Heritage Railway Issue 221

Impressed with the six shortlisted designs for the planned new £18 million station at the Great Central Railway’s Leicester North terminus that I was shown on the preview day, I am waiting in earnest for the line’s officials to pick a winner. Ever since it was built, Leicester North has been a terminus at next to nowhere. You stand on the platform, waiting for your train locomotive to run round, and gaze wistfully at the truncated section of embankment on the far side of the bypass and dream of building several bridges that would once again allow services to run into the long-isolated Leicester Central station serving the city centre. However, Leicester North’s position could now be its making. Its location on the A563 dual carriageway rather than in the…

LMS Princess Coronation Pacific No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland was ruled out of the last trip of the ‘Royal Duchy’ season – after becoming derailed at the Midland Railway-Butterley the day before. Passengers who turned up for the Railway Touring Company’s trip from Bristol to Plymouth and Par on October 2 were disappointed to see a diesel locomotive at the head of the train instead – fuelling wild and inaccurate negative speculation as to why there was a no-show from the Duchess. The trip had already been rearranged from September 18 because of engineering works. The original plan was to use the Duchess between Bristol Temple Meads and Plymouth where steam was to be replaced by diesel haulage on to Par and return, with the 4-6-2 turned and serviced at…

THE newest station in the heritage sector has been officially opened by A3 Pacific No. 60103 Flying Scotsman. On Thursday, October 13, the locomotive headed a VIP special which departed the East Lancashire Railway’s Bury (Bolton Street) station for the new Burrs Country Park halt. There, the Mayor of Bury, Coun Mike Connolly, officially opened the station, the seventh on the heritage line. He spoke about what the new station means for both the railway and the locality. The park currently attracts more than 350,000 visitors each year and this figure is expected to increase following the opening of the new station, which is the centrepiece of Bury Council’s Burrs Country Park Development Strategy 2015-2029. The strategy aims to establish Burrs as a‘destination park’, a key element of Bury’s tourism…

A LINESIDE photographer who saw red when a nine-year-old boy stood between him and a clear view of Flying Scotsman has been cautioned by police. The boy, wearing a bright red pullover, appeared at the nature reserve in Stourport Road, Bewdley, just as the green A3 was due to go past, during its recent record-breaking visit to the Severn Valley Railway, which attracted 45,000 people over six days. It was understood that several photographers were at the location at the time. Witnesses said that after arguing with the boy, the photographer attempted to move him. It was unclear as to whether physical contact was made, but it was understood that the boy immediately went home and told his parents, who called police. A police spokesman said:“West Mercia Police received reports…

HERITAGE RAILWAY’S www.facebook . com/heritagerailway  page has broken through the 300,000 likes barrier, reinforcing its position as the biggest railway enthusiasts Facebook page in the world. As we closed press, we passed the 303,000 mark too. Our page, which offers unparalleled free publicity for heritage railways and preservation groups, carries news and pictures from all aspects of the railway sector. If you are looking for publicity for your railway and events, feel free to post all about on our site, to reach the widest possible audience. See the videos from the latest main lines, galas and ground-breaking action, posted on a regular basis.…

SIX designs for Europe’s latest state-of-the-art national-standard railway museum have been unveiled to the public. The six designs have been submitted by architects vying for the contract for the Great Central Railway’s new £18 million museum at its Leicester North terminus, being developed in conjunction with the National Railway Museum. The designs were unveiled at a special preview at the railway’s Platform Cafe at Greenacres next to the site on October 5, at which visitors were invited to post comments on each. The shortlisted architects were BDP, Carmody Groarke, Farrells, Grimshaw, Hawkins Brown and Wilkinson Eyre. The designs ranged from the broadly traditional to the outright futuristic. Five of the six included a tuntable – essential if the GCR is to become a destination and starting point for main line…