Table of contents for Issue 337 in Heritage Railway

NOW we have reached the climax of the Railway 200 programme, marvelling at the bicentenary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and what transpired in its wake changing the world forever, the time is apt for us to remember the multitude of volunteers who have made the protection of our legacy a phenomenon of which the entire country can be proud. Since the salvation of the Talyllyn Railway, the world’s first volunteer-led heritage line nearly 75 years ago, our sector has blossomed way, way beyond the wildest dreams of those early volunteers. How many of Tom Rolt’s team could have seriously foreseen the day when the heritage sector would build new main line standard gauge locomotives of the ilk of Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado, which on September 16,…

A GROUND-BREAKING move has seen the Severn Valley Railway recently outshop carriage No. 9581 as a buffet, complete with full wheelchair access. It is the first of its kind to be converted this way and is part of the SVR’s ongoing access-for-all policy. Originally numbered 5043, it was built in 1928 to a Great Western bow-ended design as a third class compartment coach with a corridor down one side. After 30 years it was converted into a mess coach and workshop before being withdrawn. In 1981, the carriage was bought by the SVR-based 2587 Society and used as a base for the restoration of its locomotive, after which it was not needed and transferred to SVR (Holdings) plc. It was decided to base the new coach on a more suitable…

LNWR Coal Tank No.1054 was one of two guests at the Nene Valley Railway’s September 1-14 Railway 200 gala. Built at Crewe Works in 1888 and reprieved from the scrap man by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the 0-6-2T is the sole survivor of 250 examples of the class designed by Francis Webb. Bought privately after being withdrawn again in 1958, it passed into the ownership of the National Trust, which transferred ownership to the Bahamas Locomotive Trust in 2024, and it is now based on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. At the gala on the heritage line, which was once part of the LNWR, it was joined by Andrew Barclay 0-6-0ST Works No. 2183 0-6-0ST WD71529 of 1943 Earl David, which arrived on September…

THE South Tynedale Railway’s 0-6-0WTT No.10 Naklo returned to traffic on September 13 following an extensive overhaul. Naklo was built in 1957 by Fabryka Lokomotyw Imf Dzierzynskiego in its Chrzanow workshops, Poland, as works No. 3459. Originally constructed as a tank locomotive, it was supplied new to the Wapienno Lime Works, near Szubin. In 1977, the locomotive was purchased by the Naklo sugar factory near Bydgoszcz, where it was given a tender to provide greater coal and water capacity. After arriving at the STR in 1988, the side tanks were removed during the subsequent overhaul and renovations before entering service in 2001 as a tender engine. In this latest overhaul, carried out by Chris Dickinson and his team in the workshops at Alston, No. 10 was given a new boiler,…

THE North Dorset Railway has been given the green light to become an operational heritage line. Dorset Council has approved a change of use proposal for Shillingstone station, submitted by the NDR, which will see it turned into an operational railway base and museum. Planning consent for the 5.6-acre Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway station comes after a 20-year development programme by revivalists and is the final stage before it can start regular steam and diesel services. At present, the NDR is open to the public on three days a week only and occasional bank holidays. Locomotive movements are restricted to days when rolling stock has to be moved for display, exhibition or training purposes. An NDR statement said:“Our intention through this application is to be able to run passenger…

SOUTHEASTERN Railway opened up its traincare centre at Ashford on August 24, allowing enthusiasts and families an opportunity to see behind the scenes of this main line maintenance facility – with several heritage assets present too, all helping to tell the story of 200 years of railway travel. The original Ashford Works was opened by the South Eastern Railway in 1847, the facility later becoming the main workshops for the South Eastern & Chatham Railway in 1899, with designs such as the P class 0-6-0Ts and N 2-6-0s emerging from them. The presence of the works led Ashford to becoming the largest industrial town in Kent, and a carriage and wagon facility was built on an adjacent site in 1850. Locomotive construction and maintenance ceased in 1962, with N No.…

THE Uk’s last-remaining cinema carriage has been restored and hosted its first screening in 37 years as part of a Railway 200 celebration at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway. Built as a TSO in 1956, BR Mk. 1 No. 4598 was converted into a cinema coach in 1975 (for which it was given the departmental identity of No. 975403) and opened by Princess Margaret. The first-ever cinema train in Britain was unveiled at King’s Cross in 1924 and would screen films while the train was in motion, with BR’s set-up used for screening training videos and lasting in service until 1988. Following this, it was used as a meeting room in one at St Phillips Marsh depot, near Bristol. In his final years, its former manager and cinema train designer…

THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway is still experiencing “challenging” trading conditions after posting a £278,869 loss in the last financial year. Accounts for both NYMR Pic and its parent company, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway Trust, a not-for-profit charity, had shown a £633,118 loss in the previous year. The line’s Operation Blastpipe programme included a departmental restructure to reduce operational costs across the railway and impacted 10 roles in health and safety, operations, infrastructure and traction and rolling stock, which removed £195,000 of associated payroll costs. A NYMR spokesman said: “It should be appreciated that these are accounts which are now already six months out of date. This year’s trading continues to be challenging, with the extremely dry and hot weather impacting our ability to run steam. “Despite this, the…

THE Leighton Buzzard Railway’s September 6/7 Autumn Gala has been hailed as the best of its kind on the line for many years. Part of the Railway 200 programme, nearly 600 people rode the full length of the line, including the recently opened extension to Munday’s Hill, passing steam-hauled sand and military freight trains along the way. The five home fleet locomotives in steam were joined by visitors Taffy, from Alan Keef Ltd at Ross on Wye, a replica of a De Winton 0-4-0VBT, complementing its original sister Chaloner, one of the railway’s home fleet; Kerr Stuart 0-4-0T No. 1158 of 1909 Diana, on its farewell tour as the end of its current boiler ticket approaches; and Hudswell Clarke G class 0-6-0WT No. 1238, from the Moseley Railway Trust at…

WESTONZOYLAND Pumping Station, near Bridgwater, held a gala on its 2ft gauge line on August bank holiday Monday. The gala featured its entire collection of internal combustion and electric locomotives, plus visiting new-build Lister ‘Railtruck’ No. 56373, which Brian Faulkner, in Gloucestershire, completed in 2022. From the home fleet were Jason Keswick’s Hibberd Y-type Planet No. 1830 Boothby, Clayton battery locomotive No. B0402A Joshua, Brinsford’s Lister No. 6299, which celebrated its 90th birthday during the event, the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust’s Lister No. 42319 and the Westonzoyland Light Engine Trust’s Lister No. 34758, and Motor Rail Simplex No. 40S310 Ken. The day saw regular passenger trains behind all seven operational locomotives. On static display in the locomotive shed were Ruston 20DL No. 253711 and the Noel Donnelly-built vertical-boilered steam…

LYNTON & Barnstaple Railway members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new bid to extend the current heritage line westwards to the original Parracombe Halt. As reported in Heritage Railway issue 333, the Exmoor National Park Authority rejected its proposal for a 1030-yard extension to Cricket Field Lane from Killington Lane, the current western terminus of the line from Woody Bay. The authority’s planning committee considered that it would cause harm to the scenic beauty and character of the national park and Parracombe Conservation Area and the listed buildings of Heddon Hall and its kitchen garden wall. The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust decided to consult its membership on lodging an appeal against that decision or considering other options. Out of 1047 responses, 97% voted against appealing the Cricket…

NETWORK Rail and the Kent & East Sussex Railway are once again demonstrating how the past and present can help one another, with their latest partnership allowing brand-new state-of-the-art inspection and maintenance systems to be trialled along the 10½-mile heritage line through the Rother Valley. While heritage lines and the modern railway are decades apart in terms of motive power, the operational challenges of controlling and operating a safe railway are very much aligned in many areas. Beneficial partnerships have been formed over the years that has seen testing and training for main line companies take place on preserved railways around the UK. On September 4, the KESR hosted a showcase of the next generation of rail inspection and maintenance vehicles from leading rail tech company Schweerbau, which were being…

A CARRIAGE dating from the late 1800s and which left the Isle of Man in the 1970s has returned home following its sale to the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters’ Association. Built at the Brown Marshalls workshops in Birmingham in 1876, brake composite No. F6 was the final vehicle of the first batch of six specifically ordered by the steam railway as bogie stock. Previously, the line relied on fourwheeled vehicles, which would go on to be paired up to form additional bogied vehicles later on. The join between them is still present on those surviving today. Pioneering design No. F6 was part of what became classified as the ‘Small F’design owing to the vehicles having a lower roof profile than others. The wooden underframes were concealed by the…

A TEENAGER has become the youngest-known qualified train driver in the UK after earning his certification to operate a Sentinel diesel shunter on the Weardale Railway. Logan Smallwood, 18, from Lanchester, in County Durham, recently completed his first operational solo shift on the heritage line – a major milestone in a journey that began with a childhood fascination that grew into a serious vocational goal. Logan recently graduated from Newcastle College Rail Academy with a distinction in his Level 3 Extended Diploma in Engineering Technologies, gaining credits in mechanical engineering, track infrastructure and signalling systems. Weardale general manager Claire Gibbons said: “Logan is an exceptional young man and a first-class volunteer. He’s passionate, focused, and determined to follow his dream of becoming a train driver. “His story sends a powerful…

A CAMPAIGN to save the Lanarkshire & Dunbartonshire Railway’s Possil station in Glasgow has begun. The Category C-listed building at 479 Balmore Road, which dates from 1897, has distinctive red brickwork, decorative timber gables, and terracotta detailing, making it a rare surviving example of railway architecture from that era. It once served as a vital link in Glasgow’s rail network. It served as the terminus for passenger services but allowed through freight workings. Services ran from Rutherglen to Possil via the Glasgow Central Railway. It has the company’s CR monogram carved in the stone above the two windows on the building’s left frontal facade. The station was closed in 1908 when trains lost out to Glasgow Corporation’s faster and more frequent electric trams. Reopened by the LMS in 1934, it…

WHEN LMS third open No. 27162 was destroyed following an accidental fire just months after restoration was completed in 2011, it could have been all too easy to have scrapped the vehicle and moved on. However in a prime example of the preservation spirit of facing adversity, the LMS Carriage Association kept a hold of the carriage and have now completed a second restoration, with the carriage now in service once more at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. Built in 1945, Stanier-designed TO No. 27162 first entered preservation in 1978 at Quainton Road before moving to Wirksworth on the EVR in 2009. The following year the LMSCA sent it to Rail Restorations NE in Shildon for the external bodywork to be refurbished, following which the internals were fitted out on the…

FOLLOWING widespread acclaim for its landmark The Great Gathering, marking Railway 200 in Derby, as featured last issue, Alstom has released more details about how it will mark the 150th anniversary of its Glasgow Traincare Centre with its first public open day in 25 years on Sunday, October 12. Tickets for the event went on general sale on September 16. Located about two miles south-east of Glasgow Central station, the facility is currently the main base of the iconic Caledonian Sleeper service, where it is maintained and cleaned by staff who provide a round-the-clock service. Polmadie Depot typically welcomes 17 trains per day, including Avanti West Coast’s fleet of Alstom-built Class 390 Pendolinos. Opened as Polmadie Shed on September 16, 1875, by the Caledonian Railway, it was subsequently rebuilt and…

A SINGLE railwayana collection that almost filled the Somerset bungalow of the late enthusiast who had amassed it over nearly 50 years went under the hammer on September 1. Although the 300 lots comprised mainly West Country memorabilia, there were items from further afield, including a London Underground direction sign and totems from stations near the capital. The sale was held by Charterhouse of Sherborne, Dorset, whose auctioneer, Richard Bromell, said the collector’s interest in railwayana was initially sparked by an uncle who was a railwayman, although the collector himself worked for Westland Helicopters in Yeovil. Signs, signalling equipment, clocks, mirrors, wagonplates, posters, carriageprints, railway clothing and whistles were among the varied and wide-ranging artefacts on offer, with the eventual joint winners being an LBSCR ex-Portsmouth Town guard’s handlamp and…

THE National Railway Museum in York, hailed as the greatest of its kind in the world, reopened its Grade II-listed Station Hall on September 26, before its 50th birthday weekend and following its £11 million renovation – a milestone moment in Railway 200. As the former goods station adjacent to York Station, Station Hall previously served as a depot and trade hub through which a vast range of goods passed on their way to destinations around the country. In 2023, following a £10.5m grant from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the building closed for a full refurbishment and reroof. A £577,000 refresh and reorganisation of the exhibition inside Station Hall has also taken place, supported by the Friends of the National Railway Museum. The building has undergone major…

REBUILT Bulleid West Country light Pacific No. 34028 Eddystone has made its main line comeback more than 61 years after being withdrawn. Eddystone headed the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Swanage Belle’ day trip from London Victoria to the Isle of Purbeck resort, calling at Staines, Woking and Basingstoke, on September 10. It arrived in Swanage station at 1.33pm. The tour departed at 4.35pm and was hauled by West Coast Railways Class 47 No. 47812 as far as Southampton, from where the Bulleid took over again. The ex-Barry scrapyard locomotive, became the first rebuilt Bulleid light Pacific to be withdrawn in May 1964. Following its acquisition by current owner Southern Locomotives Ltd in 1995, it underwent the final stages of its restoration to running order at the Swanage Railway’s Herston Works in…

TWO Southern Railway locomotives made an historic comeback to Dorset to take starring roles in the Swanage Railway’s September 12-14 autumn gala. Visiting from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Maunsell Schools 4-4-0 No. 926 Repton hauled trains in the county for the first time since it was based in Bournemouth during the Second World War. The Urie Locomotive Society’s Mid-Hants Railway-based S15 4-6-0 No. 30506 became the first of its class to visit the Isle of Purbeck in more than two decades. Also hauling passenger and demonstration freight trains were home-based LSWR T3 4-4-0 No. 563, U 2-6-0 No. 31806 and Battle of Britain Pacifics No. 34070 Manston and No. 34072 257 Squadron. The public also had the chance to ride in the brake van of a demonstration 1950s freight…

THE Llangollen Railway celebrated the 50th anniversary of its opening by recreating some of the key moments of its history as part of a celebratory gala event on September 12-14. On September 13, 1975, the first trains ran at Llangollen Station as part of an open day to promote the revival efforts of part of the former Ruabon-Barmouth route. As work to restore the station and relay the line was in its infancy, only 60ft of track was available, over which Fowler 0-4-0DM No. 22753 Eliseg shuttled back and forth. The first steam service ran in 1978, and over the past half a century the line has grown, changed, and endured numerous hardships. The golden jubilee celebrations began exactly 50 years after that first open day. Although a ribbon-cutting ceremony…

A RARE survivor from the Neilson & Co workshops has returned to service after more than 40 years. Formed in 1836 of a partnership between Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines, locomotive building at Glasgow commenced in 1843. Works No. 2937 was delivered new in 1882 to the William Baird & Co Bedlay colliery, near Glenboig, in Scotland, and was the fifth locomotive to be built by Neilson for the firm, where it became its No. 11. Records of the 0-4-0ST’s life are scant, but several visits to the works are recorded that largely centre around the need for firebox repairs; it is recorded as having received a replacement, along with new tubes, in May 1900 and then again in 1911. In 1936, a semi-major…

THE Rail Accident Investigation Branch is looking into an incident that occurred on the Bluebell Railway during its 50th anniversary celebrations on August 9. At about 3pm, while a staff member was on the ground between the two locomotives, LBSCR A1 ‘Terrier’ No. 72 Fenchurch began moving when it was coupled to sister No. 55 Stepney at in Platform 1 at Sheffield Park. The iow-speed movement was stopped after it had travelled four metres, but this had necessitated the shunter inbetween to walk along the track to avoid being struck. The incident was reported to the RAIB, which is now investigating the matter, including what factors led to the unexpected movement, the arrangements already in place to mitigate such incidents, and current staff training. A Bluebell statement confirmed the situation,…

THE Kent & East Sussex Railway has welcomed another Austerity 0-6-0ST to its fleet - but despite being named Sapper, it is not necessarily the one you will have seen there before. As reported in issue 334, Hunslet Austerity works No. 3797 departed the Kent & East Sussex Railway at the start of June, where it had been based since 1977, and relocated to the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway in Cumbria following its sale to Steve Latham. While in service with the MoD at Bicester, it was named Sapper in 1965 when running as WD197. However, following its sale to Rolvenden Steam Enterprises in 1979, the nameplates were not included, and the locomotive was subsequently named Northiam after one of the stations on the KESR. The name appears to have…

PORT Talbot & Docks Co 0-6-0T No. 26 has reverted to its previous identity of NCB No 11 Backworth Unit after a transformation at Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway, as reported last issue. Absorbed into the GWR, after overhaul at Swindon it was outshopped in 1924 as No. 813. In 1934 it was sold to Backworth Collieries Limited in Northumberland and renumbered No. 12, becoming No. 11 under the National Coal Board. This temporary transformation came about after fitting the replacement water tank, but there was insufficient time to fully repaint the locomotive into GWR livery before the gala. A green undercoat was applied as the tank was in red primer, although to be more authentic as NCB No. 11, it should be in black. To assist its makeover,…

A LONG-DISUSED Sussex station which once carried passengers including royalty to the Goodwood Races has been given a new lease of life as part of an extended cycling and walking trail in the South Downs National Park. The London, Brighton & South Coast Railway opened Singleton station on July 11, 1881. Designed by Thomas Harrison Myres, it was a grand affair for a village station, boasting four platforms with a subway linking them and the country house-style station building, buffets, long sidings for awaiting trains, a large goods shed and two signalboxes. It was designed to accommodate visitors to Goodwood Racecourse, but passengers preferred to use Chichester station to avoid the walk uphill to the course from Singleton. It was one of the most visited stations by the LBSCR royal…

THE Derbyshire village of Holymoorside has celebrated its annual tradition of well dressing – this year including a depiction of the world’s first steam-hauled passenger train on the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825. Volunteers from the Holymoorside and Walton Arts Festival Society spent several days in August creating the dressing pictures using only flowers, petals and leaves from local gardens and hedgerows pressed into clay-covered boards. To coincide with Railway 200 celebrations, this year’s theme was Full Steam Ahead 1825-2025. In the dressing at the village’s Hipper Well, Locomotion No.1 is portrayed pulling a train of coal carts with passengers and the carriage Experiment across Skerne Bridge in full view of spectators. The locomotive was built by George Stepheenson, who spent the latter part of his life in Chesterfield…

VISITORS to the Mid-Hants Railway are being offered the chance to get up close and personal with A4 Pacific No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley in the week following its appearance at the line’s October 3-5 autumn steam gala. Making its first appearance at the line in 19 years, as reported last issue, the A4 will take a starring role in the MHR’s master and apprenticethemed weekend, where it will appear alongside Battle of Britain Pacific No. 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair (visiting from the Bluebell Railway) and resident Merchant Navy 4-6-2 No. 35005 Canadian Pacific, both of which were designed by Oliver Bulleid, who worked as an apprentice under Gresley during the development of the ‘Streaks.’ On October 8/9, visitors will be able to enter the cab of No. 60007 in…

THREE iconic paintings by celebrated Victorian artist William Powell Frith are now on show in Preston Park Museum, Stockton-on-Tees, as part of a landmark exhibition at the Stockton & Darlington Railway 200 festival. The Railway Station, Life at the Seaside (Ramsgate Sands) and Derby Day will form part of Gateway to the World, one of the exhibitions in The Spence Building, the museum’s new multi-million-pound extension, which, as reported in Heritage Railway 336, opened on September 13 and runs until December 7. William Powell Frith (1819-1909) was known for his large-scale compositions capturing the nuance and drama of everyday life, blending individual stories with sweeping social commentary. The three nationally significant paintings, displayed as a group and in the North East for the first time, highlight the impact the railways…

IT is one of the fiercest football rivalries in Britain - and indeed, the world. Manchester United v Manchester City, a head-to-head that has even neutral fans on the edge of their seat and invariably creates enormous pre-match debate and post-match analysis. The world of railwayana collecting is rather more sedate than that of Premier League football, but it does have its moments. So when nameplates carrying the identity of these two clubs come up for sale at a GW Railwayana live inline auction on November 15, there may be no red cards, flared tempers or arguing with the auctioneer, but the temperature may rise a little and the minds of collectors well and truly focussed. Simon Turner, the auctioneer, isn’t yet saying whether the plates, from LNER B17 Nos.…

FRAN Bailey is fulfilling what is understood to be a unique role for a heritage railway. It was in 2021 that Middleton Railway Trust in Hunslet, Leeds, recognised it had an obligation to keep in touch with volunteers who, for whatever reason, had ceased to be active - people who gave so much to the railway and deserved better than being forgotten when they were no longer able to contribute. This awareness led to the creation of the role of almoner with the specific responsibility for maintaining contact with once active volunteers and their partners, if they wished, and providing support where appropriate. Stepping into the role has brought great satisfaction to Fran, a former teacher, who joined the railway 30 years ago with her late husband Roderick. The idea,…

IN a major first for Ireland’s railway heritage, the Downpatrick & County Down Railway, in partnership with the Irish Traction Group, unveiled a major milestone on August 23, when former Córas lompair Éireann and Irish Rail diesel locomotive No. 124 hauled its first passenger trains in preservation at the line’s 40th anniversary gala. Built in 1961 by General Motors in La Grange, Illinois, the 121 Class were the first American-built locomotives to operate in Ireland, transforming CIE’s fleet with their reliability and distinctive styling, looking more like Amtrak switchers with their distinctive huge cab - and little to compare them with anywhere in Ireland or the UK. Most were scrapped after being withdrawn in the mid-2000s and for years observers doubted that No. 124 would ever run again. No. 124…

WHILE running as the tail locomotive on the 5Z36 3.40pm Dorridge to Stratford-upon-Avon empty coaching stock turning move for the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Stratford Flyer,’ hauled by Class 47 No. 47802 on August 6, LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 No. 45212 suffered a recurrence of the tender hotbox that saw it undergo repairs at Riley Engineering. The train made an unscheduled stop at Wilmcote station to allow West Coast Railways fitters onboard to carry out remedial work to the axlebox on the lineside. The affected axlebox was adjacent to a live running line so work could not commence until the 2V84 Stratford to Worcester service had passed, leaving no other trains in the whole section from Wilmcote to Stratford, including Stratford station. The fitters were able to sufficiently clean out the…

THE West Somerset Railway-based Diesel & Electric Preservation Group staged a special Hymek 50th anniversary event on August 30/31. The gala marked half a century since the organisation, firstly known as the Diesel and Electric Group, was formed in 1972 to promote interest in the modern railway scene, at a time when heritage lines, museums and other venues were heavily - and in cases exclusively - weighted towards steam. On September 22, 1973, the sell-out ‘Hymek Swansong’ railtour between Paddington and Hereford, returning via Didcot and hauled by D7001 and D7028, ran to mark the end of the Beyer-Peacock Class 35 Hymek diesel-hydraulics. A group of passengers including DEG members who were aboard the tour came up with the idea of saving a Hymek and quickly raised the money required.…

ONE of the last steam locomotives to operate under British Railways is set for return to traffic in late BR Corporate Blue lined livery. The Vale of Rheidol Railway will relaunch its GWR 2-6-2T No. 9 Prince of Wales at its October 25/26 Steam Festival, which it said will be one of its most ambitious events to date. Newly overhauled No. 9, which has been out of traffic since 2020, has been repainted in the livery complete with cabside double arrow branding. All three of the line’s Swindon, 1923-built Rheidol tanks carried blue livery during BR ownership, but this is the first time since 1982 that the colour scheme has been seen on the railway – and also for the first time in the heritage era. No. 9 will also…

THE Welshpool& Llanfair Light Railway had a king briefly return to its ranks for its August 29-31 gala. Former Chattenden & Upnor Railway Manning Wardle 0-6-2T No.1877 of 1915 Chevalier is back on the line after a two-year loan to the Sibiu Agnita Railway, where it has been a major attraction at steaming days. Now owned by Bill Parker’s Flour Mill Workshop at Bream in the Forest of Dean, the locomotive began an 11-year residency on the Welshpool line in 2010 and left in 2021 for overhaul works when its boiler ticket expired. It appeared in steam at the gala alongside original WLLR locomotive 0-6-0T No. 822 The Earl and SF Belge 0-8-0T 2855 of 1944 Sir Drefaldwyn – but carrying new nameplates just for the occasion – King Charles…

THE Cromer Light Railway ran its first trains over the August bank holiday weekend, giving free rides to the public. Town mayor Coun Richard Leeds cut the ribbon to launch the inaugural public train over the 7¼in gauge line on the Sunday morning and then rode behind the locomotive on the line’s initial 500ft oval circuit around the grounds of the Cromer Hall Estate. More than 300 people took up the offer of a free ride on each of the first two days alone. As highlighted in Heritage Railway issue e, the Cromer Miniature Railway Club has spent four years building the new line from scratch following the closure of the Ashmanhaugh Light Railway, near Wroxham, in 2019. The club, which was formed in 2000, has more than 2000 feet…

THE final Class 03 to have served in main line use will be heading to the Isle of Wight this autumn when it takes up residence on the island for the second time. Built in 1962 at Swindon, No. 03179 worked mainland depots until 1987 when it was withdrawn. However, with a need for motive power to help maintain the Island Line, it was shipped over to the Ryde Depot the following year along with sister No. 03079. As the island’s main rail route was under Network SouthEast control at the time, No. 03179 was painted into that company’s ‘Toothpaste’ scheme, while No. 03079 remained in BR blue. The pair gained cut-down cabs to allow passage through the low tunnels, and while No. 03179 was withdrawn in 1996, No. 03179…

PARTNERSHIPS between the national network and heritage lines are not uncommon, with the likes of the Kent & East Sussex (see overleaf) and East Lancashire railways having supported Network Rail in recent years. Now, the East Kent Railway at Shepherdswell has become the latest in that growing list, with the mutually beneficial working helping to revive freight on the branch for the first time since 1987. At Shepherdswell station on September 5, a memorandum of understanding was signed between main line operator South Eastern Railway and the EKR for sharing redundant railway assets from the main line railway, facilities and volunteer time, as well as commencing work to re-establish freight workings along part of the lO¼-mile route. The agreement will see SER donate railway materials including rails and sleepers that…

FORMER Dinorwic Quarry locomotives have been front and centre of galas in recent months, having seen pairings at lines including the Tinkers Park and Threkeld Quarry Museum lines, and the Bala Lake Railway at its August bank holiday weekend event featuring two, with its visiting line-up drawn from the surviving fleet of the Welsh slate complex. Returned to steam in 2024, Bagnall 0-4-0ST No. 1760 Sybil of 1906 came from the West Lancashire Light Railway, the visit marking the first time the locomotive had been back in Wales since its acquisition for preservation in 1965. Joining Sybil was Quarry Hunslet 0-4-0ST No. 409 Velinheli, built in 1886 and also recently returned to steam after overhaul at the Ffestiniog Railway. These two had earlier been reunited at Beamish Museum’s own gala…

A BLUE plaque to commemorate the life of Wakefield-born locomotive builder Thomas Peckett (1834-1891) is to be unveiled on October 2 by Wakefield Civic Society, part of a larger celebration of the town’s own railway heritage. Born in 1834, in the 1861 census Thomas was recorded as working as a druggist (chemist). By the 1871 census, he had advanced his career again and was by then the manager of a railway wagon works. In 1864, he founded Peckett & Sons, and in about 1880, the company took over Fox, Walker and Company, locomotive builder, and the Atlas Locomotive Works in Bristol. Peckett & Sons manufactured a range of industrial locomotives, with the business continuing until the early 1960s when the company was taken over. Thomas died in 1891 aged 57…

FRIENDS, family and enthusiasts came together at the Bluebell Railway on September 8 for a ceremony paying tribute to one of the rail’s industry’s most influential figures following his death in March this year. Born on April 14, 1934, Gordon Charles Pettitt started his railway career at the age of 16, working as a junior clerk at Knebworth and later King’s Cross stations, before being chosen for management training in 1960. By 1974, he had been promoted to the role of Sheffield area divisional commercial manager and then regional freight sale manager three years later. He served in numerous other roles over the ensuing years, including the Western Region’s chief passenger manager at the time the HST fleet was being introduced and also Liverpool Street divisional manager. On March 31…

REAL ale and cider from all our four corners of the UK will be a feature of the Spa Valley Railway’s annual beer festival on October 16-19 as the heritage line sets its sights on matching, or even beating, last year’s record attendance. More than 200 real ales will be on tap, from the Orkney Islands to the Isle of Wight, from the Scottish Highlands to Wales, and from Cornwall to Northern Ireland – and many points between – plus local brews from Kent, Sussex and Surrey. In that tally will be 14 keg beers and 70 ciders, while Jonnie Pay, the Spa Valley’s general manager and one of the festival’s organisers, has promised to double up some orders to ensure nobody will be disappointed by an empty barrel. For…

A UNIQUE event marking the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway’s 65th anniversary saw a charter with two steam locomotives, resident Peckett 0-6-0ST No. 1008 of 1903 Jurassic and visitor Kerr Stuart Wren 0-4-0ST No. 4256 of 1922 Peter Pan. The next day the two operated passenger services double-headed with nearly all seats taken in three historic carriages, each more than a century old, from the LCLR’s Walls Lane headquarters to Britain’s newest station, Seathorne Bank. It was the first time that Jurassic and Peter Pan had operated together since 1986. When the original LCLR - the first heritage railway in the world to be built by enthusiasts on a greenfield site when it opened at Humberston, south of Cleethorpes, on August 27, 1960 - had already closed, Jurassic made a trip…

ENTHUSIASTS and the general public alike were enthralled by the sight of a Castle 4-6-0 racing along the Devon coast on September 6, only to be left in awe as a second steam-hauled tour followed mere minutes after it had passed in what was an historic moment for steam in the South West of England. Steam excursions along the iconic sea route through Dawlish have become fairly common in recent years with regular summer tours through the region. It is, however, uncommon for two tours to traverse a similar route on the same day, let alone in successive block sections. Anyone near to the route between Taunton and Dainton on September 6 witnessed a moment in history - for not only did two tours pass through in swift succession, but…

September 27 Railway 200 Special Carnforth, Stanhope and return. Steam-hauled from York to Stanhope (outward) and Darlington to York (return). Loco: 34067 Tangmere or 45212. RTC 27 ‘The Oban Bucket’ Carlisle, Oban and return. Loco: D213 Andania. SRPS 27 ‘Welsh Marches Express’ Woking, Shrewsbury and return. Steam-hauled between Bristol Temple Meads and Shrewsbury. Loco: TBA. ST 27 ‘The Ulster Express’ Barking, Morecambe and return. Locos: 50008 Thunderer. class 92 TBC + 4TC. UKRT 27 ‘The Shap Mountaineer’ Birmingham New Street, Carlisle and return. Loco: 45596 Bahamas. VT 27 Lune Rivers Trust Charity Excursion Carnforth, Carlisle and return. Steam-hauled throughout. Loco: 34067 Tangmere or 45212. WCR 28 ‘The Royal Duchy’ Bristol Temple Meads, Par and return. Steam-hauled throughout. Loco: 45212. RTC 29 ‘The Golden Arrow’ Worcester Shrub Hill, Canterbury West and…

To some, No. 1466 is just another GWR locomotive, yet for the Great Western Society, it is so much more. A journey which began with a letter penned by four schoolboys keen to save a steam locomotive from the cutter’s torch has resulted in what might be the best collection of Great Western artefacts in the UK. It was therefore a fitting that faces old and new came together at Didcot Railway Centre to witness the return of this GWR 1400 0-4-2T following more than two decades of it sitting cold. Built in 1936 as part of the 4800 class, it entered service as No. 4866 and was allocated to West Country sheds including Newton Abbot, St Blazey, Ashburton and Exeter. It was renumbered to 1466 in in 1946, when…

ALTHOUGH English Electric/Vulcan Works Class 37 diesel worksplates put on a strong show in Main Line Railwayana’s August 25-31 timed auction, station totem signs trumped everybody by claiming the top three spots, led by BR(Sc) Gleneagles at £2300, with BR(S) Epsom snapping at its heels at £2100 and BR(E) Westerfield further back at £900. The Class 37 EE/Vulcan plates then started attracting the attention of bidders, with the winner being from D6850/37150 at £840, followed by D6721/37021 (£800) and D6835/37135 (£740), although between the latter two witha realisation of £780 was a 1961 BR Derby/Brush plate from an unidentified Class 46 in the D138-D150 range. Still with heritage modern traction, a Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co worksplate from Class 33 D6527/33110 went for £520, and a Brush Sulzer plate…

ONCE heralded as a line where diesels were nowhere to be seen, the Bluebell Railway is surely a prime example of changing with the times. Having started with hired locomotives to assist with the construction of the East Grinstead extension to having the seeds of a fully-fledged fleet of its own, there is no denying that diesel has found itself a viable position amid the rich and varied collection of steam locomotives. While still predominantly a steam-operated service, the inclusion of the odd diesel gala over the years has shown that the railway is not afraid of trying new things and rolling with what works. This year’s line-up for the September 5-7 gala was made of seven forms of ‘modern’ traction, including two different builds of multiple unit. The first…