Heritage Railway Issue 252

THIS issue marks the end of the 20th year of Heritage Railway, coming two issues after our landmark 250th edition, and one before our actual 20th anniversary. It seems like yesterday that we launched what we hoped would be a fresh, unfettered, modern outlook on the preservation scene, and not only were we welcomed by the railways and public alike from the outset, but over the years we have made many lifelong friends along the way. I must extend an immense debt of gratitude to each and every one of our contributors who, more than anyone, have made us what we are today. In this issue we include a free 32-page booklet celebrating our first two decades and outlining some (I repeat, only ‘some’) of the many brilliant adventures we…

THE West Somerset Railway has been saved from closure by a whisker – after failures were found in its finances, infrastructure and safety systems. In an open and frank meeting, 320 supporters gathered at the Oake Manor Golf Club, Wellington, Somerset on March 2 to hear firsthand of the plc’s dire position, as well as the action plan which is now in full swing to recover one of the UK’s popular heritage lines. Representatives were present from the WSR plc and its supporting bodies, the West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) and West Somerset Steam Railway Trust. Providing a taste of what was to come, Jonathan Jones-Pratt, who became plc chairman in September 2018, said: “March 2 is an important day for the railway – to bring honesty to the table…

PRESERVATION history was made over the weekend of March 2/3 when two steam locomotives that have been restored to working order from Barry scrapyard condition were officially launched into traffic. It took a total of 77 years for BR Standard 4MT 2-6-4T No. 80097 and WR 4-6-0 Modified Hall No. 6989 Wightwick Hall to be rebuilt to running order. At 10am on March 2, the end of 33 years of toil and hard graft by members of the Bury Standard 4 Group was marked at Bury Bolton Street station when Brighton, 1954-built No. 80097 steamed through a red ribbon draped across the track before making its first ‘official’ journey up to Heywood. It was the 149th locomotive to return to steam from Barry condition Relaunches Meanwhile, 170 miles away, a…

THE Friends of 80150, the group set up in late 2016 with the aim of conserving and restoring Mid-Hants Railway Preservation Society-owned BR Standard 4MT 2-6-4T No. 80150, has reached a milestone – with the acquisition of components for a new cab roof. Acquired from the Vale of Glamorgan Council in 2011, which owned it as part of the ‘Barry 10’, the last group of the 213 locomotives saved from Dai Woodham’s scrapyard, the 2-6-4T currently resides in a siding at Alresford station. Volunteers from the Friends of 80150 have been carefully removing components for remanufacture and also raising funds for the locomotive’s eventual rebuild by donations and the sale of merchandise and donated items at MHR events. Recent progress The cab roof was delivered to Ropley Works on February…

THE family of the late Dennis Howells MBE, owner of WR 0-6-0PT No. 9466, demanded that an unauthorised post on social media claiming that it was on sale for £800,000 was removed. The post, made after No. 9466 ran at the March 3 No. 6989 Wightwick Hall launch (above), was quickly taken down. The family also thanked West Coast Railways chairman David Smith for the “fantastic” support for the October 20 memorial train, which saw money raised for St Luke’s Hospice exceed the £5000 target.…

FOR 68 years, Leo Leeney kept a very dark secret all to himself. During his five years with the Royal Engineers, Leo served a three-year apprenticeship as a boilersmith. That work would see him labouring inside the blackest interiors of brand new boilers, riveting them, with only a pair of earmuffs to drown out the deafening din. His apprenticeship as a sapper was served at none other than Swindon Works, on the locomotive production line. And one of the boilers he helped to build in 1950 was none other than that of WR 4-6-0 No. 7029 Clun Castle. Leo completed his apprenticeship, and ended up with a career in the metal pressings industry, yet he never told his wife Valerie or their daughters Bev and Lisa about the years that…