Heritage Railway Issue 257

STEAM and the seaside have always been splendid bedfellows. Many of Britain’s traditional seaside resorts were created by railways, and as highlighted by our special feature in this edition, coastal heritage lines of all shapes and sizes today form a mainstay of many a local tourist economy. Seaside railways have so often been the spark of inspiration for railway enthusiasts. I will always fondly recall my infant years, when during the summer holidays, my brother would take me trainspotting to our nearest station, Widney Manor on the Birmingham Snow Hill to Leamington line. But the real highlight would be a fortnight by the sea. There, I became enchanted by the Paignton to Kingswear line, by then taken over by shiny green Western Region Warships and DMUs, as well as the…

AFTER many years of consolidation and behind-the-scenes planning and land purchases, the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway has begun restoring original trackbed in readiness for a new push westwards. Contractors I&H Brown Ltd are on site at Bridges 54 and 55, near Kentisbury, west of the initial medium-term target of Blackmoor Gate station (now the Old Station House Inn) with a completion target of September. The reconstruction of the two original bridges follows a huge amount of effort to obtain planning permission and carry out much design work. The work on Bridge 54 involves exposing the broken remains of one abutment and enlarging the wing walls with new foundations and masonry, while the other abutment requires some repairs to masonry and new concrete backing. A new deck with steelwork and concrete…

A RAIL replacement bus service was immediately launched on the Severn Valley Railway after a locomotive was derailed by a fallen tree, blocking the line near Alveley. BR Standard4MT 4-6-0 No. 75069 was running light engine from Bridgnorth to Bewdley before public services started on July 22, when it collided with the tree. No. 75069 was said to have received damage to the front bogie, cylinder drain cocks and front footplating and as we closed for press, was awaiting a full inspection. Nobody was injured. The track also sustained minor damage requiring replacement of sleepers and chairs and needed tampering back into alignment before trains ran again. SVR officials hurriedly arranged a vintage replacement bus service using a Crosville Bristol Lodekka between Upper Arley Village (a short walk from the…

THE heritage sector is in mourning following the death of global narrow gauge locomotive collector and Vale of Rheidol Railway (VoR) founder and chairman Peter Rampton. Peter, who died on July 3 at the age of 85, set up the Brecon Mountain Railway with the late Tony Hills, laying the first track in 1979. In 1988, BR decided to sell the VoR, considered by many to be somewhat of an anachronism in view of the fact that steam haulage had ended on the main line two decades before. Tony and Peter bought the line in April the following year. It was the second piece of the operational national rail network to be Privatised – the first being Devon’s Paignton to Kingswear line, which never closed, but was sold to the…

THE Swanage Railway is appealing for more steam drivers and firemen, along with signalmen, after finding itself short of qualified footplate crews. Concern has been expressed that there soon may be insufficient crews to maintain services on one of Britain’s most intensive heritage railway timetables. After years of service, the railway has had a large number of skilled footplate and signalling staff retire or pass away. A spokesman said: “Existing members are pulling out all the stops, but the reality of the situation is that we simply do not have enough staff coming through to fill the gaps in our roster. “The railway finds itself at a crossroads. Unless more volunteers sign up to join the ranks of either footplate crews, signalmen or guards, the railway will be forced to…

FORTY-SEVEN years after the Paignton to Kingswear branch was sold to the Dart Valley Railway plc, the ‘big railway’ will be running a train over it again. In the first instance of Privatisation of part of the UK network, it was in 1972 that BR closed the line, selling it ‘in service’ to the operator of the Totnes to Buckfastleigh heritage line. Now staff at Paignton’s main line station – opposite that of the Dartmouth Steam Railway’s northern Queens Park terminus – are to run their own train over what has long been one of Europe’s most popular seaside lines, to raise money for charity. Top and tailed by the DSR’s Class 37 No. 37275 and a Class 03 shunter, the four-coach special on Saturday, September 14 will be a…