Table of contents for Issue 261 in Heritage Railway

AMIDST the avalanche of stunningly-beautiful autumnal landscape lineside scenes we have been receiving by the day, there have been regular updates on the incredible progress being made in the heritage sector. In this issue, Gareth Evans updates us on The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s projects to build a new P2 – the tender wheelsets have been delivered within the past few weeks – and a V4, reinforcing this group’s position as the world market leader. Elsewhere in Darlington, North Bay Engineering, which earlier this year delivered Bagnall Sipat 0-4-0ST O tter to the Groudle Glen Railway, and is making heady progress on the construction of a full-size replica Southwold Railway engine, has just started physical work on re-creating the world’s first 1ft 11 ½in gauge locomotive and the first steam…

HAVING been sidelined for several months because its wheelsets were being retyred in the South Devon Railway’s workshops, Locomotive Services Ltd’s LMS No. 46100 Royal Scot is literally on the road again. Moved by a low loader, the 4-6-0 departed Crewe for the Severn Valley Railway at Bridgnorth on Thursday, November 6. In light steam two days later, it ran several light engine test runs on November 12 and 13, with similarly clandestine loaded test runs planned for November 19-21. It was thought unlikely that it would haul any passenger trains during its visit. The locomotive was due to return to Crewe under its own steam as a light engine test run on November 26 via the Kidderminster main line connection. The engine’s move and subsequent running in is an…

WITH its new Saint 4-6-0 No. 2999 Lady of Legend (pictured on pages 4-5) now in traffic, the Didcot Railway Centre-based Great Western Society (GWS) has turned its thoughts to completing the restoration of repatriated 4-6-0 No. 4079 Pendennis Castle. The society is devoting this year’s Christmas draw to achieve that aim – and it is inviting donations to fund the outstanding £50,000. There is no date for the locomotive’s completion at this stage. In a supplement to the current GWS journal Great Western Echo, Richard Croucher, treasurer for No. 4079, wrote: “We have several jobs to do in order to ensure this lofty goal is achieved. Mechanically, the restoration is virtually complete. However, the locomotive’s pipework is generally in a very poor state of repair and will benefit from…

THE Isle of Man Railway’s first goods van No. G.1 has been handed over by the Manx Government to the IoM Steam Railway Supporters’ Association which, over the next two years, plans to disassemble, record and then restore the vehicle back to original condition in full running order, before returning it to the line. Built in 1873 by the Metropolitan Carriage & Wagon Company, it is considered to be the oldest surviving four-wheeled goods van in the world and therefore of significant international railway heritage value. The association has previously restored two other historic vehicles for the railway, a three-plank open wagon and a two-plank ballast wagon, and is appealing to the wider railway heritage community to support its latest project with a grant or donation to the charity. Full…

WHEN British Railways ceased passenger services on the lines out of Bodmin General on January 30, 1967, and it became a freight-only operation, this meant that the removal of unwanted structures, presumably with a view to reduce maintenance costs, was carried out under the banner of rationalisation. The signalbox, goods shed and locomotive shed were all swept away, along with the station building’s trademark front canopy – after all, there were not going to be any more passengers to provide shelter for. Thirty years ago, when the Bodmin & Wenford Railway (BWR) was created, the long process of reinstatement of these lost facilities began. The locomotive shed and signalbox were obvious essentials, whereas the front canopy was a ‘nice to have’ objective but not essential. Roll forward to the present…

THE chairman of one of the country’s leading heritage railways has spoken of the challenging environment the railway faces, in an end-of-season message to members. Writing in the latest Kent & East Sussex Railway online newsletter, Simon Marsh says:“We have much to be proud of – let’s celebrate and develop. The environment out there is challenging and will become more so. We haven’t got a right to exist, we must earn it and never stop doing so.” He praised the work of the railway’s finance committee led by Geoff Crouch, saying: “We always were a going concern, and we are even more so now. We must not take our eyes off the ball.”There was praise too for the way the railway solved practical problems and for the safety culture. “At…

THE Severn Valley Railway’s fleet of GWR-type carriages has been boosted by the arrival of Hawksworth Brake Third No. 2242 from the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. Purchased by the Great Western (SVR) Association from the estate of the late Dennis Howells, the vehicle was delivered to Kidderminster on October 29. While the majority of the restoration has been completed by a small team at Quainton Road, the GW(SVR)A estimates there is four to six months of work to finish it. The carriage was accepted onto the railway on the basis that another liability disappeared from the SVR Holdings company inventory. In this case the GW(SVR)A chose to remove Collett Full Third No. 1087 from the company’s liabilities. The future of that particular asset will be the subject of further debate. The…

FLASH flooding has left the Churnet Valley Railway (CVR) working round the clock to restore its link in order to resume services in time for the Santa season. Following freak levels of rainfall, a breach of the Caldon Canal close to bridge 39, south of Consall station, caused flooding to around 100ft of the track at 8.30am on Saturday, October 26, washing out ballast and leaving rails suspended in mid-air. The flooding meant the cancellation of the line’s planned Super Power Saturday event, the first heritage era gathering of three operational USATC S160 2-8-0s, home-based Nos. 5197 and 6046 and visiting No. 2253 Omaha. It would have been the first triple-heading of the class since the 1940s, and was the first of several events intended to help raise the £1…

JUST three months after the prolonged restoration of Australian Pacific No. 3801 took a leap forward with the successful hydrostatic testing of its restored boiler, officials at the heart of the project have announced that another major hurdle has been overcome in their bid to return it to the main line next year. The Class C38, a standard-bearer for southern hemisphere enthusiasts, was taken off railtour duty at the end of 2007 for an overhaul that was expected to be completed in 2011. That proved to be a wildly optimistic hope, and now, eight years later, the state-owned loco is still incomplete. However, on October 21, Transport Heritage New South Wales, which is overseeing the work, posted a social media update headed: “It’s official” which, despite its brevity, would have…

FOLLOWING an extensive programme of refurbishment and a general overhaul, the Talyllyn Railway’s Barclay 0-4-2T No. 7, named after the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society pioneer and the heritage sector’s founding father, the late Tom Rolt, has now been returned to service. On initial inspection, the boiler was found to have evidence of corrosion around the front section and so it was sent away to a specialist boiler engineering company, D&M Goddard of Chippenham, Wiltshire. There, the thin and corroded plates were replaced, together with a new tube plate, replacement smoke tubes, the dome was replaced and re-rivetted and a new butt strap was fitted to strengthen the join between the two main boiler sections. This work took over three months from December to March 2019, during which time essential overhauling…

November SAT 23: ‘The Ludlow Medieval Christmas Fayre’ Slough, Shrewsbury & return. Steam-hauled throughout. Loco: No. 60009 Union of South Africa. RTC SAT 23: ‘The Marches & Severn Express’ Eastleigh, Shrewsbury & return. Steam-hauled: Gloucester, Shrewsbury & return. Loco: No. 60163 Tornado. PT SUN 24: ‘Santa Special’ Lancaster, Carlisle & return. Steam-hauled: TBA. Loco: TBA. WCR TUE 26: ‘The Christmas Sussex Belle’ London Victoria, Eastbourne & return. Steam-hauled: London, Eastbourne. Hastings, London. Loco: No. 60009 Union of South Africa or TBA. RTC THU 28: ‘The York Yuletide Express’ Norwich, York & return. Steam-hauled: Norwich, York. York, Peterborough. Loco: No. 60009 Union of South Africa. RTC FRI 29: ‘Bath Christmas Market’ West Brompton, Bath & return. Steam-hauled throughout. Loco: No. 61306 Mayflower. SD SAT 30: ‘The York Yuletide Express’ London Ealing…

I WAS reading issue 260 of Heritage Railway, enjoying all the fascinating articles, when one under the News section really fascinated me more than any of the others. This was the article regarding GWR No. 4930 Hagley Hall set for a big Severn Valley Railway comeback in 2020. You mention in your article that it was returned to steam in 1979 after being moved to Bewdley in 1972 from Barry scrapyard. You state that after a period of running in, it appeared on the main line, double-heading with LMS ‘Black Five’ No. 5000 running between Hereford and Chester with a SVR special charter. I got very excited when I read this, as I knew I had photographed that train on that journey way back in 1979. Delving into my archives…

Swindon-design pannier tanks have made heritage sector headlines again this year. A prime contender for the accolade of the ultimate Really Useful Engine, they took centre stage at the West Somerset Railway’s autumn steam gala because much of the route is temporarily out of bounds to larger engines. With 863 built, the 57XX panniers designed for branch passenger and freight duties were one of the most numerous classes of British steam locomotive. Here is the tenth book by David Maidment in the Locomotive Portfolio series and it covers the large number of designs from which that trademark class evolved from and indeed into. The story begins in 1860 with the 0-6-0STs built for both the GWR and the independent railway companies in South Wales, most of which were converted to…

SOUTH EAST Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre 2ft gauge, ¼ mile. Arundel, West Sussex. Tel: 01798 831370. Running: Wed-Sun until Dec 22. Bluebell Railway Standard gauge, 11 miles, footplate experience, wine and dine. Sheffield Park, East Sussex TN22 2QL. Tel: 01825 720800. Running: Dec W/Es + 23, 24, 26, 27, 30, 31. Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway 2ft gauge, ½ mile. Bredgar, Sittingbourne, Kent. Tel: 01622 884254. Running: 2020. East Kent Railway Standard gauge, two miles, Shepherdswell, Dover. Tel: 01304 832042. Running: Dec 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21-24. Eastleigh Lakeside Railway 10¼in & 7¼in gauge, 1¼ miles, footplate experience. Running: W/Es + sch hols. Hastings Miniature Railway 10¼in gauge, 600 yards, Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings, East Sussex. Running: W/Es + sch hols. Hayling Seaside Railway 2ft gauge, one mile. Hayling…

A MAJOR milestone was passed on October 17, when the Llangollen Railway’s running line into its new Corwen station was physically connected. The main line was linked through from the railhead to the points, giving a continuous length of rail all the way from Llangollen station to the stop block at Green Lane, Corwen for the first time since 1968 when the line was lifted. The passenger service was withdrawn in 1965 as a result of the Beeching cuts but the line lay dormant for three years until Harold Wilson’s Government ordered the lifting of the track in 1968. The connection marked a watershed moment in the revival project which was first conceived in 1975, but it was not until 2011 that work on building the 2½ mile extension from…

THE Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, formally reopened the city’s Heaton Park Tramway after a marathon industry-wide effort replaced overhead wires that had been stolen on September 24. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), Keolis Amey Metrolink and Pod-Trak rallied round to install replacement wiring in time for the reopening ceremony on October 26. Heaton Park Tramway Company chairman Keith Whitmore said: “Just a matter of weeks ago our members were devastated to find that tramway wiring had been stolen and the tramway was inoperable and would have to close indefinitely. “Within hours, Danny Vaughan, TfGM Head of Metrolink was in touch to offer help and support with the assistance of the Metrolink operator Keolis Amey. The response was so magnificent that in just a few days, all the wiring…

THE entire board of directors of the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway has stood down in a bid to give younger members a chance to serve on it. The decision was taken after two key directors resigned for personal reasons and the chairman indicated that he did not wish to continue, said a spokesman for the railway. Because there had been no new nominees for the board at the line’s annual general meeting, the board was at risk of becoming inquorate. “The objective is to form a new enthusiastic board with a vision for the future and fresh ideas to meet the challenges of tomorrow and take the railway forward to fully benefit from upcoming developments, such as the erection of the Maidenhead canopy, the installation of a run-round loop, the…

THE fate of John Cameron’s plans for a visitor museum housing his A4 4-6-2 No. 60009 Union of South Africa and K4 2-6-0 No. 61994 The Great Marquess was set to be decided on Wednesday, November 13, the day this issue goes to press. A Fife Council sub-committee has passed a favourable report on his proposed Farming and Railway Visiting Centre for the main council’s consideration, but unfortunately this has happened previously and failed to convince those making the final decision. The issue involves the use of John’s land which the council argues is good for agriculture use and should not be built on. If the appeal for planning permission fails, it remains for John to decide his next move. A report of the decision will be posted at www.heritagerailway.co.uk…

A MAJOR heritage sector landmark has been passed following the successful hydraulic test on the boiler of new-build LBSCR H2 Atlantic No. 32424 Beachy Head. Witnessed by the boiler inspector at the Bluebell Railway’s Sheffield Park headquarters on October 29, the test pressure was raised by use of the main works’ pneumatic water accumulator pump. Once at the test pressure, the pump was stopped. In an hour or so, the small insignificant weeps made virtually no discernible indicated difference in pressure on the test gauge, said a Bluebell Railway Atlantic Group spokesman. Work can now continue on the boiler cladding sheets, while indoors, the tender tank has been lowered on to the chassis and is now in the process of being bolted and fixed to the chassis. Design engineer Fred…

ELECTRIC Traction Limited (ETL) has announced the sale of Class 86 No. 86101 Sir William A Stanier FRS and Class 87 No. 87002 to Jeremy Hosking’s Locomotive Services Limited (LSL) based at Crewe. The two preserved locomotives had, until early October, been engaged on a contract with GB Railfreight to work overnight services on behalf of Serco Caledonian Sleeper. A supplier of AC locomotive solutions in the UK, in association with the independent charity the AC Locomotive Group, ETL’s first major operation began in 2010 when its newly-refurbished Class 86/7s, Nos. 86701 and 86702, entered traffic on October 15. Two days later, the pair hauled their first revenue-earning train, a private charter from Newcastle to King’s Cross. In 2014 ETL began a long-term locomotive hire to GB Railfreight with Nos.…

HERITAGE railways and charter operators are among organisations which have been told to improve their management of risks associated with passengers leaning out of carriage windows. The recommendation by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) follows the death of 28-year-old passenger Bethan Roper who was leaning out of the window of a 75mph Great Western Railway service from London Paddington to Exeter St David’s when her head struck a lineside tree branch which had not been pruned back correctly at Twerton near Bath. The charity worker from Penarth, who had been on her way back from a Christmas shopping trip in Bath, was pronounced dead after the train arrived at Bristol Temple Meads station. Tree inspection The conclusion of the RAIB report into the incident at 10.04pm on Saturday, December…

THE threat of closure has been lifted from South Africa’s globally-acclaimed Sandstone Railway. As reported in issue 256, only weeks after holding the International Sandstone Festival, the 2ft gauge railway’s operators sounded a shock warning about its future because of the country’s regulations which treated the narrow gauge line as if it was a main line railway. Due to uncertainty regarding the safety certificate expiring on December 20, and subsequent malicious unfounded rumours regarding the future of the well-known collection and the 16 mile line’s finances, Sandstone has received many enquiries from railway owners around the world asking to buy some of the locomotives and stock. However, in recent weeks, the Rail Safety Regulator of South Africa (RSR) is now looking favourably towards renewing Sandstone’s permit to run trains into…

BIG-NAME visiting locomotives helped make the East Lancashire Railway’s autumn steam gala the most successful in five years. More than 3000 people attended the October 18-20 event, in which John Cameron’s LNER A4 Pacific No. 60009 Union of South Africa and SR Schools 4-4-0 No. 926 Repton from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway topped the bill. No. 60009 could have been making one of its last gala appearances because of plans by its owner to place it on static display at his proposed farming and railway visitor centre in Fife, along with his other locomotive, K4 2-6-0 No. 61994 The Great Marquess. However, Fife Council rejected the plans last autumn, and in March this year, a 12-month extension on the A4’s boiler certificate was granted. In action from the home…

FOLLOWING an extensive strip down and investigation of the Swanage Railway’s LSWR T3 express passenger 4-4-0 No. 563 at the Flour Mill workshop at Bream in the Forest of Dean, the engine was found to be in a surprisingly good mechanically overhauled condition, as undertaken by Eastleigh Works in 1947. Although as expected, the firebox was life expired, the boiler barrel was found to be in excellent shape with little corrosion inside or out. The outer firebox, however, was found to be in need of considerable work. The old steel three-quarter sides have been cut off and new steel fitted up and tack welded in position, with one side already being generously sponsored. All the copper for the new inner copper firebox is now in hand, around £30,000 worth. On…

THE Severn Valley Railway is offering National Lottery players the rare chance to take a glimpse behind the scenes at its Kidderminster Carriage and Wagon Department. The tour will take place on Thursday, November 28, and all that is needed to take part is a National Lottery ticket or scratch card. However, places are strictly limited and must be booked in advance by telephoning 01562 757940. More details can be found at www.svrtrust.org.uk The tour will feature some of the rolling stock that is currently under restoration, and will provide an opportunity to watch heritage skills in action. Volunteers and apprentices will be on hand to talk about their work and the tour will end over tea and biscuits in the carriage and wagon office. The railway is one of…

MILITARY might and muscle helped lay more track of Leiston Works Railway (LWR). Over the weekend of October 28/29, the Suffolk standard gauge heritage line was visited by Unit 507 Specialist Team Royal Engineers (STRE), an Army reserve unit that specialises in the repair and construction of railway infrastructure. A sub unit of 65 Wks Gp, 170 Engr Gp, 8 Engineering Brigade of the Royal Engineers is based in Chetwynd Barracks, Nottingham, but its members come from across the UK. For their last working weekend of the year they decided to tackle a very unique project. The LWR provided them with some unusual opportunities for training, as being located in an urban area, on a hill and a curve with very limited access meant that they had to use manual…

ON September 17, the 181st anniversary of the London & Birmingham Railway opening its engineering headquarters at Wolverton, a memorial was unveiled commemorating the 213 works’men who died in the First World War. Dave Hilliard, who recently retired after 47 years in the works, spent 10 years accomplishing the erection of a fitting memorial. His team raised funds while researching details of the Wolverton staff who died in the war. Funds were raised with tours of the works, talks and sales of a special Wolverton Works and Royal Train 175th anniversary book. The Royal Train has been based at the site since 1842. Previous works operator Knorr-Bremse and current operator Gemini Rail have supported the fundraising, together with the Railway Heritage Trust and Wolverton and Greenleys Council. Trust executive director…

FOLKESTONE’S closed Leas Lift has been added to Historic England’s list of sites at risk of being lost. The Grade II* listed funicular railway in Kent was built in 1885 to carry passengers between the seafront and the promenade. It is one of only three remaining water-balanced lifts in the UK. In June 2009, Folkestone and Hythe District Council’s lease ran out and it was decided that the lift was too expensive to run. However, following public protests in April 2010, it was announced that the lift was to be restored. Consulting engineer Crofton Design was appointed as the lead consultant to provide structural engineering design, and won the Restoration award at the Institution of Civil Engineers Engineering Excellence Awards in June 2011 for its work on the lift. The…

CROWDED trains, crowded platforms, crowded carparks, and crowds of lineside spectators and photographers, were a dominant feature of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) annual steam gala at the end of September, a splendid event which Heritage Railway covered in depth last issue. Among the sea of humanity, youngsters were overawed and their parents transfixed, and in the background the tills were ringing in the busy booking halls and refreshment rooms, as well as nearby cafes, pubs and hotels. As I visited the stations of Grosmont, Goathland, Newton Dale Halt, Levisham and Pickering, and enjoyed the real ales at Goathland and Levisham that were an integral and welcome part of the weekend, I wished that also witnessing the happy and busy scenes were MP Amber Rudd and local authority Councillor…

THE project to replicate Britain’s first main line diesel has been donated a Mk.3 sleeper car to use as volunteer accommodation at its new Wirksworth base. Porterbrook Leasing has donated SLEP No. 10597 to the Ivatt Diesel Re-creation Society which, as reported in issue 259, has signed a contract with Ecclesbourne Valley Railway operator WyvernRail plc for the use of a workshop with 155 sq m of floorspace to carry out work on components under cover. The society is building a copy of Class D16/1 No. 10000, which was built by the LMS at nearby Derby Works in 1947 in association with English Electric and the Vulcan Foundry. Both No. 10000 and its twin sister No. 10001 were scrapped in January 1968 despite their huge historical significance. Porterbrook’s support for…

BOOSTED by the performance of this summer’s new venture of running regular steam trains to Windsor from London Waterloo on Tuesdays, Steam Dreams has laid plans to double the service next year. David Buck, who masterminded the entry into this new market for tour operators, is keen to run a second three-train day with steam to Windsor, on another day of the week. Yet to be confirmed, the additional services are subject to agreement with Steam Dreams’ train operator, West Coast Railways, and Network Rail. This year’s Tuesday operations carried just under 10,000 passengers. The additional day could well see numbers double, especially as moves have been made to increase the service’s appeal to overseas visitors exploring London in high season. The Surrey Hills evening diner train is included in…

THE ‘Tin Bath’ has been a regular fixture in the Railway Touring Company’s railtour programme in recent years, usually running in early November on an itinerary taking in the Hope Valley, Barnsley and the Copy Pit route. Having originally advertised the tour for November 3 this year, with a Carnforth LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 as motive power, the tour was amended to the ‘The South Yorkshireman’ which would unusually take in the Sheffield – Barnsley – Healey Mills line. However, shortly before the revised tour was due to run, Network Rail informed the operators that there was a ‘prohibition’ on the Barnsley line at Wincobank Junction where it diverges from the Rotherham line north of Sheffield. Fortunately, Network Rail was able to provide an alternative path at short notice. Headed by…

THE dates for the operation of West Coast Railways’ (WCR) 2020 ‘Jacobite’ season have been announced – news which comes after another successful year for the company. The regular steam-hauled service offers an 84-mile round trip through the stunning scenery between Fort William and Mallaig. In 2020, a morning service will run Monday to Friday between April 6 and October 23 – and on weekends at Easter and then between May 2 and September 27. The afternoon trip will run Monday to Friday from May 11 to September 11 – plus on Saturdays and Sundays from June 13 to August 30. The same locomotives used in 2019 – ‘Black Fives’Nos. 45212 and 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier, plus K1 No. 62005 – are likely to be in operation during the 2020…

FIRST a correction. In my last column I referred to five spring ‘Aberdonian’ trips, when of course there was only one on March 14. No excuses – it’s all down to my advancing years. This time though, I am covering the much anticipated but ill-fated Saphos ‘Golden Arrow’ trip round Kent on October 26. Much anticipated as there is now very little in the way of main line steam haulage on the main lines of Kent, despite a number of alternative options being available for circular trips, most of which can include the city of Canterbury, a very attractive destination in itself. It is also the case that more train paths are available on the main line via Tonbridge since the reduction in service following the opening of HS1. Therefore,…

THURSDAY, November 7, saw a major landmark in the £750,000 overhaul of LNER A4 Pacific No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley with the boiler reunited with the frames. As reported last issue, the boiler passed its out-of-frames steam test at Llangollen on October 26. The boiler was subsequently taken to the National Railway Museum at York, where the rolling chassis has been overhauled in the workshop. Before the boiler could be lifted back on to the chassis, the centre coupled wheelset and its associated components, along with the ashpan, had to be fitted. The left-hand piston crosshead has been delivered after being bored and the sensors for the On-Train Monitoring Recorder have been calibrated. The chassis was shunted out of the work into the yard for the lift to take place.…

FOLLOWING expiry of their hire contracts, three Gresley teak coaches, all owned by Jim Kay, have left the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) and moved to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway (EVR) on long term hire. GNR invalid saloon No. 3087 and LNER open third No. 43632 (converted to a first class dining car) both require extensive restoration which the NYMR does not currently have the capacity to undertake. Corridor third No. 23890 is currently undergoing conversion to a first class restaurant car. Although the London and North Eastern Coach Association’s (LNERCA) primary aim is restoration of teak stock for use on the NYMR, its broader purpose includes use on other heritage lines, where that’s in the best interests of its precious heritage stock. The NYMR will still be regularly running…

GLENFINNAN Viaduct on the West Highland Extension acquired worldwide fame for its appearance in four of the Warner Brothers Harry Potter films. However, in recent weeks the 21-span landmark has appeared in both London and Battersea, at celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the firm that built it. Parties were held in London’s Battersea Power Station on September 14 and in Manchester’s Event City a week later, to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of Sir Robert McAlpine Limited in 1869. It was the building of the viaduct that gave the firm’s founder, Robert McAlpine, his nickname ‘Concrete Bob’ because of his innovative use of mass concrete in the structure. At 416 yards, the viaduct is the longest concrete railway bridge in Scotland. A model of the viaduct…

HERITAGE lines and their supporters have rallied round to help the East Kent Railway (EKR) after buildings and £15,000 of vital equipment were lost in an arson attack at its Shepherdswell station. Following the fire which completely destroyed a tool shed and the line’s ranger hut around 10.30pm on Wednesday, October 30, the Heritage Railway Association (HRA) launched a public appeal for cash aid and replacement tools and equipment. Four fire engines were sent to tackle the blaze. It was suspected that the arsonists may have gained access to the site through the woodland which houses original restored Second World War trenches, along with a variety of other attractions. Loss The railway lost most of its day-to-day tooling, including power drills, sanders, welder, chainsaw, transformers, a permanent way keying hammer…

THE Battlefield Line celebrated its 50th anniversary in style on October 18-20 with a gala weekend offering an exciting line-up of Western Region steam traction. Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway-based WR Manor class 4-6-0 No. 7820 Dinmore Manor joined South Devon Railway (SDR)-based GWR prairie 2-6-2T No. 5542, which has been on hire to the Leicestershire line this season. Of further interest was No. 6989 Wightwick Hall, which as previously reported, hauled its first train in preservation at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre on March 2. The March 1948-built 4-6-0 was making its operational debut at another heritage line after becoming the150th Barry locomotive to steam again on December 11, 2018. Describing it as a “cracking event,” Adrian Lock, director of the Battlefield Line Trust, said: “I would say it’s the best steam…

THE Guild of Railway Artists’ anniversary annual Railart exhibition at Kidderminster Railway Museum has been hailed“a success and very memorable”after 2000 visitors flocked through the doors and more than half the works of art on display were sold. The six-week exhibition, which closed on September 29, comprised 61 paintings, 32 of which sold, including 12 on the first day, as visitors soaked up the visual treat provided by some of the world’s most talented railway artists. In the afterglow of deserved plaudits, a delighted Anna Bastin, the guild’s exhibition officer, said: “I would say that Railart 2019 was not only successful, but also very memorable for artists and visitors. The standard of the exhibits was deemed particularly high, and the newly-installed exhibition lighting for this, the guild’s ruby anniversary year,…

NORTH Yorkshire Moors Railway-based Maunsell S15 4-6-0 No. 825 undertook a Network Rail trial on the Esk Valley line on October 23, running at speeds of up to 45mph with its test train. It passed with flying colours and is once more available for regular use on NYMR services to Whitby and occasional forays to Battersby Junction. It was a regular visitor to Whitby until its boiler certificate expired in 2013, since when it has been undergoing a full 10-year overhaul. The NYMR timetable calls for two Whitby locomotives for each day that Whitby services operate, so the addition of No. 825 to the roster will give more flexibility and cover in scheduling. No. 825 becomes the fifth Whitby-capable locomotive in the home-based NYMR fleet, joining B1 No. 1264, ‘Black…

THE Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways were checking the record books after completing the overhaul of Hunslet 0-4-0ST No. 554 of 1891 Lilla within a year. Supplied new to the Cilgwyn Slate Company Quarry at Nantlle, Lilla was later sold to the Penrhyn Railway where it last steamed in 1955. It was bought by the late Bernard Latham for preservation in 1963. Restored in his back garden, it was first displayed at the Winter Garden Railway in Hertfordshire in 1972, then at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum in 1987 and then on the Bala Lake Railway in 1991. It moved to the Ffestiniog Railway (FR) in 1993 and four years later was bought by a consortium of members. Taken out of service in late 2018 for a 10-year overhaul, no…

KING William Street, a station on the first deep-level electric Tube railway which opened in 1890, became redundant in 1900 when the platforms were found to be pointing the wrong way for a proposed new development. This was the result of the City and South London Railway deciding to extend further north of London Bridge. A new northward tunnel was built in 1900, bypassing King William Street which was then left abandoned. Today, this disused station is not open to the public. Images of King William Street station are very rare, but the few that exist are now on display at the new Hidden London: the Exhibition at London Transport Museum at Covent Garden. Visitors can view a drawing of the interior of the station in 1890 and a diagram…

JOSEPHINE and Gavin Kelly, owners and restorers of the 1903-built Cashelnagor station on the former Letterkenny & Burtonport Extension Railway (L&BER), are considering commissioning a replica of one of the line’s 4-6-0Ts to stand on a relaid section of 3ft-gauge track at the remote station’s platform. The Kellys bought the then, near-derelict, remote station in 2017, restored it, and opened it as a successful holiday let in 2018. Since then it has attracted many railway enthusiasts and tourists, keen to experience what it was like to live in the former stationmaster’s house, the highest of the L&BER, and situated in remote and wild bogland, under the shadow of Mount Errigal, Donegal’s highest mountain. “We have been keen, from the start of the project, for the restored station, which we have…

THE heritage of Portadown station has literally gone to the wall, thanks to Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and Northern Ireland’s Department for Communities. Passengers using the new park-and-ride facility pass along a wall carrying newly-installed mural panels, showing the life and times of the town’s original station from its opening in 1863 by the Ulster Railway, to its closure and replacement by Northern Ireland Railways with the current station, in 1970. Panels use the characteristic Mill’s brickwork of the classic Great Northern of Ireland Railway station, as a background for a timeline and period pictures of trains at Portadown, including a GNR(I) S class 4-4-0 in blue livery. Portadown was an important station on the Dublin-Belfast main line, and a junction for trains to Armagh, Dungannon, Omagh…

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust (A1SLT), the registered charity behind famous new-build 100mph steam locomotive No. 60163 Tornado and what is set to be Britain’s most powerful steam locomotive, Gresley class P2 ‘Mikado’ No. 2007 Prince of Wales, has continued to progress its projects on a number of fronts – and is now looking forward to the coming year. Asked whether 2019 has been a good year for the organisation, Mark Allatt, A1SLT trustee, replied: “Yes – we’re so much bigger than we were even four years ago. If you think about how we’ve rapidly transitioned from 1990 when we started through until 2008, we were building a locomotive – it was very much a singular focus. “After that, we had a locomotive to operate, which was all new to…

A POPULAR class of diesel locomotive first introduced in 1960 has finally ceased regular timetabled passenger services on Norfolk’s Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft branches. East Anglia was one of the first areas of BR to be completely dieselised. The first 10 of the English Electric Type 4 1 Co-Co1s (later Class 40) and the first batch of the Brush Type 2 A1A-A1As (Class 31), together with substantial numbers of DMUs, started the modernisation process of East Anglia’s railways, but it was the introduction of the large fleet of English Electric Type 3 Co-Cos (Class 37) that enabled steam to be completely eliminated from long-distance services. Locomotive haulage of passenger trains is becoming rare on Britain’s railways, but East Anglia and, in particular, the branch from Norwich to Great Yarmouth, has…

On the afternoon of Sunday, October 2, 1966, an 11-coach train carrying over 600 passengers headed out of Newcastle Central Station hauled by two Ivatt 4MTs, Nos. 43000 and 43063, with the destination of the tiny Northumberland village of Woodburn. This was the ‘Wansbeck Piper’ railtour – the final train to run over what remained of the Wansbeck Valley Railway, the last remnants of the incursion into Northumberland by Scotland’s North British Railway Company (NBR). The beautiful county of Northumberland has in its past seen many skirmishes and battles between the English and their Scottish neighbours. Although peaceful for more than 200 years, a battle was to start again in the 1850s. This time however, it was between two rival railway companies – the North Eastern Railway (NER) based in…

THE Mid-Hants Railway’s (MHR) October 18-20 autumn gala provided a varied line-up from the line’s resident fleet of locomotives – and also acted as something of a farewell event for a popular performer. “With its boiler certificate expiring on December 31, the gala was effectively the last hurrah for 9F No. 92212,” said Richard Bentley, MHR operations manager.“Therefore, we painted its smokebox door metalwork white – as several members of the class were turned out in the final years of steam.” Asked what is expected to happen to the 2-10-0, including speculation that it may join fellow out-of-ticket MHR resident ‘Black Five’ No. 45379 at the former Tri-ang/Hornby factory warehouse in Margate, Richard replied: “Plans for the 9F’s future are currently awaiting confirmation.” However, Richard confirmed the 9F is booked…

Photograph recalls memories of trespass sign discovery nearly 60 years ago FURTHER to Geoff Courtney’s article in issue 259 on my Garstang & Knot-End Railway trespass sign that is being sold by GW Railwayana on November 16, I have discovered a photograph of the exact spot at Cogie Hill Halt where I found the sign in 1961. The photograph, in a fascinating and thoroughly-researched book by Dave Richardson on the history of the railway titled The Pilling Pig, shows the Halt’s surviving waiting shelter, in front of which I unearthed the sign, which had possibly been discarded when passenger services to the halt ended in 1930. The overgrown platform can be seen beyond the shelter. The photograph, taken after that stretch of the line was closed in 1963 and the…