Frank Pick (1878-1941) began as head of London Underground in the early 20th century and then expanded…

BEAMISH Museum’s plan to create a 1950s town served by trolleybuses has been given a £10.9million boost by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The town will complement the County Durham venue’s stand and narrow gauge lines, and will be built from houses, shops and other structures relocated from sites all over the North East in rent years. It is hoped the attraction could an extra 100,000 visitors each year by 2021. Work is now set to start in winter on the £18m Remaking Beamish project, which will add at least 30 new exhibits and will take four years to complete. Museum director Richard Evans said:“The project is the result of years of careful planning with staff and volunteers working alongside people from across the North East so we can tell their…

A FEASIBILITY study into reopening the GWR cross-country route between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen has been allocated £300,000 in the Welsh Government’s budget. Campaigners hope to re-establish a 90-minute service between Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Carmarthen over the route at an estimated cost of £500 million. The route was axed by Beeching in 1965, A train journey without the proposed route takes about six hours. The Gwili Railway occupies part of the southernmost section of the route, while the northernmost few hundred yards into Aberystwyth station is now used by the Vale of Rheidol Railway. A spokesman for campaign group Traws Link Cymru said:“This is the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for. Reopening the railway would bring social, cultural, and environmental benefits, and would provide an economic stimulus to west Wales. ”It would…

ON Sunday, October 30, the Bishop of Bangor, the Rt Revd Andrew John, formally named the Talyllyn Railway’s latest diesel, Baguley-Drewry four-wheel shunter No. 12, St Cadfan, at Tywyn Wharf station. The name was chosen to commemorate St Cadfan who established a Christian community in Tywyn 1500 years ago, and the short ceremony was part of the celebrations taking place this year to mark the event. The bishop performed a blessing on the locomotive and then unveiled the nameplate before anointing the locomotive with a bottle of bubbly. Among the guests were those who had been involved in bringing the locomotive to Tywyn from the ex-Royal Navy Ammunition Depot at Trecwn in South Wales. Built in 1983 it was part of aclass of seven diesels used on the 2ft 6in…

A PAIR of TV engineering detectives are on the hunt for forgotten and hidden treasures tucked away in the sheds of Britain. Travel Channel presenters Henry Cole and Sam Lovegrove are about to film their next series and while in previous series they’ve concentrated on classic motorcycles and vehicles, now they are widening their search for any great examples of engineering, from stationary engines to replicas locomotives to tractors – in fact any hidden gems that may have been covered up or forgotten for years. Top-rated show Their programme, Shed and Buried, is Travel Channel’s top-rated show. Once they have made a deal for an item they return to their very own shed to restore it and often have a bit of fun with it, before selling it on at…

THE Railway Touring Company’s latest‘Tin Bath’excursion from Preston to Sheffield via Manchester hauled by‘Black Fives’No. 44871 and No. 45407 was held on its return journey at Wigan following a death on the track. The driver of the 1.40pm Euston to Glasgow train reported that he had hit a person on the Down fast line at 4.58pm on Sunday, November 6. All trains were suspended between Wigan and Preston and the line reopened at 8.49pm. As a result, the‘Tin Bath’arrived back at Preston 55 minutes late. In total 124 trains were delayed, including seven full cancellations and 14 part cancellations.…

A DISUSED tunnel between Bradford and Halifax has been designated as a Historical Engineering Work by the Institution of Civil Engineers. Queensbury Tunnel, which was engineered by Leeds-based John Fraser for the GNR in the 1870s, may become part of acycleway if local campaigners get their wish. The tunnel opened in October 1878 and at 2501 yards it was the longest on the GNR’s network. Ten workers died during the tunnel’s four-year construction. It has not been used by trains for almost 60 years, is flooded at one end and said to be in danger of collapse. After closure, it was used as a seismological station by Cambridge University. It was once owned by British Rail Board Residuary Ltd, and when that organisation was wound up in 2013, ownership transferred…

A CROWDFUNDING appeal to buy a prototype Merry-go-Round hopper wagon has been launched. The NationalWagon Preservation Group hopes to preserve the prototype CDA wagon No. 353224, which is currently up for sale by DB Cargo, converted from a HAA Merry-go-Round coal hopper. The two prototype wagons were built at Darlington works in 1964 and 1965 respectively, following which several large batches were constructed at the nearby Shildon works. A total of 11,162 MGR hoppers were built, but only 17 remain, with 14 preserved. No. 353224, which was used to carry china clay to Fowey Docks, is stored alone in‘River Road’at St Blazey. Those wishing to help save this iconic wagon are asked to visit: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk / http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/saving-british-rail-engineering-history-353224 saving-british-rail-engineeringhistory-353224…

A PAINTING of the Llangollen Railway’s new Corwen Central station has been unveiled. Julie McNamara, a retired resident of Corwen with a lifelong passion for painting, took on the task of executing an artistic impression of how the terminal station at Corwen will look when all the work on the project is completed in 2018. Her painting was presented tothe volunteers on site at the entrance to the recently installed subway access point which is adjacent tothe town’s car park. It shows how the ground level access will connect with an elevated platform tobe built on top of the embankment relative to the arrival of a train in the station. Julie said:“It gives today’s visitors an appreciation of the task in hand and the ultimate railway facility which is being…

GREAT Central’s postal ticket auction in early October was dominated by three pre-Grouping examples, led at £170 by a Freshwater Yarmouth & Newport Railway 1s-3d ticket for a third class journey between Yarmouth and Newport. Another Isle of Wight ticket, issued by the Joint Ryde Pier Railway (a line owned by the LBSCR and LSWR) for the journey between Ryde Pier Head and Ryde Esplanade at a cost of 5d, went for £140. Third came a Corris Railway quarryman’s weekly ticket that cost 2s and permitted journeys between Machynlleth and Corris (£120). This 2ft 3in gauge line became part of the GWR in 1930, but it is believed the GWR’s interest was in the railway’s bus routes, and the line closed to passengers in 1931. Prices exclude buyer’s premium of…

WITH the march of the LMS Jubilee nameplates marking time at Solent’s October 22 auction at Wickham due to the non-sale of nameplate Lord Rutherford of Nelson from No. 45665, a headboard from‘The Waverley’ seized the opportunity to be top dog by going under the hammer for £2400. This train – I hesitate to call it an express due to a schedule of more than nine hours between the two capital cities of London and Edinburgh – ran from St Pancras to Waverley via the Settle-Carlisle line from 1957-69, and was the successor of the‘Thames-Forth Express’, which had been launched by the LMS in 1927 and operated until the outbreak of the Second World War. Talking of time, a 14in clock that had been supplied to the London & South…

FOREVER associated with the late Bert Hitchen, LMS‘Black Five’4-6-0 No. 45231 The Sherwood Forester is set to make a return to the main line in the coming weeks. Now one of Jeremy Hosking’s fleet of locomotives, the 4-6-0 has been parked at West Coast Railways’ Carnforth base for months, but as Locomotive Services’Peter Greenwood said:“It’s been a long time coming but the light at the end of the tunnel is now shining brightly.” When returned to traffic the 4-6-0 will provide a useful‘go anywhere’ standby engine but is capable of handling a series of railtours in its own right, just as it did after Bert restored the 4-6-0 to main line standards at the turn of the century. As previously reported, Jeremy’s West Country light Pacific Braunton is back at…

VINTAGETrains’£1 million appeal to restore GWR Castle No. 5080 Defiant to the main line attracted £50,000 in donations within its first week. Chairman MichaelWhitehouse said: “Only £950,000 to go! “If we hit something like £200,000 by Christmas we shall bring Defiant back from Quainton Road and invite contributors to come and see the 4-6-0 atTyseley and chat about the engineering procedures required to bring the engine back in steam and ultimately, the main line.” As reported in our last issue, contributors who are prepared to pay £1 per day for three years – or £1000 up front – will be enrolled in the newly-formed Defiant Club and become trustee shareholders in what essentially will become a‘people’s engine’. Benefits include a share certificate, participation in the 4-6-0’s restoration – subject toTyseley’s…

AFTER two years of debating the future of the rail link from Exeter to Plymouth following the storms of February 2014 which washed part of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Dawlish sea wall route away, the Government seems to prefer measures to shore it up rather than reopen a new line through Okehampton. It has been long mooted that the revival of the former Southern main line between the two cities, of which the Dartmoor Railway constitutes a sizeable part, should be rebuilt at least as a diversionary route in times of bad weather and storm surges. However,Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has indicated that safeguarding the coastal line is a priority over reopening the alternative route through Okehampton, as proposed by MPs in North Devon and North Cornwall. During a recent visit…

THE fluctuating fortunes of Direct Rail Services’Class 37 locomotives has been noted with the recent move of Class 37/5 No. 37682 from Loram’s Derby base to Booth’s Rotherham scrapyard while reinstating Class 37/4 No. 37424 after major restoration. No. 37682 was fully restored by the Harry Needle Railroad Company at Barrow Hill and released to traffic in October 2008 but placed in store from October 2014 to become a source of spares. The review of the Class 37/4 and 37/6 fleet also continues as many class members are now approaching 14,000 hours service in traffic and decisions need to be taken regarding sanctioning repairs or withdrawal for scrap. It appears that Class 37/4 No. 37413 will be withdrawn and the fate of No. 37409 has yet to be decided, whilst…

➜ The LMS after Stanier REGARDING the feature in issue 220, some readers may have wondered how, and why, Charles Fairburn was regarded as the senior of the three contenders (the other two being Ivatt and Riddles) for CME when William Stanier retired. Clearly, in terms of age, the senior man was Ivatt while, in terms of seniority of service with the LMS and its constituents, both Ivatt and Riddles had far more then Fairburn’s 10 years. As a highly regarded electrical engineer Fairburn was appointed to a senior post on the LMS, in the same way as Stanier had been, partly through the backing of board member Sir Harold Hartley, vice president for engineering. With the approval of Hartley, Stanier soon made him his deputy. Therefore, when the chief…

BR Standard 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76084 is to make its full main line passenger tour debut in February with three trips for the Railway Touring Company. No. 76084 has already hauled dining trains on Network Rail’s Bittern Line in top-and-tail mode between its North Norfolk Railway base at Sheringham and Cromer, and has since passed its full tests for running over the entire national network. Operated by West Coast Railways, its first trip will be from Manchester to Buxton on February 4. The outward journey will be via Blackburn and Copy Pit Junction and the return via Chinley. On February 18, No. 76084 will haul an excursion from York to Whitby. February 21 will see a trip from Preston to Buxton and back. The final confirmation of the schedules was…

THE collection of vintage carriages associated with the LNER Coach Association has recently grown in both numbers and depth, following the decision of the North Eastern Coach group to become an associate member, bringing with it the group’s unique open third No. 945 which was built atYork in 1923. This vehicle had some of its design features‘Gresleyised’in the course of construction – thus it received Pullman gangways and Gresley bogies. It has been under restoration at Levisham on the NorthYorkshire Moors Railway for many years and the interior is mostly complete along with much of the exterior. However, it will require replacement bogies (because its wheel tyres are thin) as well as new gangway bellows plus recanvasing of the roof. It is expected that this work will be carried out…

PLANS to move a bus stop away from the scene of a fatal accident would obstruct any extension of the North Norfolk Railway into Holt town centre, it was claimed. Concerns were raised over an unlit section of the A148 at High Kelling after Michael Rawson, 74, from Holt, died days after he was involved in a collision with a car, shortly after getting off a bus at the shelter opposite the village post office, on New Year’s Eve. Norfolk County Council now wants to spend £10,000 on removing the bus shelter and creating a new stop and pedestrian crossing point near the line’s current Holt terminus. But Holt deputy mayor Michael Hill told an October meeting of the town council that the new site is on land earmarked by…

CLASS 421 3CIG unit No. 1498, one of a pair converted for dedicated use on the Brockenhurst-Lymington Pier branch, has been sold by the Epping Ongar Railway to the Glenlo Abbey Hotel in Galway, County Sligo for use as camping accommodation. The trainset was created by South West Trains in May 2005 when it elected to brand and operate the Brockenhurst–Lymington Pier shuttle service as a ‘heritage service’ using withdrawn slam-door stock. Two trainsets were reduced to three coaches and liveried in BR blue/grey livery (No. 1497) and Southern Region green livery (No. 1498). The operation lasted until May 2010 when the units were replaced by modern Class 158 and Class 450 Desiros and the three-car units were sold into preservation. After withdrawal, No. 1498 was transferred to the Epping…

MORE than two-thirds of children had never head of Rocket inventor George Stephenson, according to a new survey. And three-quarters of youngsters did not know who GWR engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel was. Also 73% of children and almost half of adults questioned in the survey, for the launch of a new travel book Geek’s Guide to Britain, had never heard of James Watt, who invented the steam engine, despite his portrait being on the £50 note. Researchers found that many of Britain’s greatest inventors, inventions and places of technological wonder are being consigned to a forgotten history. The study was carried out among 500 parents and 500 children by the book’s publisher Situation Publishing. In the case of George Stephenson, only 55% of adults and 28% of children knew who…

A DILAPIDATED Grade II listed Denbighshire goods shed is set to be restored as a major visitor attraction after the Big Lottery Fund Wales awarded more than £1 million in grant aid. The shed at Meliden is to be transformed into a cafe, heritage centre, cycling facility, allotments and space for artists. The scheme was given the go-ahead by council planners in April, and Grwp Cynefin and Meliden Residents Action Group have now secured the £1,093,556 grant to make the idea a reality. Other plans for the shed include ‘time tunnels’reflecting the village’s rich mining, quarrying and railway history. Building work could start as early as summer 2017. Meliden station was located on the 2½- mile long Prestatyn to Dyserth branch line close to the centre of the village from…

A NEW deal between between West Somerset Railway plc and landlord Somerset County Council (SCC) could see the heritage line buying its freehold. Two years ago, a bitter and acrimonious feud broke out between the plc and the supposedly supporting West Somerset Railway Association after both submitted rival bids to buy the freehold. The council chief overseeing the sale, Coun David Huxtable, was accused of‘cosying up’to the association, but the local authority made a U-turn and withdrew the offer to sell. The association’s board at the time has since been voted out by members and new sweeping changes have been made. In late October, the plc and the county council announced an agreement to secure the railway’s freehold, were it ever to be offered for sale in the future. The…

➜ THE planned public referendum on the future of the site which includes Brunel’s South Devon atmospheric railway pumping station at Totnes is to go ahead on November 23, South Hams District Council has confirmed. Local group Atmos Totnes aim to restore the pump house and use the rest of the former dairy site for a mixture of affordable housing and business units. For more information visit: http://atmostotnes.org/ referendum ➜ A CEREMONIAL oak silver-mounted wheelbarrow and spade from the Llanfyllin Railway has sold at auction for £4100. The pair was presented to Dugdale of Llwyn, Llanfyllin, by contractor Thomas Savin to mark the cutting of the first sod of Llanfyllin Railway on Friday, September 20, 1861.The item went under the hammer in auctioneers Halls’ country house auction in Shrewsbury on September.…

A GRADE II listed bridge that once carried the 1825 Stockton & Darlington Railway is on track to be restored in time for the 200th anniversary of the first journey. Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register said that good progress has been made on Brusselton Incline thanks to local volunteers from the Brusselton Incline Group over several years. Elsewhere, a Grade II listed 1840s S&DR engine shed in Darlington is being converted into new mews-type houses as part of an £8 million development. The shed, believed to have been designed by GeorgeTownsend Andrews, the architect ofYork station, on a site just off Haughton Road will be converted by the Railway Housing Association.…

➜ THE local fire brigade took part in a special exercise simulating a head-on crash between two trains on the Colne Valley Railway on October 27. Staff from Halstead, Sible Hedingham, Thaxted and Wethersfield fire stations undertook Exercise Midnight Express, a simulation which involved rescuing 11 passengers, all with injuries, from carriages that were on fire and heavily smoke-logged. ➜ THE Great Central Railway’s November 19-20 Last Hurrah of the Season gala will feature six locomotives in steam, with double-headers and in addition to main passenger services, there will be a local passenger train and two goods trains on both days. ➜ THE toilets at the Talyllyn Railway’s Abergynolwyn and Tywyn Wharf stations have received awards in the annual Loo of the Year contest, the former a platinum award. General…

INTERNET streaming company Netflix has been back to the Great Central Railway to film a second series of its hit period drama The Crown about the Queen. As reported in Heritage Railway issue 213, scenes for the first series were filmed on the line in February. The first series, which begins before Elizabeth’s accession in 1952 and runs until 1955, was first streamed on November 4 and immediately received rave reviews from fans and critics alike. The series stars Claire Foy as the young Queen and former Dr Who Matt Smith as the Duke of Edinburgh. On November 7 filming restarted at locations all along the heritage line, with a sequence at Quorn &Woodhouse station. The series may have provided the GCR with its biggest-ever stage as California-based Netflix has…

KIDDERMINSTER solicitor Peter Copsey has joined the Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust board of trustees. A partner in the company commercial division at MFG Solicitors, Peter first travelled over the line with his father in the early Seventies. He said:“We should not underestimate the importance of the SVR to our local economy, bringing in 250,000 visitors to the area every year. Whilst I don’t claim any level of practical engineering knowledge, I am a heritage railway enthusiast and want to do everything I can to ensure this wonderful piece of our history continues for future generations to experience.”…

SEVEN years into its main line ticket, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway has withdrawn LMS‘Black Five’4-6-0 No. 45428 for overhaul. A recent change in boiler certification rules means that main line-registered engines can no longer eke their certificate to 10 years by heritage railway-only running. An end-of-season surfeit of engines on the NYMR has enabled No. 45428 to be withdrawn promptly at the end of the running season and a rapid start has been made on the overhaul. The boiler had been lifted from the frames within a week of withdrawal using the NYMR’s 45T steam crane and the locomotive’s frames are also at an advanced stage of stripping. It has been suggested in the past that No. 45428 might be in need of at least one main frame plate…

THE North Norfolk Railway has appointed the operations and safety director at Chiltern Railways as its new general manager. Andrew Munden, a career railwayman with interests in heritage railways, has been involved in all aspects of the industry, including signalling and train operations, fleet, infrastructure and performance management. He will take over from February 1. His current position at Chiltern Railways includes having a seat on its board of directors, and he has been instrumental in delivering new trains and services to Chiltern, including the new line to Oxford Parkway. Before moving to Chiltern at Marylebone, Andrew was the route director for Network Rail, Anglia Region. At Sheringham, he replaces Trevor Eady, who is to retire at the age of 65 from the end of January. High profile NNR managing…

WRITING a preview of a leading railwayana auction is usually reasonably simple – start at the top with the nameplate expected to be the star of the show, and work down from there through a list of other plates. Great Central’s December 3 sale, however, is not so straightforward. On the pinnacle stand three plates which all demand their name at the top of the cast list, and when they are done there’s another baker’s dozen in the category vying for attention to varying degrees. So, to play it safe, I’ll list the three headliners in numerical order, starting with Sir Keith Park, with RAF badge, from Southern Railway Battle of Britain No. 34053. This is followed by another SR Pacific, Royal Mail from Merchant Navy No. 35003, and Duchess…

THE senior regiment of the British Army won the battle of the nameplates at David Lewis’s Crewe auction on October 15, when The Life Guardsman from LMS Royal Scot No. 46150 sold for £11,100. Behind came another military nameplate, The Territorial Army 1908-1958, an aluminium plate from Britannia Pacific No. 70048 that went for £9800. A third plate, Cherwell Hall and its cabside numberplate (GWR No. 4989), failed to sell. Unusually for a railwayana auction, the sale included a working narrow gauge locomotive, a 2ft gauge Ruston & Hornsby 4wDM built in 1952 for a tunnelling contractor that was saved for preservation and had homes at the Great Bush Railway in Sussex, where it arrived in 1977, and subsequently a slate museum in Glyn Ceiriog near Llangollen, before being sold…

THE Railway Touring Company has announced its summer season of tours featuring A3 4-6-2 No. 60103 Flying Scotsman in 2017. The A3’s first main line run after overhaul was over the Settle & Carlisle line on February 6 this year, soon after which part of the route subsided at Eden Brows and the line has been closed north of Armathwaite since then for extensive repairs to be carried out. It is expected that these repairs will be completed in March and steam railtours will once again be able to use the line. In our last issue, we reported that Steam Dreams had booked the world’s most famous steam locomotive for the whole of May 2017 and the first week of June. The A3 will, as happened earlier this year, run…

LITTLE has been heard of the National Railway Museum’s BR 7P 4-6-2 No. 70013 OliverCromwell, a popular engine with railtour promoters, since it went out of main line traffic more than a year ago. A NRM spokesman revealed that Cromwell, currently based at the Great Central Railway, had suffered a broken crank pin and had problems with its wheelset. It has recently been found to need new superheater elements. On loan to the 5305 Locomotive Association it is possible that the Pacific may be in steam before the end of the year but come January or February the engine will be stopped for winter maintenance. The museum said that Cromwellwill be back on the main line around March.…

MERCHANT Navy Pacific No. 35028 Clan Line has received additional funding to ensure that the Southern flagship will be back on the main line in the near future. As previously reported, the 4-6-2’s owning society launched an appeal for £80,000 to enable extra work to be carried out on the boiler and the provision of a new tubeplate. “We have received generous donations from members and Bulleid enthusiasts to help finish the job,”said spokesman Alan French. When withdrawn for overhaul in June 2015, the society was confident that sufficient funds were in place to cover the cost but, as happened in other similar cases, the extent of work required was not finally revealed until the boiler was lifted and the overhaul began in earnest. The original plan was to return…

THE Class 50 Alliance has bought No. 50007 Hercules from Neil Boden for main line contract work. The‘Hoover’, currently based at Washwood Heath, Birmingham, will soon join the C50A’s fleet and was selected due to its overall condition and suitability for future main line work.The group’s Nos. 50044 and 50049 are already main line certified. Hercules is expected toplay a key part in a programme of events currently under consideration to mark the 50th anniversary of the Class 50s, beginning next October. C50A chairman Jonathan Dunster said: “We are delighted to add 50007 to our fleet and look forward tobeginning our next chapter of mainline operation in the coming months. “The purchase has only been possible thanks to the tremendous generosity of Phil Swallow and a small number of our…

A BIDDING war broke out when Dawlish Warren’s camping coach holiday park was sold by auction on November 3. The landmark site in Beach Road, which was set up by the GWR in 1935, and now known as the Brunel Camping Coach Park, was closed at this end of this year’s summer season. The 0.83-acre site, which lies close to a Blue Flag beach, currently has eight coaches converted into chalet-style holiday accommodation, all named after UK cities. At the sale in St Mellion in Cornwall conducted by regional land and property auctioneers, Clive Emson, it was listed with a freehold guide price of £125,000 to £175,000. However, rival bidding pushed the final sale price up to £261,000. Auctioneer Scott Gray said:“There was tremendous interest in this iconic former holiday…

WEST Coast Railways has embarked on a winter expansion of its trademark ‘Jacobite’services over the West highland Extension by arranging an extra series of trains over the Christmas period. Twice-daily steam-hauled shuttles will run from Fort William to Glenfinnan and return from December 20-22, and there will be full-length‘Jacobite’services to Mallaig from December 27-29, using ‘Black Fives’, Nos. 44871 and 45407. For the full story about these and all other Christmas specials over the national network: see Main Line News, page 60-61. We want your news and views Write to us at Heritage Railway, Mortons Media Ltd, PO Box 43, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ or email editor@heritagerailway.co.uk.…

THE Railway Preservation Society of Ireland has appointed Ruth Harper to the newly-created post of general manager. Ruth, from Carrickfergus, and who was previously visitor service manager with Ulster Rugby at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast, took up her new position on November 14. At Whitehead, the RPSI is in process of developing a new £3.1 million railway museum, which the society aims to open to the public around Easter next year. Among the attractions will be the opportunity to see restoration work in progress on the RPSI’s unique collection of steam locomotives and carriages. When the museum opens it will offer audio tours and multi-media displays, plus a chance to examine steam engines close up and to walk through historic carriages. The society’s aim is to attract more than…

IN A statement issued by Steam Dreams, the term‘Steam Strikes Back’is being used to reassure passengers that its Christmas programme will run as planned... despite the strikes currently affecting Southern Rail services. “We have received a number of enquiries following the announcement by the RMT union that there will be six days of strike action this winter including the Christmas period,”said the statement. “We are delighted therefore to say that passengers will not be missing out when it comes to steam hauled‘Cathedral Express’trains in the build up to Christmas”. The trains involved are‘Cathedral Express’trips from London Victoria to Salisbury, November 29, King’s Cross to Lincoln, December 1, Southend to Winchester, December 3, Horsham to Cambridge and Ely, December 6, Victoria to Bath on December 10, Ashford to Winchester, December 14…

➜ THE Class 20 Locomotive Society has advertised Class 20 D8057/20057, currently resident at the Midland Railway-Butterley, for sale noting that the locomotive is partly restored to working order. Prospective purchasers are asked to contact the seller by email only at sales@class20locosociety.co.uk but are advised that the successful buyer must remove the locomotive from the site within 30 days of purchase. ➜ RETIRED train driver and engineer, Bill Scatterty, has unveiled proposals to reinstate part of the closed branch from Banff to Portsoy as a new standard gauge heritage line for Scotland. His new group, the North-East of Scotland Railway, is now looking for volunteers, and he is due to meet rail officials and politicians to discuss the plans. ➜ THE South Devon Railway collected more accolades in October – the…

THE Rail Operation Group has followed up its successful operation of the ‘Class 37/8 Thrash Bash’ railtour from Derby to South Wales via Worcester behind Class 37/7s Nos. 37800 + 37884 with plans for a railtour to East Anglia on December 30. Taking advantage of its contract to haul Class 442 EMUs to Ely for storage, ROG proposes to use Class 31/1 No. 31233 + Class 31/4 No. 31452 hauling a Class 442 EMU from King’s Cross to the Mid-Norfolk Railway. Once details are finalised bookings can be made through the Vintage Trains website where further details will be posted once available.…

THE modern-day Penrhyn Railway is to welcome back one of its own. On Wednesday, November 9, 1897-built Manning Wardle 0-4-0ST Jubilee was removed from the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Tywyn for transport to the 2ft gauge railway at Bethesda where it is planned to return it to steam. The locomotive, originally built to 1ft 10¾in gauge and named after the year in which it was built for the Cilgwyn Quarry in the Nantlle Valley, when Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, was sold to the Penrhyn Quarry in 1928, where it worked until it was withdrawn in 1955. It was donated to the museum in 1963. It has never been steamed in preservation and was moved out of the museum only when the building was replaced.…

AFTER several years of planning, Didcot’s blue-liveried GWR 4-6-0 No. 6023 King Edward I is in the final stages of preparation for its main line debut. The GreatWestern Society is hoping to send No. 6023 to the West Somerset Railway in the spring to allow the new four-jet blastpipe to be fully proven ready for main line service. Other outstanding jobs include work to site the GSM-R portable radio, some wiring, spark guards and the fitting of the firebox water sprinkler. October 15 saw the King used for a railway experience day on Didcot’s demonstration line.…

A BID to turn vacant land into a heritage railway engineering site has been submitted to the local council. Charnwood Forest Borough Council has received a planning application from Locomotive Maintenance Services Ltd, which is for the transformation of land in Bakewell Road that was previously occupied by a building and roofing merchant. The application involved a change of use for a heritage railway engineering site, with machinery such as lathes and milling machines. Locomotive Maintenance Services was set up in Durham nine years ago by DavidTWright as a steam-fitting operation in the heritage sector, initially as a labour-only contract service. The company has handled boilerwork, machining of components, whitemetalling of motion and components, axleboxes, and the manufacture of new bunkers, tanks, ashpans and cabs.…

THE Leighton Buzzard Railway has opened its new station at Page’s Park. More than £250,000 of the £357,491.11 total cost has been raised from within the railway’s own 430 members and supporters. The balance has come from housing developer contributions to improve local infrastructure, in this case the inclusion of a function room to provide a venue for community groups to use. The building was opened on October 29 by society vice president Alan Moore CBE, a retired London banker and longtime benefactor of the Bodmin & Wenford Railway, and witnessed by guests including local MP Andrew Selous, local councillors, society members and officers of the Heritage Railway Association. Railway chairman Terry Bendall said: “We are all delighted to have our new station at last. As an industrial line serving…

A COUNCILLOR has launched an appeal for residents to help a locomotive to be displayed at the formerVulcanWorks in Newton-le-Willows. The site is now a housing development and sports club, and efforts are being made to commemorate its rich heritage. The last standard gauge locomotives were built by GEC Traction at the works in 1976 as part of an order to supply to British Steel. One of the six-wheel diesel-electric shunters was named after the type’s designer the lateWalter Urwin, a Newton-le-Willows man. Newton councillor Seve Gomez-Aspron sourced the Walter Urwin locomotive, works number 5414, British Steel 251, following Redcar Steel Mill going into administration, and has been gifted it on behalf of the current owners. No. 251 is currently located in Hartlepool and a campaign has been launched to…

A £200,000 appeal has been launched to buy a second Mid-Suffolk Light Railway station for preservation. The Central Suffolk Railway Society was formed just over a year ago with the intention of seeking council assistance in preserving the original site of Mendlesham station on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway which, although it had been used by a haulage company for some years, still had the route clear for the permanent way to be saved. Representation was made with a view to preserving the course of the railway along the northern edge of a proposed small housing development. However, society officials were advised that their plan to rebuild the section of line from Mendlesham back to its original terminus at Haughley was not feasible and so no assistance was forthcoming from Suffolk…

A GAUGING issue is preventing heritage locomotives and stock reaching the Bluebell Railway over the main line. Network Rail said that there is aproblem at Dormans station two miles from East Grinstead, where the heritage line joins the national network. A Network Rail spokesman said:“There is a restriction placed on heritage stock due to an insufficient gauging clearance between the track and the platform. “Restrictions through Dormans is not a new issue. Class 66 diesels have been banned for many years.” Network Rail is looking at platform alterations to ease the current gauging restrictions and is working up a scheme to better understand the costs involved. Subject tofunding, it will be working to deliver these improvements by the end of the financial year. Depending on how quickly Network Rail reacts…

DOUGLAS Borough Council has decided to sell the stables used by the port’s world-famous horse tramway. The decision has angered transport enthusiasts on the island, and comes at a time when the council relinquished control of the 3ft gauge promenade line after earlier saying it would be closed due to continued losses. The council instructed local commercial property agent Chapman & Co to sell the Summer Hill stables site, which, described as a“prime development opportunity”includes the three cottages that front the original 1877 stables building developed by tramway founder and proprietor Thomas Lightfoot. After the council’s decision to cease operations in January, the tramway has been operated by the Manx government via Isle of Man Railways. However, the government-approved proposals for the future operation of the tramway do not include…

HERTFORDSHIRE Rail Tours’ Forgotten Tracks‘Andover Fist’Class 66-hauled trip from Waterloo to Southampton Docks, Fawley and Ludgershall came to an abrupt halt when the train’s generator coach became derailed. The incident happened on the single line stretch between Northam Junction and Canute Road crossing on Saturday, November 5. At 10.12am all the wheels of generator coach M35469 and the leading axle of coach M3098 were derailed. All passengers were transferred from the derailed vehicles and were taken back to Eastleigh at 2.10pm. There were no injuries.…

MORE than 1200 people registered their interest after the Severn Valley Railway launched its £2.5 million share issue to fund major development plans for the line’s Bridgnorth terminus. The phenomenal demand came on November 1, when 2.5 million shares, valued at a price of £1 each, went on sale for a period of 12 months. The entire proceeds are destined to provide much-improved visitor facilities while conserving and enhancing the architectural integrity of the distinctive neo-Jacobean style station built in 1862. The Bridgnorth Development Programme sets out three key work phases, the first two of which will be funded through share offer proceeds, starting with the construction of a new refreshment room and toilet building. Designed in the style of a typical GWR ancillary building dating from circa 1900, the…

➜ MARTIN Walker’s Class 55 Deltic No. 55022 Royal Scots Grey has been renamed once more and has traded its No. 55007 Pinza guise for that of No. 55018 Ballymoss. It bore its new identity on October 18 while en route from the Nene Valley Railway to its new base on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. ➜ CROWBOROUGH & District Lions Club has donated £5000 to Crowborough Miniature Railway’s extension programme in recognition of the importance of the venue’s contribution to the social and economic life of the town. Once completed, the railway will be more than doubled in length. ➜ CLASS 37/0 No. 37263, currently resident at Tyseley Locomtive Works, has been sold and is mooted for transfer to the Telford Steam Railway at some future date.…

A RAFFLE is being held to decide who will be the first person to drive new-built Lynton & Barnstaple ‘Yankee’ replica Lyn. With assembly work well advanced, the 762 Club, which is building a replica of the original 1898-built Baldwin 2-4-2T No. 762, is now placing the last orders for the remaining cosmetic components needed to finish the locomotive by the end of 2016. The Grand Steaming Prize Draw is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be at the regulator of Lyn on its first public steaming, scheduled to be at 11am on Saturday, May 13. Each ticket costs £5 and only 2000 have been printed. Already several hundred have been snapped up. To buy your tickets, e-mail or write to Jon Pain, 26 Oaklands, Bideford, North Devon EX39 3HW. Cheques should…

STEAM and electric locomotives flexed their muscles in the Justaclickago October 3-7 internet auction, when a collection of 270 negatives of both forms of traction sold for £1325. The photographs were taken in Italy in 1967 and came with detailed captions. Another collection of negatives, also in 35mm format and featuring 1960s BR steam and regional buses and trams, realised £720, followed by a similar collection at £680. Close behind came three further collections comprising 475 negatives of mainly Eastern Region steam (£660), 500 negatives of BR steam and diesel (£650), and 745 negatives of BR modern traction taken in the 1970s (£640). Prices exclude buyer’s premium of 15%.…

THE recent introduction of the Class 374 set by Eurostar has seen the start of the withdrawal of the original Class 373 sets as they approach 23 years of age. It is also 10 years since the withdrawal of the Class 373/3 units from East Coast Main Line service. The first of the older sets, Nos. 373005/06, was moved from St Pancras to EMR’s scrapyard at Kingsbury in the early hours of October 27 and this will be the pattern of withdrawal in the coming months. Although Eurostar plans to retain eight sets, the withdrawals will include those currently in store in France and which will be returned to the UK for onward transit to Kingsbury. One vehicle has entered preservation. A power car was donated to the National Collection…

OCTOBER saw the start of the seasonal Rail Head Treatment Trains which see the use of much heritage traction but, as noted in last issue’s report, this year there has been a slight decrease in numbers, resulting from a downturn in freight traffic that has made Class 66 traction available for many turns. Heritage traction is still in use, however, as Colas Rail is operating Class 56 locomotives, supported by Network Rail Class 97/3s (aka Class 37s) for the Cambrian Line services. DRS is also operating heritage traction with five Class 20s being based at York to cover its diagrams, although a surprise addition was operated on October 29 when DRS supplied Class 37 No. 37716 and Class 68 No. 68003 instead of a pair of Class 20s to meet…

The 9F 2-10-0s have been hailed as the most successful of the 12 Standard classes of steam locomotive introduced to traffic on British Railways between 1951 and 1960. They were the last class to be built and some authors have gone so far as to describe them as one of the most outstanding British steam locomotives. However, for some of the earlier class members their entry into service in 1954/55 was far from successful. It all kicked off in mid-January 1954 when the first of the class, No. 92000, was shown off to the technical press at its birthplace, Crewe Works. Almost immediately afterwards came the surprise announcement that all eight of this new untried and untested class were to be sent to the Western Region for use on the…