Heritage Railway Issue 236

NEXT August, we will mark a half century since the end of British Railways standard gauge steam haulage. It would be easy to assume that the unswerving public passion for steam locomotives, particularly among the schoolboy trainspotters of the Fifties and Sixties, would have been quickly extinguished, as new hobbies were by necessity sought. Not so. The public clamour for steam is now arguably greater than at any time in the past 50 years. Look at the huge crowds that Flying Scotsman and Tornado attract wherever they go, in this age of celebrity culture. Furthermore, despite the years of austerity and fears over the impending post-Brexit economy, there seems to be more people ready than ever before to finance worthwhile heritage sector projects. In this issue we report on, for…

SWANAGE Railway Trust officials have been “staggered” by the overwhelming public response to their £50,000 appeal for money to return LSWR T3 4-4-0 No. 563 to steam – after nearly £43,000 was raised within just six weeks. As of December 3, the appeal fund stood at £42,397.22 – with more money coming in by the day. The appeal is the start of public fundraising should a restoration to full working order be possible for No. 563. Long-term plans are to match the T3 with three historically-appropriate coaches currently on the Purbeck line, to create a heritage train. On November 13, in a move sponsored by an unnamed benefactor, No. 563 was taken by low-loader from the railway to Bill Parker’s Flour Mill workshops at Bream in the Forest of Dean…

THE Heritage Railway Association wants to appoint a full-time senior executive to help the company handle its increasingly busy role. The organisation is not only the voice of Britain’s heritage rail industry, but provides support across every possible aspect of heritage rail ownership, management and operation. In addition, it stages events for training, development, knowledge-sharing and entertainment. HRA chairman Brian Simpson said: “Until now, all our work has been shared across a core group of volunteers, from answering the telephone and handling emails, to keeping tabs on subscriptions and accounts. But the workload continues to increase, and we now need a capably-staffed full-time office in order to continue to serve our members well.” The HRA is inviting applicants from across business and industry, as well as from the heritage rail…

A BRITISH Rail civil engineering manager who made a snap decision to stop lifting tracks on the closed Severn Valley route, has died at the age of 83. Phil Coutanche was a career railwayman who rose to be a senior member of the civil engineering dept of BR based at Paddington, Wolverhampton and latterly Birmingham. Before retiring, he oversaw the replacement of the bridges south of New Street station at Proofhouse Junction and the reinstatement of Birmingham Snow Hill station. However, he made a major contribution to the heritage sector when, in 1965, the first volunteers of the fledging Severn Valley Railway visited Bridgnorth station. They were horrified to see contractors on site, about to rip up the track. The revivalists made a frantic telephone call to BR, and Phil…

THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway permanent way team has completed its latest project – the replacement of around half a mile of track at Farwath, in the depths of Newtondale – in just four weeks, including ballasting and tamping the new track using the line’s in-house tamper. New rail and steel sleepers have been used, with the rail continuously welded in a move that should be far kinder on locomotive and carriage springs than jointed rails, as well as reducing maintenance requirements, with no fishplates to grease or chocks to knock in. Despite the railway being situated next to New Bridge quarry, the ballast used, ironically, had to be brought from Redmire in the Yorkshire Dales, as the quarry’s stone is not suitable for use as ballast.…

THE Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway has appointed a new general manager to succeed Trevor Stockton who stepped down from his position in early December. Lifelong enthusiast and businessman Peter Brendling has been working alongside Trevor, to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities. Peter will be relocating his young family from Kendal and temporarily living in the line’s Dalegarth Cottages. He said: “I have been a rail enthusiast since childhood and have many happy memories of holidays spent visiting various narrow gauge railways, so I am naturally excited to be given the opportunity to combine my love of the Lake District with my passion for steam.” The railway will still be utilising Trevor’s 44 years of experience, on a part-time basis, on the operational side of the business.…