Heritage Railway Issue 260

CHAMPAGNE corks are popping not just in the Staffordshire Moorlands but across the entire heritage railway sector, after the Churnet Valley not only laid the first section of its long-awaited extension into Leek within 48 hours, but then ran a steam-hauled passenger train over it. We are celebrating the fact that not only is another of our heritage lines joining the growing set of those with a town centre presence – and therefore a ‘somewhere to somewhere’purpose – but also the excellent support that is being given by the local district council, and which can never be praised highly enough. The opening of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s extension into Broadway reinforced the message loud and clear that such schemes generate benefits that are a big win-win for all – not…

AFTER years of planning and negotiations, the first 659ft of the Churnet Valley Railway’s (CVR) eagerly-awaited £1 million extension into Leek has carried its first passengers. On Friday, October 11, USATC S160 2-8-0 No. 5197 hauled a special train carrying invited guests from Cheddleton station to Leek Brook and on to the £40,000 first section of the Leek extension – which had been laid in the 48 hours before. The track was laid by 30-strong team from the Permanent Way Institution, as part of its two-day Practical Trackwork Challenge 2019, supported by CVR volunteers. This first section was funded by £21,000 from the railway and another £19,000 granted by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (SMDC). The last panels were laid only the day before. Welcoming guests to the big occasion, CVR…

RIBBLE Steam Railway-based Borrows 0-4-0WT No. 48 of 1906 The King is to be overhaul at the Flour Mill workshops at Bream in the Forest of Dean. The locomotive spent most of its working life at United Glass in London, before being transferred to St Helens. It last steamed in the late Nineties at the Fleetwood Locomotive Centre, and needs boiler work. One of its two owners has bought the other out and now wants to see The King back in steam as soon as possible.…

THE Government has backed plans for a massive transformation of the National Railway Museum with an £18.5 million boost. The grant, announced by Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan on October 11, means that the York museum now has over half of the £55 million funds needed for its Vision 2025 campaign to turn the museum into a world-class attraction with new gallery and exhibition spaces, improved accessibility and the restoration of heritage buildings. Museum director Judith McNicol said: “This is wonderful news for the museum and for York. It is the springboard for unlocking our role as the cultural heartbeat of York Central – one of Europe’s most ambitious regeneration projects. New gallery “As well as reception spaces, our Central Hall will include a spectacular new exhibition gallery which will house…

HELEN Smith – the deputy director of the Tank Museum at Bovington – has been named as the new general manager of the Severn Valley Railway (SVR). Helen was appointed on the unanimous decision by both the line’s Holdings and Guarantee companies. Previously, she was general manager at the Fusilier Museum in Bury and operations director at the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham. At Bovington, Helen reports to the board on all aspects of managing the museum, leading on strategic development of the business, including operations, collections, exhibitions, learning programme, curatorial, marketing, admissions, retail, catering and events. SVR (Holdings) chairman Nick Ralls said: “The Tank Museum is a £30 million Heritage Lottery Fund project with over 300 vehicles. There are more than 600 volunteers working at the Tank Museum…

IT has taken three years of meticulous planning, but a ground-breaking new exhibition unlocking the secrets of London Underground’s disused stations has opened. The two-floor Hidden London: The Exhibition, inside London Transport Museum, Covent Garden, features the biggest number of rare archive photos, objects, vintage posters – mostly in mint condition despite their age, secret diagrams and decorative tiles from the capital’s disused stations that have been brought together in one location. Building on the museum’s acclaimed regular series of public tours of the forgotten stations, they have been used to replicate one-time scenes from the past in one location. Visitors to the Global Gallery are taken through a ‘timewarp’ entrance as they enter Aldwych station’s recreated historic ticket office, with an original 1930s ticket booth from the station dating…