Heritage Railway Issue 237

IT is now 20 years since I moved sideways from an evening newspaper newsdesk into the world of railway magazine publishing. It was tougher than expected but a quickly very rewarding learning curve, and in those two decades so much has changed in the sector. Having followed the railway revival movement since my childhood, I recall so many schemes that set up with the avowed intention to restore public services on their chosen closed branch line. However, such early optimism was quickly edited into the setting up of a heritage railway, to run enthusiast and tourist trains only on high days and holidays. A prime example was the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. Back in 1997, as today, news pages can easily be…

department’s ballast and engineering wagons, was carefully propelled into the platforms, alongside the brand new station building. It was the first train to stop at Broadway station since BR closed this and other stations on the line on March 7, 1960. Broadway station itself was demolished in November 1963. Volunteers then discharged ballast from the wagons on to the track in the platform. A delighted Chris Bristow, finance director of the volunteer-run railway, issued an announcement to the railway’s supporters which said: “Christmas came early for our railway today! “Our permanent way gang put in place CHRISTMAS came two days early for the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway when a 35 year dream of returning trains to the Cotswold tourist honeypot of Broadway finally came true. On December 23, the last rail…

SR SCHOOLS 4-4-0 No. 926 Repton has yet to undergo the main line test run it needs prior to resuming to work on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s Whitby services. With the NYMR essentially closed until Easter and with no services to Whitby scheduled until April there is no rush, and it is rumoured that the railway is waiting until ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 No. 5428 is also ready to undergo similar testing, to reduce costs. There is also the intriguing possibility that S15 4-6-0 No. 825 might make up a trio of engines for test, if it can be ready in the same timeframe. It is probably unlikely but not impossible! Repairs to the boiler of No. 825 are nearing completion; new crown stays riveted over and new superheater flues…

A 260ft water fountain on the River Tyne will form the centrepiece of the launch of the £5 million Great Exhibition of the North, which will see the original Stephenson’s Rocket return to its birthplace. The fountain will be situated between the Tyne and Millennium bridges, which span Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides, with the first display on June 22. It will be soundtracked by three specially-commissioned pieces of music. After the launch, the fountain will run several times each day with evening performances including a light display. Rainhill Trials winner Rocket will return from the Science Museum in London especially for the event. Other star exhibits include John Lennon’s piano and the spacesuit of Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman. It is anticipated that three million people will visit the exhibition.…

A CAMPAIGN group has been formed to stop a Victorian brick railway shed at Newton Abbot being demolished to make way for an Aldi supermarket. The group wants to raise money to force a judicial review of Teignbridge Council’s recent granting of planning permission for the store at the entrance to the Brunel Industrial Estate. It claims that the shed off Torquay Road is an architectural treasure and a core part of the town’s heritage.…

THE Erlestoke Manor Fund has appealed for £35,000 to complete the restoration of the popular GWR 4-6-0, which was withdrawn from Severn Valley Railway traffic on December 31. The fund has contracted Tyseley Locomotive Works to carry out the overhaul of 1939-built No. 7812, which is expected to take two years. However, while it has the funds to start the overhaul, more money will be needed to complete it. Fund officials have appealed to supporters to help cover the shortfall, either by buying products from its shop or by making a direct donation. More details can be found at www.erlestokemanorfund.co.uk…