Heritage Railway

FOLLOWING the resounding success of the Railway 200 celebrations in 2025, for which Alstom's The Greatest Gathering at Litchurch Lane has just won bronze for Festival or Event of the Year in the Peak District, Derbyshire & Derby Tourism Awards at a ceremony in Pride Park Stadium in Derby on March 18 - the latest accolade for an unprecedented action-packed year, we are now commemorating the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the world's volunteer-led heritage railway revival movement. The Talyllyn Railway, where it all began in 1951, has arranged an unmissable series of celebrations in mid-May, as highlighted in Headline News, pages 6/7. The bedrock lesson from the Talyllyn pioneer revivalists - that is, railway preservation is the art of the possible - paved the way for the rich…

SERVICES from throughout its 75 years of volunteer-led operations will be recreated during its May 15-17 gala when the Talyllyn Railway celebrates its diamond jubilee - with a focus on trains that inspired the silver screen and written stories. On May 14, 75 years to the day of the pioneering first train on the world's first railway to be run entirely by volunteers, the TR will welcome representatives from around the heritage sector to Tywyn Wharf for a day celebrating not only the Welsh 2ft 3in gauge line's own achievements, but that of the heritage railway movement as a whole. Following a welcome ceremony, speeches and photographs, special trains will convey the guests to Abergynolwyn and Nant Gwernol for further presentations. On May 15, the railway will turn back the…

GLASGOW'S C-listed semi-derelict Possil station, built by the Caledonian Railway in 1897, can now be bought for just £1 as it has been officially declared ownerless. This move is thanks to it passing into Crown ownership under the King's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer scheme, meaning it could be purchased by a community group and restored for local use. Local heritage conservationist Andy Moore, who launched a petition to save the station in August 2025, said: “More than 1000 people, both local and from further afield, signed the petition, and I thank them for their support. That has had the effect of raising the profile of the station, which is a very poor condition and is on the buildings at risk register. “As an important piece of local railway heritage, I…

THE Deltic Preservation Society has confirmed that despite its best efforts, Class 55 D9015 Tulyar will not be ready to debut at the Great Central Railway's April 24-26 spring diesel gala, as was initially hoped. “While we are approaching the final stages of Tulyar's 30-year restoration, we have unfortunately run out of time to complete the remaining minor tasks and finish the C exam, move the locomotive and undertake testing with coaching stock in time to run a members-only event before the gala,” a statement said. Testing is now due to commence in early May, with a potential entry into service sometime thereafter. Following a summer members’ day, Tulyar will appear at the GCR's autumn diesel gala on September 3-6.…

THE West Somerset Railway began its 50th year as a heritage line with a very successful Golden Jubilee Weekend on March 28/29, recreating services that have run between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard over the past half-century. The highlight was the departure of visiting Bagnall 0-6-0ST No. 2996 of 1951 Victor from Minehead at 10am on the Saturday. Victor, which hauled the embryonic heritage line's debut train from Minehead to Blue Anchor on March 28, 1976, returned from its current base on the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Ralway for the occasion. Following a commemorative speech by Chris Austin, who was formerly a volunteer guard and chairman of WSR Plc and is now president of the WHR Heritage Trust, Victor's anniversary special undertook a round trip to Blue Anchor to recreate history. It…

EVENTS to commemorate the life of Charles Beyer, one of the founders of Beyer, Peacock & Co, who died 160 years ago this June, are being planned. The German engineer, born in Plauen, Saxony, on May 14,1813, visited Manchester in 1830 on a state-funded visit to report on weaving machine technology. The Liverpool & Manchester Railway had recently opened as the world's first steam-hauled, purpose-built line, and when Beyer returned to the city in 1834, he found employment with Sharp, Roberts & Co at the firm's Atlas Works where, among other engineering projects, locomotive construction also took place. Beyer served as a draughtsman for head engineer Richard Roberts who, despite being a self-taught inventor, struggled to convey his ideas on paper. Beyer's natural aptitude for drawing and design made for…