Heritage Railway Issue 283

GLOBALeventsof the past 18months have shownbeyond doubt that far toooftenwetake everyday lifeand the multiple treasures it has to offer forgranted. The same can easilybesaid of our proudheritage railway sector,which boasts rich and varied experiences onmorethan 150 operational lines. Longafterpreservationists took over theTalyllyn Railway 70 years ago, the sectorwas widely regarded as the domain of hardcoreenthusiasts, the shorttrousered schoolboyspotters of the 1950s and early 1960swhonowwantedtoplaywith the full-size version rather than models.Whatever their motives, their decades of voluntaryefforts have bequeathed Britain a legacythat, if only in termsof tourist economies, is second to very few, and hasmuchto offer everyone. Accordingly, the newly-launched LoveYour Railway nationwide campaigntoraise greaterawareness of the sector, andwhich so far is being backed by 38 heritage lines andmuseums, deservesmaximumsupport. Generous grantaid packages have helpedmanyof our lines survivethe lockdownclosureperiodswhen theywere deprived…

HERITAGE railway historywasmadeat about 11amonTuesday, July 27,when ‘Black Five’No. 5025emerged in fine fettle–and in originalLMSlivery–from Aviemoreshed, out of the darknessand into the Highland sunshine. The oldest surviving ‘Black Five’was celebrating its return to steam after completion of a £520,000 restoration project, launched almost 20 years ago in 2002. Designed by Sir William Stanier and built by the Vulcan Foundry, No. 5025 was allocated to Perth shed when new in 1934. The engine would have passed though Aviemore frequently, both on the Highland main line and the Strathspey’s route via Boat of Garten (see panel), beforemoving to the north west of England. It was bought in 1968 at the end of BR steam by pioneering Scottish railway preservationist Ted Watkinson, for the then fledgling Strathspey Railway. A regular performer on the…

THE reappearanceofNo. 5025 at the Strathspey in original LMSlivery recalls thedayswhen these thennew engines ushered inabravenewera of Highlands railway history. It was one of the first‘Black Fives’to work over what is now the Strathspeywhen new; information provided to Aviemore shed foreman Nathan Lightowler suggested it was the first, on Wednesday, September 5, 1934. However, the Railway Correspondence&Travel Society’s historyof the class records itwas the second, hauling the 12.12pm Perth-Inverness via Forres on that date, following No. 5022 which had worked the corresponding 9.30am train. According to official records, No. 5025 has a similar pioneering claim; it is not only the oldest preserved‘Black Five’, but was, in fact, jointly, and by a few days, the oldest of them all. Thedate given for its entry into traffic is August 2, 1934 – the…

THE nine-mile GreatCentral Railway (Nottingham), which aimsto eventually becomethe northern‘half’ofaheritage main line steamhighway between the cityand Leicester, officially changed its nametoNottinghamHeritage Railway in July. A statement said: “The new GCR(N) board has decided to rebrand the railway as the Nottingham Heritage Railway, effective immediately. “We felt it was time to freshen up the railway’s image, and the new name is more inclusive and reflective of our strong links with the City of Nottingham and the Rushcliffe area. “Wewill be asking local schools to participate in a design competition for a new logo, which we will ask Ruth EdwardsMP to judge. “The existing legal and regulatory name will remain unchanged.” However, Michael Gough, managing director of Great Central Railway plc, operator of the double-track heritage line between Loughborough and Leicester North,…

DURINGtheweekendofAugust 14/15, SteamDreamswill stageits EastAnglian celebration of the 175th anniversaryof the openingof the EasternUnionRailway –whichwasthefirst line to reach Ipswich. For a series of railtours to mark the occasion, David Buck’s Thompson B1 4-6-0 No. 61306 Mayflower with be top-and-tailed with a‘Black Five’and will run in the guise of B2‘Footballer’ No. 61674, with the name of a football club, understood to be Ipswich Town. The temporary identity of No. 61674 is the next number in sequence to new-build B17 No. 61673 Spirit of Sandringham, which is under construction at CTL Seal Ltd in Sheffield. The two-cylinder B2s wereaDoncaster rebuild of 10 three-cylinder B17s. Two trips will run from Colchester via Ipswich to Bury St Edmunds on the 14th with an‘East Anglian Circular’ from Colchester and Ipswich in the evening. The following…

THE Buckinghamshire Railway Centre has said fears that the building of High Speed2next to itsQuaintonRoadbase will cut off access to its yards,making them inaccessible for locomotive owners tomove them in andout by road, are unfounded.Quainton Railway Society trustee (operations and engineering) Colin Ashmansaid:“HS2 has givenacommitment tous inwriting to provide uninterrupted access to both yards for members, staff, contractors and deliveries, including large ones on low-loaders. “What that access will be is subject to negotiations.”…